Emerson students hold a walkout in solidarity with pro-Palestine organizations
Photo courtesy of Haley Clough, WEBN Reporter
By Haley Clough
After 13 students were arrested by the Boston Police Department on Friday, students across Emerson College’s campus rallied in solidarity. Students staged a walkout in the hope of gaining the attention of their peers and the college’s administration.
The Emerson Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) organization released a statement on the arrests on Instagram, stating that the students were arrested as they went to “protest the College’s tuition hikes, suppression of students and faculty, and silence on the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
By 1:15 p.m., tens of students had flocked down Boylston Street, some in groups and some alone. Several students donned posters with pro-Palestine slogans, and some had Palestinian flags hoisted high in the air. Others wore keffiyeh, a traditional Middle Eastern headscarf.
As hundreds of students filled the alleyway, the protest organizers made it clear they were unhappy that the student body took so long “to extend support, a statement, or care,” until something happened “in our own vicinity,” as one protest speaker said.
The organizers also made sure their commitment to supporting the Emerson Student Union and Emerson’s SJP was clear. Students at the rally announced the creation of a Jewish Students for Justice in Palestine initiative, to “continue to create a space… to listen to our peers,” said one protest organizer. “And when I say listen, [I mean] we will hear them too.”
The organizers urged the crowd to not remain complicit, and that “conditional solidarity will not be accepted”. As students from the Lion’s Den windows looked down at the walkout, some taking videos and pictures, the protesters shouted rally cries of support for Palestine.
The speakers led calls of “viva viva Palestina” through a megaphone. “Ain’t no power like the power of the people cause the power of the people don’t stop,” was the chant used to close out the demonstration.
In an email sent out Friday at 11:44 p.m. by President Bernhardt’s office, the administration explained that the college “[supports] the right of individuals to express dissenting views and perspectives while doing so in a manner consistent with our policies and Code of Community Standards”.
The students were arrested on charges of disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct. The email stated that the arrests occurred after “a number of protesters did not comply with multiple police requests,” as over 50 students gathered outside the Cutler Majestic Theater. In a statement on Instagram, SJP said “there were several testimonies of clear pathways in and out of the building”.
In an email sent at 5:26 p.m. on Sunday, signed by President Jay Bernhardt, he said the college would not be working towards any charges against the 13 arrested individuals.
The message also said the school would “request that the Boston District Attorney dismiss all criminal charges,” and seek out an “external, independent reviewer to oversee the administrative hearing and Student Conduct Process,” as opposed to an internal review.
Since Friday, over 20 student organizations on campus have released statements on social media, pledging unity with those impacted by the arrests and those advocating for Palestinian liberation.