MEDFORD, MASS. (WHDH) - Pro-Palestinian protesters at Tufts University began breaking down their encampment Friday evening, days after the school issued a no trespass order to the protesters.
At around 8 p.m., the protesters started to take down tents, and their energy appeared to be solemn.
Tufts Students for Justice and Palestine said in an Instagram post Friday night that “negotiations with the Tufts administration have failed.” However, the group wrote that they took down the encampment for a reason “not related to the negotiations.”
“We may elaborate on this at a further date as we need this time to process and develop our approach to discussing the matter,” Tufts SJP continued.
Patrick Collins, a spokesperson for the university, said in a statement Friday night that the protesters’ departure was not the result of an agreement with the university.
“We’re pleased that the encampment has been taken down and that the protest on the academic quad has been resolved peacefully and voluntarily,” Collins said.
The university previously said the encampment is set up where commencement ceremonies are set to take place, and demonstrators had rejected suggestions that they move to a different location, with some students threatening to boycott commencement exercises if police were called in.
“When classes were happening, it was totally fine. It was not disruptive at all. And even if it was disruptive, that’s the purpose,” said one Tufts student, who had visited the encampment and dropped off supplies.
An open letter to Tufts President Sunil Kumar signed by more than 200 students says in part: “Any commencement ‘celebration’ built on violently sweeping, arresting, or otherwise harassing the Gaza solidarity encampment is not a celebration in which we would partake”.
Construction workers could be seen setting up for upcoming commencement events on campus Thursday afternoon. The administration threatened to ticket protesters for trespassing and warned there would be consequences for those who stay.
“They do have to recognize that they don’t set the rules for the campus and that, if it comes to it, those rules have to be enforced, and we all know what that means,” Tufts faculty member Michael Glennon said.
Tufts freshman Breoghan Conchan, who was not involved in the protest, said Thursday that the university should work around the protesters.
“I understand that there’s events that are supposed to happen there, but there’s another field right there. So, I don’t really understand what the problem is,” Conchan said.
At Emerson, where over 100 were arrested last week after an encampment was cleared by police, students put sticky notes of their demands on the windows of an administration building. The faculty at Emerson is expected to hold a vote of no confidence in the college president on Monday.
Governor Maura Healey said she supports the right to peaceful protest, but there are limits.
“I’ll continue to support universities and their efforts to ensure that students are safe on campus, and that campus operations are able to continue unimpeded,” Healey said.
Meanwhile, an encampment at MIT is still in place Friday evening. Two rallies took place at MIT Friday afternoon — pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian.
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