A University facilities employee removed pro-Palestinian signs placed on College Green Saturday morning, using derogatory rhetoric in the process.
The signs were part of an art exhibit constructed by Penn community members and alumni. In a video posted on Instagram by Penn Against the Occupation, the facilities employee can be heard saying “half-assed backwards people” and “all started by Hamas" as he removed the signs.
The Daily Pennsylvanian could not confirm which people the employee was referencing in his first comment. A University spokesperson declined to comment on the remarks made by the employee or on who initiated the removal of the signs.
“WHEN THE UNIVERSITY REFUSES TO ALLOW PALESTINE LEARNING AND PROTEST, THIS IS THE BIGOTRY THAT THRIVES. Shame on UPenn. Shame on your silence on the racism and Islamophobia that runs unchecked on your campus,” PAO wrote on Instagram.
The exhibit, which was titled “No homecoming during genocide,” contained information on and comparisons of Palestinian villages before and after they were destroyed during the 1948 Nakba. It was displayed on College Green for over an hour, attracting the attention of students and alumni who stopped to take a closer look.
Sarah, a Penn alumna who viewed the signs on College Green and requested her last name be redacted for fear of retaliation, told the DP that the order to remove the signs came from Vice Provost for University Life Karu Kozuma.
Sarah added that Associate Vice Provost for University Life Sharon Smith, who was present on College Green, informed those gathered that she would relay the remarks to Kozuma and that an investigation into the worker would be conducted.
"Since homecoming weekend is a time when alumni come back to Penn as their 'home' for four years, we wanted to center Palestinians’ demand for their right to return," Sarah said. "This is because Israel ethnically cleansed many of their homes during the Nakba and continues to destroy and displace Palestinians from their homes during its current genocide in Gaza."
The DP could not confirm whether Kozuma ordered the removal of the signs or if an investigation into the employee will take place.
In a press release Sunday, Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Philadelphia chapter Ahmet Tekelioglu wrote that the group calls on Penn “to immediately remove this individual from any contact with UPenn community members.”
“Such racist language is unacceptable and should be condemned by all,” the statement reads. “UPenn administration already lost the trust of many students, faculty, and alumni due to its anti-Palestinian, anti-Muslim stances and here is an opportunity for them to restore some of that trust.”
Penn’s temporary guidelines for campus demonstrations, which Interim President Larry Jameson implemented in July, contained several modifications to the University Campus-Wide Exterior and Interior Signage Policy as it relates to temporary signage.
“To protect open expression, signs posted in compliance with these guidelines will not be removed, and it is a violation of these guidelines if an unauthorized individual removes them or posts over them,” the Temporary Guidelines read. “Non-compliant signage — including posters, banners, and chalking — will be removed immediately.”
Editor's note: This article has been updated to remove an erroneous reference to a Division of Public Safety administrator being present on College Green at the time of the demonstration. The DP regrets the error.
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
Donate
