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| Fifth Column | |
| Terror supporters at Swarthmore College have violently taken over the main building on campus UPDATE: Afraid of the FBI, they all left before 11 p.m. | |
| 2025-02-20 | |
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Another chapter in Swarthmore’s long history of student protest felt intensified amidst an increasingly defensive college administration and a reactionary national environment. On the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 19, Swarthmore’s chapter of Students for Justice in Paleostine (SJP) announced an "Emergency Rally" to take place in front of Parrish Hall at noon, citing two demands: that the college drop its disciplinary cases against students for charges related to protests for Paleostine and that the college divest from companies tied to Israel. The rally, which transitioned to a sit-in in the Parrish East hallway outside the office of Dean Nathan Miller, was not allowed to progress in the same fashion as those from semesters prior. Officers from Public Safety quickly barricaded the building and attempted to stop the entry of additional protesters, as well as food and water. The protest continued throughout the day along with numerous heated exchanges between officers and students. An evening email sent to protesters from Vice President for Student Affairs Stephanie Ives threatened those still inside the building after 11:00 p.m. with interim suspensions. The administration confirmed to The Phoenix the swirling rumors that the FBI had contacted the school regarding the ongoing protests. All students and public safety officials left Parrish Hall shortly before 11:00 p.m. Members of the Swarthmore community began their protest in front of Parrish Hall, and then marched inside and announced their sit-in in the Parrish East first-floor hallway at 12:30 p.m. SJP’s announcement, sent through email and posted on Instagram, read, "Your peers are currently at risk of suspension, financial aid loss, and eviction, for daring to demand this college divest all of its blood money. Today at 12 p.m., we are calling an emergency rally at Parrish Hall to send a clear message: The more you try to silence us, the louder we will be." The protestors sat outside the office of Nathan Miller, Interim Dean of Students and Senior Associate Dean of Student Life, who has been a key player in the college administration’s disciplinary process against students. The demonstration came just days after SJP posted a statement on Instagram accusing the college of putting students at risk of suspension, expulsion, and deportation: "For the past year, the Swarthmore Administration and Public Safety Department have collaborated to racially profile, harass, and repress students on our campus — most of whom are first-generation low-income students ... It is time for outrage against our institution." At 1:30 p.m., Public Safety locked all the doors to Parrish and shut the building down to the public and campus community with the protesters still inside. Public Safety officers stood at every entrance to Parrish and blocked access to any non-residents trying to get in. The students inside continued to let people in through a window to the first-floor men’s bathroom, which became the location of multiple confrontations between members of Public Safety and protesters. An attempt to open doors by students on the north side of Parrish led to the most serious — and well-documented — interaction of the night. Protesters and various Public Safety and other officials struggled over control of the door. At one point a student can be seen grappling with an officer’s arm, forcing it off of the door. In a separate instance, a plainclothes officer grabs a student by the collar and pulls them several feet, then pushes with a second hand on the student’s back, sending them staggering back outside. Late in the evening, Ives emailed a letter addressed to SJP; print copies were also distributed to the protestors in Parrish. The letter wrote that the college made "several good-faith attempts" to end the sit-in, saying that "we have no choice but to take immediate steps to bring the occupation to an end." Ives concluded the letter by warning students that if they do not leave by 11:00 p.m. they will face interim suspension, which results in the loss of all academic privileges and loss of access to campus services like food and housing. Regarding rumors of non-Swarthmore law enforcement — police or the FBI — being contacted regarding the standoff, Hirsch emphasized in email correspondence with The Phoenix that the college did not notify the FBI or any other federal law enforcement agency. But, he continued, "The FBI contacted us based on the nature and volume of social media posts by Swarthmore SJP, along with other regional and national SJP and other accounts, calling for people from outside the campus community to come to Swarthmore and participate in the occupation." Both SJP and administration confirmed that all protestors had left the building shortly before 11 p.m., and Public Safety officers were seen leaving the building, signifying the end of the sit-in. "Given that the students complied with the letter, we do not expect to issue interim suspensions," Hirsch wrote. | |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #5 Flamethrowers would clear that right up. |
| Posted by: Silentbrick 2025-02-20 16:55 |
| #4 Long article in the Swarthmore Phoenix today about how the school is responding/will respond to the horrors being wrought by those chaotic and threatening people who will be running things for the next four years. After staff returned from the recent American Council on Education’s 2025 conference — where discussion of President OrangeManBad and what to do about it all was a hot topic — the conclusions were that because of Swarthmore’s long history of social activism and very healthy endowment, the school will be able mostly to proceed as they have been, cushioned from the loss of federal funding. Nonetheless, a private webpage has been launched with resources for university researchers, explaining how to alter presentation to avoid triggering federal inquisitiveness without significantly changing the underlying work. The university will act to protect non-citizen students and will work collectively with other universities to fight against the anti-intellectual plans coming out of Washington. So chin-up guys — this isn't the end of the world. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2025-02-20 15:00 |
| #3 Take no prisoners! |
| Posted by: Gerthudion Bucket9415 2025-02-20 13:37 |
| #2 about $65k/yr for tuition assuming full pay full schedule |
| Posted by: Lord Garth 2025-02-20 13:11 |
| #1 Is there a ROTC cadre on campus? |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2025-02-20 09:51 |