The live updates on day two of the sit-in have concluded. Follow live updates of day three here.
Princeton’s sit-in for Gaza continues into its second day after protesters spent the night in McCosh Courtyard. Protesters circulated in shifts to stay awake in order to maintain compliance with University policy, which forbids sleeping “in outdoor space of any kind.”
Two graduate students were arrested in the sit-in’s opening minutes on Thursday morning; tents were pitched in the courtyard for approximately six minutes.
During daylight hours on Thursday, McCosh Courtyard transformed into the “Popular University for Gaza” referring to a movement organized by the national wing of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which aims to “counter the bias of the educational system while building the movement for Palestinian liberation.” Multiple professors held class in the courtyard, and protesters heard from a range of speakers from members of Faculty for Justice in Palestine (FJP) to Larry Hamm ’78, who participated in the 1978 sit-in in Nassau Hall to divest from South African apartheid. The size of the crowd peaked at approximately 250.
Quiet night as petition circulates — April 27, 4:40 a.m.
Around 40 protesters remain present at the encampment in the early hours of the morning. The ‘Prince’ has not observed any warnings from PSAFE tonight; the previous night, a PSAFE officer pulled an organizer aside around 2:00 a.m. and spoke with them about the prohibition on sleeping outside.
At 11:01 p.m., Daniel Shaw ’25 sent an email to residential college listservs encouraging students to sign a petition “to call upon the University to uphold our right to freedom of speech and protest.”
Shaw serves as the Council on the Princeton University Community (CPUC) U-Council Chair, although it does not appear that sent the petition in his capacity as a member of the Undergraduate Student Government (USG). U-Councilors are elected by the student body, and serve on the CPUC alongside administration and faculty. The next meeting of the CPUC is currently scheduled for Monday, April 29.
“I have spent my time here at Princeton advocating for the rights of students, especially their rights to freedom of expression and due process,” he wrote. “Recent events have made it clear that these rights are never secure on any campus, including Princeton’s. For this reason, I am circulating this open letter to call upon the University to publicly commit to upholding the promises of freedom of expression that it makes to the members of our community.”
“Regardless of whether you agree with all or even any of the statements that have been made on this campus in the previous few days, I hope that we can all agree that the right to freedom of expression is sacrosanct,” Shaw added.
The open letter, addressed to “the Officers of the University,” calls on the administration to “commit to publicly reaffirm the right to speak and peaceably assemble. As a corollary to this, we further call upon the University not to follow the actions of some of our peer institutions by committing to not suspending student groups without due process, and committing not to use violence against peaceful protest.”
As pro-Palestinian encampments and other protests have spread across U.S. campuses, universities have responded with varying degrees of severity. Harvard suspended the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee on Tuesday, April 23. On Thursday, April 25, Atlanta police violently arrested protesters and deployed “chemical irritants” in response to a demonstration at Emory University.
Shaw’s letter also calls on the University to “commit to ensuring that any regulations applied are applied in (1) a viewpoint-neutral manner, (2) proportionally, and (3) in keeping with past practice.”
“For community members accused of violating University policies, the University must guarantee meaningful due process protections,” the letter continued. Additionally, it noted, “for time, place, and manner regulations, the University must explicitly provide reasoning demonstrating that any regulations are viewpoint- and content-neutral, narrowly tailored to serve a significant University interest, and that those regulations leave open ample alternative channels for communicating the speaker’s message.” University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 recently penned a column published in the ‘Prince’ establishing the University’s commitment to enforcing “time, place, and manner” regulations.
So far, over 40 people — all undergraduate students — have signed the letter, last updated at 11:59 p.m. Two other members of USG, U-Councilor Aishwarya Swamidurai ’26 and Social Committee Chair Enzo Kho ’26, have signed on.
Shabbat dinner held within sit-in — April 26, 7:15 p.m.
Around 30 protesters attended a Shabbat dinner held within the sit-in with kosher-for-Passover food provided. Emanuelle Sippy ’25, one of those leading the service told the ‘Prince,’ “We’ve been really lucky to have a materials team and donations from the community that are attending to the needs of various students here including Jewish students. Tonight there was kosher-for-Passover food ordered for Jewish students in particular.”
