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The Johns Hopkins University Palestine Solidarity Encampment remained standing Wednesday morning, with protest organizers saying they had 36 tents set up overnight even as the university threatened disciplinary action.
A university spokesperson on Tuesday said protestors affiliated and unaffiliated with the school are in violation of university “policies and/or are trespassing.”
The spokesperson said the university would “support” protest between 10 a.m.-8 p.m., “but students who engage in protest outside of these hours will face disciplinary action.”
Organizers who remained at the encampment overnight described it as “a peaceful and drizzly night.”
Earlier Tuesday, the spokesperson said officials had been clear that violating university policies would lead to academic discipline handled by the school, and that trespass would be handled by local law enforcement.
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The protest organizers on Wednesday said they had teach-ins scheduled for the evening, including one at 6 p.m. with the People’s Power Assembly about May Day.
The protest encampment, established in solidarity with Palestine and to call for change from Johns Hopkins University, has remained peaceful. At various points through the two days of protest, students sang, danced, prayed, shared art and spoke out about their personal connection to Palestine.
The size of the encampment has expanded and contracted. Just a handful of protestors stayed overnight the first night, but the crowd has at times grown to more than 100 people in and around the encampment.
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Protestors first gathered at the area of the Hopkins campus known as The Beach around 4 p.m. Monday.
Around 1 a.m. Tuesday, many protestors left the encampment and took down tents, canopies and umbrellas. A small group of protestors stayed overnight.
In the Tuesday night statement, the Hopkins spokesperson said protestors had not abided by an agreement in which protestors “would remove their tents and structures and refrain from assembling on the campus overnight.”
Earlier Tuesday, protest organizers said there had never been an agreement and that they would not leave the encampment until their demands are met.
The Hopkins spokesperson said the school is “extremely concerned about the health, safety and welfare of students involved in the protest who have chosen to encamp, as well as others in our community.”
In their statement Wednesday, the organizers said Hopkins “has no place to speak on health and safety” because it has “done nothing but enable one of the largest public health and humanitarian crises of our time.” The protesters are demanding the university divest itself from entities such as Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Google that have contracts with the Israeli government.
“We will continue to call on JHU to divest from such manufacturers, and end the Applied Physics Lab’s weapons engineering and development through contracts with the defense industry,” the protestors said in their statement.
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The move is in keeping with other campus protests around the country in which people have demanded their institutions cut financial ties with Israel.
Organizers at the encampment repeatedly stressed the importance of nonviolence and peaceful protest. At the beginning of protest activity Monday, leaders with the Hopkins Justice Collective wrote that “Anti-Palestinian sentiment, Islamophobia, Antisemitism, or any kind of hate and discrimination, will not be tolerated,” noting the “diverse leaders and participants at this encampment.” Students and others were instructed to “ignore opposition” and de-escalate questionable behavior.
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Similar demonstrations have roiled campuses, including the University of Southern California, where the “main stage” graduation ceremony has been canceled and Columbia University in New York City, where police started making arrests Tuesday night.
The number of arrests at colleges nationwide is approaching 1,000, according to the Associated Press.
The campus protests have largely been organized by student groups, according to the Associated Press, with most acting independently, though some organizers have said they’ve been inspired by students at other universities. The protesters have reportedly been calling for universities to cut ties with companies aiding Israel’s military efforts in Gaza.
Baltimore Banner Reporters Clara Longo de Freitas and Lillian Reed and photojournalist Kaitlin Newman contributed to this article.
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Cody Boteler is a reporter on The Banner’s Express Desk, reporting on breaking news, trending stories and interesting things in and around Baltimore. His work has appeared in The Baltimore Sun, USA TODAY, Baltimore magazine and others.
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