Swarthmore College suspends 6 students over Gaza solidarity camp
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Pennsylvania's Swarthmore College suspended six students over a pro-Palestine encampment, sparking criticism of racial bias and escalating campus crackdowns across the US.
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A student protester against the war in Gaza walks past tents and banners in an encampment in Harvard Yard, at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., on Thursday, April 25, 2024 (AP)
Six students at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania were placed on interim suspension over the first two days of May after organizing a protest encampment earlier in the week, according to a statement issued Friday by Swarthmore's Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).
The suspended students were ordered to leave campus immediately, a move SJP condemned as having occurred "without due process." The group added that "four were people of color and three were first-generation, low-income students," describing the decision as "part of a disturbing trend of Swarthmore exploiting the vulnerabilities of student protesters on the basis of racialized discrimination."
As part of their interim suspension, the students are prohibited from participating in campus events or entering college grounds.
'Violations of policies'
In a statement addressed to the campus community on Thursday, Swarthmore College President Valerie Smith claimed that the protesters had engaged in acts of vandalism on campus.
"Should they continue to fail to disperse and violate the college's policies and the law, we will have no choice but to escalate our response as we consider all actions to bring the encampment to an end," she stated.
Smith also noted that SJP had called on outside activists via social media to join the encampment, and that the group repeatedly ignored instructions to leave Trotter Lawn. "We informed students multiple times, both verbally and in writing, that they were violating several policies in the student code of conduct."
"Students were instructed to disband the encampment and leave Trotter Lawn, and repeatedly warned that failure to do so would lead to interim suspensions," she said.
Swarthmore is among approximately 60 universities currently under investigation by the Trump administration for what it has labeled as antisemitic harassment taking place on campuses.
Revival of pro-Palestine protests
This comes as students across the United States revive pro-Palestinian encampments in response to the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza, where more than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since 7 October 2023. These efforts, however, have been increasingly met with punitive actions under the current US administration.
At Yale University in late April, hundreds of students joined a protest encampment that was dismantled within days. On April 22, authorities arrested 44 students, several of whom are now facing university disciplinary proceedings. Meanwhile, Tulane University has initiated punitive measures, including potential suspension or expulsion, against seven students who took part in an off-campus demonstration in New Orleans, calling for the release of former Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil.
Despite the crackdown, SJP members at Swarthmore declared their intention to continue the encampment. "These repudiations are inconsequential when we remember what we are here for: the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian people who have been martyred and displaced yet continue to resist in the face of genocidal violence."
Crackdown or cover?
The Trump administration says the main goal of its "antisemitism" task force is to “root out antisemitic harassment in schools and on college campuses.” However, many critics argue that this is being used as a pretext to push a broader conservative agenda, such as removing racial considerations in college admissions and challenging what the administration views as a strong liberal influence in higher education.
So far, the administration has frozen or canceled more than $11 billion in funding across at least seven universities, as part of what it calls an effort to end “ideological capture.” Additionally, around 300 students, recent graduates, and postdoctoral researchers have had their visas or immigration statuses revoked in connection with the crackdown.
Meanwhile, Education Secretary Linda McMahon told the Wall Street Journal that the federal government has the authority to request changes to university policies when institutions receive federal funding. “If you’re taking federal funds, then we want to make sure that you’re abiding by federal law,” she said. McMahon pushed back on claims that the administration is trying to limit academic freedom or the right to protest peacefully.