Catered food has arrived from various sources throughout the day including Mamoun’s and Lan Ramen according to Sippy. Donations and alumni support have also been supporting the various needs of protesters.
Confusion over amplified sound policy — April 26, 6:00 p.m.
Chants this evening after the official end of class time seem to display some confusion about whether protesters will be punished this evening if they choose to use amplified sound.
The Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students (ODUS) “Forms of Expression” policy states that people on campus may not “Use amplified sound without the permission of ODUS.”
In a sub-point below, the policy adds that amplified sound in outdoor areas “in the vicinity of University residences, classrooms, the library, the chapel, and similar facilities” is “strictly prohibited 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.” There is no indication on the ODUS website that the specification about prohibition during daytime hours overrules the requirement that any amplified sound be ODUS-approved.
An organizer has just quoted from the University’s amplified sound policy to the crowd, and chanted, “I just checked my clock, and it’s looking like 6 p.m.” A microphone has been set up, but no one has used it yet or otherwise used amplified sound today. A speaker was introduced, but he did not speak into the microphone.
Verbal confrontation with counter-protesters — April 26, 5:54 p.m.
Two student counter-protesters waving American and Israeli flags approached McCosh Courtyard and began recording chants, causing some protesters to attempt to block the phone cameras with unfurled flags and keffiyeh scarves. Walking around the perimeter of the courtyard, one of the counter-protesters said “why don’t you show your faces, cowards?” and claimed that the protest was making Jewish students feel unsafe. One pro-Palestinian protester began to respond, but another repeatedly instructed them not to engage.
Multiple PSAFE officers were present for the interaction, following both parties as they circled the encampment. The crowd in the courtyard responded with protest chants, including “PSAFE PSAFE go away, you support terrorist states,” and “Whose campus? Our campus.”
CJL and Chabad directors issue statements on sit-in — April 26, 4:52 p.m.
The Executive Director of Princeton’s Center for Jewish Life (CJL) Rabbi Gil Steinlauf ’91 addressed the sit-in in a 3:48 p.m. emailed statement to students, alumni, and parents on a listserv for the center that community members can join. Princeton Chabad Co-Director Eitan Webb struck a contrasting, heartfelt tone in a personal note sent to the Chabad listserv at 4:52 p.m., obtained by The Daily Princetonian.
Although Steinlauf listed several concerns voiced by students about rhetoric and activities at the encampment, some of which he said “are hateful toward Israel and disturbing for many to experience,” he added that “it’s also important to say that despite these concerns, the majority of students are not living in fear.”
In his statement, Steinlauf wrote that “the protests are largely run by a small group of graduate students, professors and outside actors.” However, according to documents obtained by the ‘Prince’ from before the encampment was erected, the protest seems to have been organized primarily by students, including undergraduate and graduate students. On the ground, many of the group’s organizers are undergraduates, and are delivering announcements to the crowd.
Webb wrote, “I was at many hours of protesting this week and here's the thing: I came away inspired. I love that there are people on this campus who care so much about their cause that they will put everything on the line.”
“And that made me check in with myself,” he added. “How much do I care about my tradition and my heritage? It turns out that the answer is ‘a lot.’ I've probably had more than 50 conversations with students over the last day and they care too. The Jewish people are alive.”
Steinlauf reported that Princeton’s Jewish Experience Working Group is using focus groups to “develop plans to meet the needs of the Jewish community during these challenging times.” He also wrote about recent and ongoing programming for Jewish students at the CJL, highlighting celebrations during the Passover holiday.
On the role of professors participating in the sit-in, he wrote, “While many of us are horrified that any professors would politicize their roles in this way, the university has made it very clear that they are watching all the protesters closely for any acts that move from rhetoric to direct threats.”
“I understand that for some of us reading this, the university's clear and strong responses are laudable, but also not enough,” he added. “I agree that rhetoric and protest activities that dance perilously at the edge of or cross the line into antisemitism are unacceptable.”
