Tulane University upped efforts to remove a pro-Palestinian encampment Tuesday, as protesters pitched more tents and erected a barricade on the Uptown New Orleans campus.
The school said in a statement Tuesday afternoon that of six people arrested Monday night — after about 200 people marched from Freret Street to campus — only one was a student. Tulane claims the "overwhelming majority" of the protesters are not affiliated with the university, though participants say everyone inside the encampment is affiliated with either Tulane or Loyola University.
Tulane suspended five students and the organization Students for a Democratic Society, and said more suspensions are forthcoming. It also warned any employees participating that they were subject to disciplinary action and termination.
"Any student who participates in this unlawful protest will be subject to arrest for trespassing," the statement said.
New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick was spotted walking into an administration building around 3 p.m.
"TUPD moved in immediately to attempt to stop the encampment Monday afternoon," the university said in the statement. "However, at the direction of NOPD and Louisiana State Police, we are now focused on containing and ending the protest."
After 2 p.m., large digital screen was put up in front of the encampment. It read, "Private property — no trespassing. Everyone must leave this area, immediately. Entry and continued presence are strictly prohibited. Violators will be prosecuted."
Before 4 p.m., loud instrumental pop music began blaring from near the screen to drown out the protesters.
Never seen this before-
— Chris Joseph (@Chris_D_Joseph) April 30, 2024
Tulane using lyric-less upbeat music…on a loop… to drown out protestors. @FOX8NOLA pic.twitter.com/WVe6y9h247
Students suspended
Vonne Crandell, a Tulane senior and spokesperson for the protesters, said he received a disciplinary letter from the university Tuesday morning. The letter accused him of several infractions, including interfering with education and disorderly conduct, and said he was suspended and barred from campus “effective immediately,” Crandell said.
He said he knew of at least three other students who received suspension notices Tuesday in response to the unsanctioned campus protest.
Juleea Berthelot, a Loyola sophomore, was among the two dozen people who had barricaded themselves in a circle. They said the group put up barricades after Tulane rolled out the sign telling people to leave immediately.
“They haven’t arrested anyone yet, they haven’t even tried and I think that speaks volumes,” they said. Berthelot said that all but two people within the barricade were students, about an even breakdown between Tulane and Loyola.
“It’s definitely majority students,” they said. “Community members are here to support but it’s the students who are doing this.”
Berthelot and Crandell said they have no plans to leave the encampment and would risk arrest. Berthelot said Loyola has not suspended students.
Loyola President Xavier Cole issued a statement late Tuesday, urging students to prioritize safety and leave the encampment. He said anyone protesting on Tulane's campus is trespassing.
"If you are arrested during this demonstration, Loyola has no power to intervene in legal proceedings. You will be in violation of the student code of conduct and may face additional consequences."
Encampment grows
The encampment had grown from six tents Monday night to ten Tuesday morning. But the number protesters was much smaller by the morning, about 25 inside the encampment. By late afternoon, about 100 others surrounded the tents, chanting and holding signs.
After 2 p.m., protesters started creating a barricade with wooden pallets, packages of bottled water and other items. They again linked arms around the tents and started chanting.
Pro-Palestinian protesters created a barricade of wooden pallets and other items in front of Gibson Hall on Tuesday afternoon, April 30, 2024.
Before that, the mood was festive early Tuesday. A few dozen students sat on tarps decorating cardboard signs with messages such as “free Palestine” and “no justice no peace.” Others filled lunch plates with free food, including sandwiches, pizza, falafel and hummus.
Pizza is brought in to feed pro-Palestinian protesters in an encampment in front of Gibson Hall on Tulane University's campus on Tuesday, April 30, 2024.
Campus police who had been monitoring the protest from a distance moved in around 11:30 am and ordered protesters to move back the encampment several feet in the direction of St. Charles Avenue. Students complied and there did not appear to be any scuffles or arrests.
Crandell said protesters plan to remain in place until the university accedes to their demands, which include financially divesting from Israel and demanding a ceasefire in the ongoing war in Gaza.
“We’re not going to leave until our demands are met,” he said, “or they mass arrest us.”
Students react
Tulane's leadership faced growing pressure from Jewish students who said they felt threatened by the protests against Israel's military campaign in Gaza and wanted the administration to remove the encampment.
On Tuesday, Nathaniel Miller, a Tulane sophomore and president of the Tulane Israel Public Affairs Committee, a group that promotes a strong Israel-U.S. partnership, sent an open letter to university leadership that was signed by dozens of students and alumni. The letter said "law-abiding Tulane community members" were "dismayed and disgusted" by the school's failure to contain the protest.
"Tulane is currently letting agitators and outsiders run amok on its campus, and has bent to the will of the mob, allowing these protests to disrupt classes the last week of school," the letter said.
Several Jewish students said they feel threatened by the protests and disappointed by the university’s decision to allow the encampment to remain.
“I’ve had dozens of students reach out to me in fear,” said Yasmeen Ohebsion, a Tulane senior and president of the Movement to Address Antisemitism.
Pro-Palestinian protestors have set up an encampment of tents and umbrellas on Tulane University's main campus off St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans. The demonstrators have water, paper towels, food and more.
She said university administrators had assured Jewish students that any “trespassers” would be removed from campus, so she was dismayed to see dozens of pro-Palestine protesters still massed on the campus Tuesday.
“They said we had nothing to worry about,” she said about Tulane officials.
Counter-protesters with Israeli flags resumed gathering on the neutral ground across the street from the encampment by Tuesday afternoon.
Last week of classes
Other students said they were upset about the university’s decision to move classes online Tuesday.
Thomas Kim, a graduating senior, said he’d hoped to say goodbye to his classmates and professors in person Tuesday.
“That was completely taken away from me,” he said.
The last day of classes is Wednesday, and the university closed three buildings near the encampment early Tuesday and shifted those classes to be remote. Finals are scheduled for next week, with commencement May 18.
Six protesters were arrested Monday evening, and elsewhere dozens of Pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested at universities in four states. Columbia University started suspending students Monday after giving them a deadline to leave.
