‘This genocide, not in my name, not in your name, not in our name,’ history professor Max Weiss chanted.
Princeton University professors are holding classes at the pro-Palestinian sit-in established by campus activists on Thursday morning.
Roughly 50 Princeton University students and faculty members established an encampment at McCosh Courtyard on Thursday morning. Within five minutes, the Princeton Department of Public Safety warned that the tents violated school policies, and the protesters began disassembling the tents. The protest then transitioned to a sit-in demonstration with singing and drums.
The size of the demonstration grew considerably on Thursday, reaching roughly 250 people. The protesters had large signs that said things like “Popular University for Gaza,” “support arrested and evicted Princeton students,” and “free Palestine.” Photos shared on social media by a Princeton alumnus show at least two students with Hezbollah flags, which the United States designated a foreign terrorist organization in 1997.
The protesters set up a bookshelf dubbed the “liberation library” that features books such as The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon, How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi, and How We Get Free by Princeton professor Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor.
Several Princeton professors attended the sit-in protest and delivered speeches, while some held their classes within the demonstration.
History professor Max Weiss held a lecture from his course “History of Palestine/Israel” from within the protest site. According to a Princeton University website, there are 42 students enrolled in the class. The student-run publication The Princeton Tory reported that Weiss said students who did not participate would not face repercussions.
“Long live the solidarity, brilliance, and fearlessness of these brave Princeton students who have put their bodies, privilege, and safety on the line when Palestinians are being subjected to unimaginable violence and terror,” Weiss said in his lecture on Thursday. He proceeded to lead the following chant: “Long live Palestine. Long live the Palestinian people. This genocide, not in my name, not in your name, not in our name. Ceasefire now. Ceasefire forever. Free Palestine.”
History professor Gyan Prakash held his seminar “World After Empire” within the protest site.
“The readings were very connected to what’s going on over here. So, they [students] read Angela Davis, who speaks about how political activism is also a site of thinking about connections between different struggles and thinking about it internationally,” Prakash said, according to The Daily Princetonian. “This spot was also a good teaching moment for students.”
National Review confirmed with current Princeton students that assistant professor in the philosophy department Lidal Dror hosted his seminar “Topics in Contemporary Analytic Marxism” within the protest area. According to a Princeton University website, there are 13 students enrolled in the class.
Princeton professors who addressed the crowd included Joshua Guild, Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi, Dan-El Padilla Peralta, V. Mitch McEwen, Tehseen Thaver, and Zia Mian.
“There’s a lot of political theater that’s happening where the state of Congress that’s voting to send weapons to destroy lives in Gaza is also putting pressure on universities to show forced to you, against you,” V. Mitch McEwen told the crowd.
Speakers currently unaffiliated with the university who addressed the crowd included former New York Times Middle East bureau chief Chris Hedges and Rutgers professor Noura Erekat. The Princeton Department of Public Safety (P-SAFE) officers attempted to prevent Hedges from using a bullhorn, which violates school policies, and protesters crowded around him while chanting “P-Safe and the KKK, IDF they’re all the same,” according to The Princeton Tory. Hedges was issued a one-day ban from campus and escorted away.
“A speaker at the protest was warned multiple times by University officials that amplified sound is not allowed due to its impact on University activities, including classes,” University spokesperson Michael Hotchkiss wrote in a statement.
The demonstrators were informed that the university’s policies prohibit sleeping in an outdoor space. During the night, the protesters took shifts in the courtyard. Organizers of the protests have issued requests on social media for money donations and supplies such as sleeping bags, hand warmers, and blankets.
An activist group called “Princeton Israeli Apartheid Divest” claims two graduate students, Hassan Sayed and Achinthya Sivalingan, were arrested for trespassing and “evicted” on Thursday. A Princeton University spokesperson confirmed that two graduate students had been arrested for trespassing and immediately barred from campus, pending a disciplinary process, but have not been evicted from university-owned housing.
The protesters have shared a link to a document that claims the two graduate students were “violently arrested,” “evicted,” and charged with defiant trespassing “ALL FOR PEACEFULLY PROTESTING.” The document provides scripts for phone calls and emails, as well as contact information for several university administrators, to express support for the demonstration and condemn the actions taken against the two graduate students.
“I am calling to strongly condemn Princeton’s anti-democratic actions against peaceful protestors and demand the immediate halting of disciplinary or legal measures,” reads the script for a phone call.
This article was updated to include a third professor who hosted a class within the protest area.