Webb closed his note with an invitation to tonight’s Shabbat dinner at Chabad House, writing, “We are not defined by our reactions to external forces. We are defined by how we are ourselves.”
Faculty begin mini-lecture series — April 26, 4:03 p.m.
Starting around 3:50 p.m., Princeton Faculty began lecturing to the crowd. Up first was Ikaika Ramones, an Assistant Professor of Anthropology who taught ANT 246: Critical Native American and Indigenous Studies this semester. He spoke on an ethnography of Palestinian women. Next, Professor of Anthropology Augustín Fuentes spoke about the biological impacts of warfare, specifically focused on Palestinians experiencing bombings and sniper fire. Professor Ruha Benjamin then led a seminar about her research on racial technologies.
Following the seminar, students read poetry by Palestinian writers.
Some tension with counter-protesters through afternoon speeches — April 26, 3:16 p.m.
About 30 protesters from the Princeton Theological Seminary marched from Murray Dodge Hall to McCosh Courtyard around 12:30 p.m. chanting, “If Princeton wants divestment, the seminary too” and all wearing matching shirts that read, “queers are beloved.” Sueann Shiah, a masters student at Princeton Theological Seminary, told the ‘Prince’ that seminary students were coincidentally wearing the shirts today to go to the chapel for Gender and Sexuality Association of Seminarians Week.
A professor of theology and culture from the seminary, Dr. Mark Lewis Taylor, spoke to the crowd.
“Among those present here are also students who have been working for the last four years on this campus for divestment…we need to be with you here on this occasion to join forces for divestment, and full disclosure of what we are invested in currently,” he said. “We are at the seminary having to confront Christian Zionism.”
“You're supporting terrorists” counter-protesters chanted during speeches from seminary affiliates. One demonstrator shouted, “Queers for Palestine, that’s a joke,” and “How many gays die every year in the Arab world?” He later identified himself to the ‘Prince’ as Moses Haysaikevich and said he was the spouse of a Princeton faculty member. The ‘Prince’ was unable to independently verify his identity, or his spouse’s.
In an interview with the ‘Prince,’ Shiah connected the shouts from the counter-protest to “pinkwashing,” which she described as “the use of LGBT rights as a diversion from larger human rights issues.” Shiah added, “I don't believe that people have the right to exist and to live in freedom only if they agree with me.”
“All of us who are protesting are left-wing Israelis that support the two-state solution,” Haysaikevich said in an interview with the ‘Prince.’ “We support the right of the Palestinians for a state, we support the right of the Palestinians for a state in Gaza and the West Bank, but the problem is that those people here don't support the existence of the Zionist people.”
Haysaikevich specifically criticized certain slogans being used at the sit-in like “from the river to the sea,” saying “this kind of talk, racist talk, is a clear support of jihad and extreme Islamic terrorism, and this thing should stop. The university should stop this unfair and very racist demonstration.”
The chant “from the river to the sea” has drawn controversy on and off campus, with some critics calling the phrase antisemitic and others characterizing it as a broad call for peace and freedom for the Palestinian people.
At 1:44 p.m., Princeton Israeli Apartheid Divest (@PtonDivestNow) posted a list on X titled “Princeton Gaza Solidarity Encampment Guidelines.” The list has ten points, including “We commit to not engaging with Zionist counter-protesters,” and a guideline that reads: “Please think of community members when making decisions about autonomous action. Not everyone has consented to the same levels of risk, but everyone will be affected by decisions that community members make.”
Journalist Chris Hedges addressed the protest as well. Hedges told the ‘Prince’ that yesterday, PSAFE said he was facing a 90-day ban from campus, but he was ultimately only barred for one day. He was banned for speaking into a bullhorn, which is not allowed without permission from the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students (ODUS). African American Studies professor Lorgía Garcia-Peña also spoke.
The number of protesters has grown to around 200, and many of the counter-protesters dispersed after the speeches were over. PSAFE presence seems to have remained steady throughout the day and is noticeably smaller than yesterday, with approximately seven to nine officers on site.
