PHILADELPHIA — Protesters packed up their belongings and left a pro-Palestinian camp at Drexel University on Thursday, after the school announced its decision to have police evacuate the camp.
University President John Fry said in a statement that he decided to have campus police and public safety officers join with Philadelphia police to clear the encampment as peacefully as possible. Media outlets reported that police warned protesters to evacuate the camp and the protesters left. Protesters did not immediately comment.
Fry said the university is committed to protecting the right of community members to peacefully assemble and express their views, but he has the responsibility and authority to regulate gatherings on campus to ensure safety and fulfill the mission of educating students.
“An unauthorized encampment that involves a large number of people not affiliated with Drexel trespassing on our campus is illegal,” Fry said. “The language and shouting emanating from this demonstration, underscored by the protesters’ disgusting ‘demands’, must now come to an end.”
Protesters gathered their belongings when dozens of police officers on bicycles arrived around 5:20 a.m., but in less than half an hour only a few items remained at the Korman Family Quad, where the 35-tent camp was located, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
“Most of the campers gathered their belongings and left of their own accord,” said Philadelphia Police Sgt. Eric Gripp said.
The camp persisted despite Fry’s threat earlier this week to clear the camp. Fry said Tuesday that classes would be held virtually for a third day on Wednesday after administrators attempted to open a line of communication with protesters but were rebuffed. Media outlets reported that the university announced Wednesday night that the campus would return to normal operations on Thursday.
In his statement Thursday, Fry said previous requests for protesters to disperse had been ignored, but he was asking Drexel affiliates to leave the camp so police could “escort any remaining trespassers off our campus.”
A wave of pro-Palestinian camps on campuses has resulted in more than 3,000 arrests across the country.
Harvard University planned to hold its graduation on Thursday after a weeks-long pro-Palestinian camp. Tensions on campus rose Wednesday when authorities announced that 13 students who participated in the camp will not receive diplomas along with their classmates.
Also on Thursday, leaders of Northwestern University and Rutgers University are expected to testify at a House Education and Workforce Committee hearing about the concessions they made to pro-Palestinian protesters to end demonstrations on their campus. The president of the University of California, Los Angeles was also expected to appear at the latest in a series of hearings to investigate how colleges responded to protests and allegations of anti-Semitism.
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
