Arrested Stanford students face suspension after officer injured

Stanford University plans to immediately suspend students who were among 13 pro-Palestinian protesters arrested Wednesday morning after a brief occupation of the president's office that university officials say resulted in an injury to a law enforcement officer of order and “significant damage” to buildings in its historic district. .

Before 6 a.m. on the last day of spring classes, a small group of students and alumni entered Saller's office on the main courtyard, vowing not to leave until administrators responded to their demands for divestment.

After barricading themselves inside, they named the building “Dr. Adnan's office” in honor of Dr. Adnan al-Bursh, a prominent Palestinian surgeon who died in April in an Israeli detention center.

The occupation lasted less than two hours. Around 7:30 a.m. – as protesters outside chanted “Free Palestine, free” – law enforcement broke down a door with a crowbar and entered the building.

By around 8 a.m., police from the Santa Clara Sheriff's Office and the Stanford University Department of Public Safety had cleared the building of protesters. Stanford University announced that 13 students were arrested, the building was emptied and a public safety officer was injured by protesters, who rammed him with a transport vehicle.

In a statement, the university said the activists “unlawfully entered” the building that houses the offices of the president and provost.

“We are dismayed that our students have chosen to take this action and we will work with law enforcement to ensure they face every consequence permitted by law,” said university spokesperson Dee Mostofi.

“All arrested students will be immediately suspended and if any of them is a senior, they will not be allowed to graduate,” Mostofi added. “We have always emphasized the need for constructive engagement and peaceful protest when disagreements arise. This was not a peaceful protest and actions like those this morning have no place at Stanford. »

At the same time, Liberate Stanford, an autonomous group of Stanford University students who organized the occupation, accused law enforcement of “violently assaulting”[ing] a peaceful student protester” as police prepared to enter the building. He posted a video on Instagram showing a sheriff's deputy wearing a helmet and tactical gear pushing back a student with a baton.

After students occupied the president's office, about 50 students – most dressed in black and their faces shrouded in kaffiyehs – linked arms and surrounded the building in solidarity as students occupied the building.

Some held a banner that read: “While Gaza bleeds, Stanford stops. Strip. Disclose. Amnesty.”

“We love you,” protesters shouted and applauded the arrested activists as law enforcement escorted them out of the building with their hands tied behind their backs.

“We see you! We love you!” they chanted. “We will be there to free you!” »

“INT1FADA STUDENT IS GROWING,” Liberate Stanford wrote in a statement on Instagram early Friday morning while the building was occupied. “We refuse to leave until the Stanford administration and the Stanford Board of Trustees respond to our demands and take steps to address their role in facilitating and profiting from the ongoing genocide in Gaza. »

The protesters — who identify themselves as an autonomous group of students unaffiliated with an official student group — called on Stanford to add Stanford's submitted divestment bill against apartheid in Palestine to the next board meeting , with a recommendation from Saller to support the bill. , disclose fiscal year 2022 finances, and drop all disciplinary and criminal charges against pro-Palestinian students.

“If these demands are met, we will leave your office, President Saller,” said an activist wearing sunglasses, a mask and a kaffiyeh as she sat at a wooden desk inside the building in a video posted on Instagram by Liberate Stanford.

“I want you to think about your legacy,” she added. “No one will remember your historical research or your eight months as president. What they will remember is your silence and your complicity in this genocide.

Divisions quickly emerged among protesters after the university's historic main district was spray-painted and vandalized with slogans such as “DE@TH 2 ISR@HELL,” “Kill the cops” and “PIGS TASTE BEST DEAD.”

In a statement, Liberate Stanford condemned activists who they said “took it upon themselves to spray paint or vandalize the exteriors of these buildings.”

“These are not the principles we live by and these actions are disrespectful to the souls of Palestinians who died in their just struggle,” Liberate Stanford wrote. “The intentions of this movement are not to create unnecessary labor for service workers, and we refuse to have our uprising hijacked by unknown agitators. »

The occupation comes after months of protests and negotiations between Stanford officials and pro-Palestinian activists. Last year, protesters set up a massive encampment, Sit-in to Stop the Genocide, on White Plaza, which became the longest sit-in in Stanford history, until administrators imposed a ban on camping in February “out of concern for the health and safety of people”. our students.”

In April, activists set up another encampment on White Plaza. On May 20, a small group of protesters attempted to occupy a mechanical engineering building, blocking entrances with barricades and furniture. Saller told the Faculty Senate that students involved in this profession risk “immediate suspension and inability to participate in the start of the school year” and could face criminal charges.