Earlier this afternoon, an organizer announced a “zap session” being held on one of the tarps, for protesters to send emails to University administration regarding the two graduate students who were arrested on Thursday.
Grad student government speaks out in support of arrested students — April 26, 1:15 p.m.
The Graduate Student Government (GSG) executive board “strongly urges” that Achinthya Sivalingam GS and Hassan Sayed GS, the two graduate students arrested at the beginning of the sit-in on Wednesday, be permitted to return to campus, Vice President Christopher Catalano wrote in a statement to the ‘Prince.’
Student conduct proceedings would be a “far more appropriate forum” than criminal charges “if punitive actions must be pursued,” Catalano wrote.
According to University Spokesperson Michael Hotchkiss, the two students will be permitted to return to their housing, “as the designated administrator determined that their bar does not extend to their non-dormitory residences.”
“While the GSG respects the university’s efforts to ensure a safe environment on campus and that the administration may generally set the conditions of protest activities permitted on campus, we are deeply concerned that severity of the punitive actions reported in the media are unwarranted, unjust, and not in line with precedent of previous university action for similar situations,” he also wrote. “Furthermore, based on the information publicly available, we are not aware of a credible threat these students would pose to the safety of the campus community which would require they be barred from campus.”
Father of arrested student arrives at sit-in — April 26, 11:20 a.m.
Organizers announced to the crowd that the father of Hassan Sayed GS, one of the two graduate students who were arrested yesterday morning, has arrived at the sit-in.
Sayed’s father, Aamir Shabbir, said in an interview with the ‘Prince’ that although he and his wife live in Ohio, they had been coincidentally driving to the East Coast yesterday when he got a call that Sayed had been arrested. He shared that he stopped by the protest to gather information about why Sayed was arrested, and that his son is safe.
“There is nothing wrong with expressing what you believe, and you should protest within what’s allowed,” Shabbir said.
“It seems like it’s a very trivial thing to arrest him,” he added. “He wasn’t sleeping there doing anything. And I think, in my opinion, Princeton University administration also needs to rethink their policy. Are they just trying to bully or intimidate by making these two arrests and send a message or [is there] a deeper issue here?”
A group of about 20 pro-Israel demonstrators have also arrived, mostly holding posters with photos of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
At one point, counter-protesters yelled at protesters, “What do you want?” Protesters responded with chants, including, “free, free Palestine.”
“Free the hostages,” and “shameful,” counter-protesters shouted back.
A large group of alumni on campus for a leadership conference walked by the sit-in this morning on the way to a McCosh lecture hall. They were met with chants from the crowd in the courtyard, which numbers about 80 people. “Join us,” the crowd chanted.
Organizers announced in a chant this morning that two community members were egged last night while wearing keffiyehs away from the sit-in site. The University did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
There appears to be a decreased PSAFE presence compared to yesterday. University Spokesperson Michael Hotchkiss told the ‘Prince’ that the University does not comment on security arrangements.
Sun rises on sit-in — April 26, 8:10 a.m.
Protesters broke for hot pastries and coffee as the sun began to illuminate McCosh Courtyard. The sun was not the only thing that rose: new large banners and signage have also been put up, with messages such as “Free Free Palestine,” and “No Peace Without Decolonization.” Many of the new signs feature watermelons, flowers, and doves, as well as the red, white, black, and green of the Palestinian flag.
Student demonstrators on McCosh Courtyard Friday morning.
Calvin Grover / The Daily Princetonian
At the University of Pennsylvania, students began pitching tents on a main campus lawn on Thursday afternoon following a wider protest that originated at Philadelphia city hall. Currently, no students there have been arrested. Dartmouth is now the only Ivy League school without an active pro-Palestinian sit-in or encampment.
Temperatures are currently hovering around 40 degrees after dipping close to freezing overnight. The National Weather Service issued a moderate freeze warning for Mercer County beginning at 2 a.m. Friday that is set to expire at 9 a.m.
This story is breaking and will be updated as further information becomes available.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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