Pro-Palestinian encampment grows at Northeastern, continues at MIT

He was one of dozens who settled in at Northeastern, where the latest student-led protest over the Israel-Hamas war has taken root. Students at Harvard, MIT, and Tufts staged similar protests, part of a national movement by college students demanding their universities sever ties with any company that is aiding Israeli military action in Gaza.

Emerson’s encampment in Boylston Place Alley, a public walkway, was dismantled early Thursday morning by Boston police, who arrested over 100 protesters.

The action spurred Northeastern students launch a protest, which was later joined by students at Berklee College of Music.

“I’m feeling really invigorated and inspired and agitated, in a good way,” said Ixchel, an upperclassmen at Northeastern. “I did not expect such a strong turnout. ... Community is stronger in numbers.”

By 8 a.m. tents sprung up on Centennial Common. Throughout the day more than 100 students and faculty members banded together, chanting and linking arms in a circle around the common at the center of campus.

“I think it’s really beautiful to see that kind of solidarity,” said Maya, a senior at Northeastern.

As for the large group of Northeastern University police officers who arrived in riot gear to oversee the encampment, Maya said their presence was “uncomfortable and scary” and she felt they were “trying to intimidate students.”

“We are students who are expressing our free speech, and we should have the right to do that like any other political organizing group that doesn’t get faced with that kind of police repression,” Maya said.

Around 5:30 p.m., student organizers gathered crowds into the center of the grassy common. “Don’t talk to cops,” one organizer said into a microphone. “Don’t talk to admin, admin are cops.”

Organizers advised students to wear a mask for their own protection, as well as the protection of everyone in the encampment. Crowds were advised to pick up their trash.

“We highly encourage you to spend the night with us,” one organizer said.

Some 15 tents dotted the grass, many covered in tarps and Palestinian flags. Handmade cardboards signs were spread on the common, some taped to the backs of chairs while others lay propped up against the backs of students.

As the sun set, organizers called students to the center of the common. “The cold is coming in,” said one student, who noted that hand warmers and extra blankets were in ample supply.

Metal trays of warm falafel, pita, and spaghetti were set atop a communal table. Students carted salads and fresh fruit to another table. A nearby tent held boxes of granola bars, cases of water, and jars of peanut butter.

Around 7 p.m. students from Berklee College of Music marched to Northeastern’s campus to join the encampment.

Around 7:30, organizers gathered students for a “time check.” “We’ve been here for ten hours!,” one person yelled into a microphone, drawing cheers from the crowd.

Students must line the perimeter of the encampment at all times, said one organizer. Student look-outs manned colorful Adirondack chairs along the perimeter of the common.

Organizers outlined Thursday evening events, including live music, a marshal training, a Seder dinner, and art building activities.

At 7:45, a small group of students formed a circle atop a blue tarp. In the center sat a Styrofoam plate complete with charoset, an orange, and other traditional components of a Seder plate. Students sat draped in keffiyehs, cradling red solo cups of grape juice in one hand and haggadah’s in the other.

Ixchel said the encampment is a living, yet finite example, of “how people can be when they treat each other with respect, when they’re not policed.”

“The truth is, many people know that we can’t stay here forever,” Ixchel said. “But that’s not the point. The point is showing that people care and people will disrupt business as usual to show that the university has an obligation to respond to a student body that has concerns about its response to the war in Palestine and Israel.”

Jake, 20, a junior at Northeastern studying computer science, is Jewish. As he sat on a bench outside of the grassy common with a group of friends he said he is wary of “protests that start out with good intentions but then turn antisemitic.”

“I don’t believe this protest has a place on our campus,” he said.

“I came out here to support other Jewish students, to show we’re not going to be intimidated out of being on our own campus,” said Jake, who is from New Jersey.

Jake said he’s heard students within the encampment chanting “Globalize intifada,” “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and “Israel is a racist state.”

“As a Jew and someone who has ties to Israel and the Jewish community, that’s really disheartening,” Jake said. “So I’m staying here to make my presence known. I’m not going to be pressured into not feeling safe on my campus in the face of these people who have hate in their hearts.”

Jake said although he’s “all for free speech,” the police presence on campus made him feel safe. University guidelines require student organizations to reserve space on campus, according to Jake, and Thursday’s encampment did not abide by the rules.

“When this protest turns into something that creates a hostile environment for the Jewish community, having police presence here and making sure that nothing gets out of hand definitely makes me feel better,” said Jake.

Just after midnight Friday, four students in yarmulkes hung an Israeli flag from the commons’ granite marker. People huddled in colorful Adirondack chairs that boarded the encampment, wrapping themselves in blankets as temperatures dropped. Past the edge of the quad’s grassy perimeter, six state troopers stood with their attention on some 25 tents. Students grasped hand warmers and cups of donated Dunkin’ hot chocolate, staying alert in case of police confrontation.

Around 2:30 a.m., a cluster of people left the encampment with sleeping bags and blankets tucked under their arms. But on the common, organizers offered steaming tea and warm socks to those spending the night. A group of students settled into their two-hour night shift, a role that organizers said included sitting at the edge of the encampment and alerting other students if officers approach.

Tabitha, a 19-year-old freshman at Emerson College studying film, said there is a significant presence of Emerson students on Northeastern’s campus. “Everyone is trying to support each other right now,” she said.

Tabitha, who from California, said she watched from the top floor of an Emerson building as police disbanded the students’ encampment early Thursday morning.

“We saw the police violently using excessive force on my friends and my fellow students, and arresting them and dragging them out of the peaceful protest,” Tabitha said. “So we wanted to show our support for Northeastern today.”

Meanwhile, the mood was quiet at MIT Thursday evening, with the exception of two student protesters dancing to music in front of the encampment holding a flag representing both Palestine and Lebanon.

Students lingered inside and outside wrapped in winter clothing to bear Thursday night’s cold weather.

A sign at the center of the encampment read: “MIT, we charge you with the brutal genocide of the Palestinian people for your role in providing the scientific and technological support for the Israeli Occupation Forces’ crimes.”

Organizers declined to comment. Protesters wearing neon yellow uniforms welcomed questions and concerns from bypassers, while several campus police officers stood by several hundred feet away from the encampment.

Tonya Alanez can be reached at tonya.alanez@globe.com. Follow her @talanez. Lila Hempel-Edgers can be reached at lila.hempeledgers@globe.com. Follow her on X @hempeledgers and on Instagram @lila_hempel_edgers. Cathy Ching can be reached at cathy.ching@globe.com. Follow her @bycathyching.