Penn said it was "closely monitoring" the pro-Palestinian encampment on College Green and pledged that protestors would face "consequences" for actions that violate University policies or the law.
In a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian — the University's first to the media since the start of the demonstration — a spokesperson wrote that Penn has not received reports of "threatening or violent behaviors" by organizers of the encampment.
"We respect and support the rights of our community members to protest peacefully and in keeping with University policy by which we all agree to abide," the spokesperson wrote. "However, the right to free expression and to protest on our campus is not and can never be absolute."
The University also outlined what conditions will prompt it to respond to the encampment.
"We will not permit protest and speech when it devolves into words and actions that violate Penn’s policies, disrupt University business, or contribute to an intimidating, hostile, or violent environment on our campus," the spokesperson wrote. "Safety is our top priority, and there will be consequences for actions that are not permitted by University policies or local, state, or federal law."
This is the first encampment at the University since Fossil Free Penn remained on College Green for over a month in fall 2022, demanding Penn's complete divestment from fossil fuels. At the beginning of that encampment, a spokesperson said that students involved were referred to the Center of Community Standards and Accountability.
The statement comes three hours after pro-Palestinian protestors first began marching from Philadelphia City Hall, demanding higher education institutions disclose their investments and divest from Israel. Penn started preparations in anticipation of the protest, placing barricades around the Split Button and the Ben Franklin statue in front of Van Pelt-Dietrich Library. The front and back entrances of College Hall remain closed.
The group — which numbered around 300 people — arrived at Penn’s campus at approximately 4 p.m. This coincided with the faculty walkout, which was also scheduled for 4 p.m. In a statement on Instagram, the national chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, along with Penn Students against the Occupation of Palestine — which was suspended by Penn less than a week ago — said the encampment consisted of Penn students, staff, and faculty along with other Philadelphia community members.
"This encampment is organized in solidarity with similar encampments taking place at universities nationwide," the statement read. "We've watched our peers be brutalized, harassed, and arrested by police that their own universities authorized to be used against them."
The group demands that Penn divests from Israel, corporations that benefit from the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, and Israeli institutions committing what it describes as "scholasticide.” It also demands that Penn defend Palestinian students, including granting amnesty to students involved in pro-Palestinian activism and reinstating PAO. The group's suspension has prompted criticism from students, faculty, and community members.
On the other side of campus at the same time, Interim Penn President Larry Jameson and Provost John Jackson Jr. hosted a community listening session at Perry World House.
For half an hour, speakers — which included two professors and one Penn student — stood above the crowd and addressed the crowd on divestment and Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
Amid chants of “the more they try to silence us, the louder we will get,” protestors rushed onto College Green at 4:30 p.m., joining dozens of universities across the country to set up an encampment in support of Palestine and Gaza. Small groups of pro-Israel counterprotestors were gathered on the opposite side of the green as Muslim protesters came together for prayer.
“We are gonna be here for a while,” an organizer said to those who are standing in the circle, telling them they can sit.
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