Editor’s note: This is reporting as of 10 p.m. April 25. The Eagle will monitor the situation through the night and continue to update coverage.
The solidarity encampment at George Washington University continued into Thursday night after hundreds of students from across D.C., Maryland and Virginia joined GW students and the DMV’s chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement throughout the day.
While the GW Police Department and the Metropolitan Police Department remained on scene, the encampment remained active after the GW administration’s 7 p.m. deadline to disperse.
The GW encampment began early in the morning April 25, joining the more than 40 encampments at universities around the country. Nationwide, police intervention has led to over 400 arrests so far.
Throughout the day, students and other demonstrators participated in chants such as, “GW, you can’t hide. You invest in genocide,” “Israel bombs, GW pays. How many kids will you kill today?” and “From D.C. to Palestine, occupation is a crime.”
Both the American University and GW administrations sent out school-wide messages earlier today to address the protests.
At 3:20 p.m., AU’s Chief Financial Officer, Vice President and Treasurer Bronté Burleigh Jones, Acting Provost and Chief Academic Officer Vicky Wilkins and Vice President of Student Affairs Raymond Ou announced that “no camping activities are permitted” on campus. One hour prior, GW President Ellen Granberg and Provost Christopher Alan Bracey sent out a message saying that GW requested assistance from MPD to remove the encampment when protesters — including those from other universities in the area — didn’t relocate after multiple instructions from GW Police.
Around 7 p.m., the deadline that GW set for protesters to vacate, an organizer encouraged students to move to the center of University Yard. Non-student supporters lined up facing the street to create a barrier between the street and students.
A speaker led a prayer that started at sunset, around 8:10 p.m. Those praying had a space cleared for them as people in attendance who were not praying sat in silence to observe.
While GW Police were in circulation throughout the day, members of MPD remained at a distance through the evening. As it neared 10 p.m., MPD vehicles began regularly driving around the block of the encampment.
At the encampment, different speakers represented groups such as multiple chapters of Students for Justice for Palestine from local universities, DMV Palestinian Youth Movement, Maryland to Palestine, D.C. Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, The Black Alliance for Peace and the Council for American-Islamic Relations, among others.
Sean Blackmon from D.C.’s Party for Socialism and Liberation spoke at the encampment about universities' responses to pro-Palestine protests throughout the country.
“What kind of system do we live in where an institution can call the police on you for opposing genocide, but there’s no authorities that you can call on an institution that supports genocide?” Blackmon asked the crowd.
“We are not deterred from the insults and the attacks from the different school administrations, from the racists, from the Zionists, from the President of the United States himself,” he continued. “We will stay in the streets. We will stay in the fight.”
Mohamad Habehh, director of development for American Muslims for Palestine, said members of his organization showed up at the demonstration to support the student organizers and protesters.
“For the students to see what’s going on in Gaza and take it upon themselves to raise awareness like this, it’s something that I, as a Palestinian, and the Palestinians around the world appreciate,” he said.
Habehh said that he wished to see more support for student organizers across the country, saying he found the statement from GW’s administration “troubling.” He also said that students have historically been a catalyst for change in the U.S.
“We are going to look back at this moment and we are going to be proud of these students,” Habehh said. “We are going to be proud of the students in D.C., proud of the students in New York, the students in Chicago, the students in LA, Atlanta, Austin. No matter where they are, we’re going to be proud of these kids.”
This article was edited by Samantha Skolnick, Kathryn Squyres, Tyler Davis and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks.
