Updated 7:08 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26.
Four protestors, including one Temple student and one alumna, were detained and arrested by the Temple University Police Department following a protest at the College of Engineering’s Career Fair at 11:30 a.m. Thursday. Social media posts indicate that they have been taken from TUPD’s location at 1801 N 11th Street to the Philadelphia Police Department headquarters at 400 N Broad Street.
The arrested protestors will likely face multiple charges, including disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, Vice President for Public Safety Jennifer Griffin told The Temple News.
Protestors entered room 200 of the Howard Gittis Student Center and used a bullhorn to condemn weapons and defense contractors, like Ghost Robotics and Lockheed Martin, for their roles in the deaths of more than 40,000 Palestinians, including 16,000 children.
After demonstrating for less than an hour, a spokesperson for Temple’s Department of Public Safety told The Temple News that officers repeatedly asked protestors to leave the building.
Then, just steps from the double doors leading to North 13th Street, officers allegedly pushed a protester into a wall and caused her to fall to the ground, then singled her out for arrest.
“We were leaving the building when they started pushing and hitting and throwing us against the floor,” said Besan Zeidan, the president of Temple SJP. “The cops never told us to disperse, they never gave us a warning. They just started pushing.”
Protestors then physically engaged with the officers, resulting in a police escalation that saw students pushed to the ground and handcuffed.
“We used enough force to effect an arrest and no more,” Griffin told The Temple News. “I’m extremely proud of the restraint our officers used.”
In a university-wide email on Thursday evening, Temple President Richard M. Englert reaffirmed statements that Public Safety officials made about the event, and held that freedom of speech is “fundamental to Temple University’s mission,” but that “there is a line between freedom of expression and disruptive, harassing activity.”
It isn’t the first time that the university has punished its students, or the first time that SJP members have been arrested for pro-Palestinian protests. After the encampment at the University of Pennsylvania’s campus ended, two Temple students faced university sanctions for their roles in the 16-day protest. The punishment and related policy changes were later condemned by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Englert’s statement also referenced the new on-campus Demonstration Guidelines, and said that “any demonstration must not disrupt the educational process or business operations. The guidelines also state, ‘University officials or law enforcement agents may move or request the removal of any demonstrator or participant believed to be in violation of federal, state, or municipal laws and ordinances, and all university policies, regulations, and guidelines.’”
Student protests targeting defense contractors at engineering career fairs have taken place at universities across the country since the war on Gaza began last year, including Cal Poly, Boston University, the University of Michigan, the University of New Hampshire, NC State University, the University of Wisconsin and Cornell University.
Cornell’s demonstration on Sept. 18 drew media attention after officials indicated they would pursue criminal charges against an estimated 100 protesters. Student activists from the Coalition of Mutual Liberation interrupted their university’s event by banging pots and pans and reports allege that they shoved police officers to enter the event.
A few days later, the university suspended Momodou Taal, an international PhD student, for his participation. He appears to be the only one punished so far and has accused the university of targeting him for being Black and Muslim.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Be the first to comment