Law enforcement officers raided Stanford University on Wednesday morning, arresting pro-Palestinian activists who occupied President Richard Salem’s office on the last day of spring classes and vowed not to leave until the school met their divestment demands.
Around 6 a.m., a small group of students and alumni walked into Saler’s office on the main square. After barricading themselves inside, they named the building “The Doctor.” Adnan’s Office” honors Dr. Adnan Burshi, a renowned Palestinian surgeon who died in Israeli detention in April.
Protesters chanted “Free, Free Palestine” as law enforcement officers used crowbars to pry open a door and enter the building.
Free Stanford announced that 13 students were arrested after activists inside the building were detained by officers from the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Office and the Stanford Department of Public Safety. The Stanford Daily reported that one of their reporters was among those detained.
“We love you,” protesters shouted and cheered at 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 come here to free you!” “
“Student INT1FADA is growing,” Liberation Stanford wrote in a statement on Instagram, while the building was occupied. “We refuse to leave until the Stanford administration and the Stanford Board of Trustees meet our demands and take action to address their role in and profit from the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
About 50 students – most dressed in black and with bandanas covering their faces – linked arms and surrounded the building in solidarity with the occupying students. Some held banners that read: “While Gaza bleeds, Stanford stands. Divest. Reveal. Amnesty.”
“This morning, a group of individuals unlawfully entered Building 10, which houses the offices of the President and Provost,” the university said in a statement. “The Stanford Department of Public Safety responded to the scene and is assessing the situation. Other campus operations are not currently operating. affected.
The protesters, who describe themselves as an autonomous student group not affiliated with any official student body, are calling on Stanford to add the divestment bill submitted by Stanford Against Palestine Apartheid to the next Board of Trustees meeting and sponsored by Salle in support of the bill. suggestions.
“If these demands are met, we will leave your office, President Sall,” an activist wearing sunglasses, a mask and a headscarf sits at a wooden table in the building in a video posted by Tahrir Stanford on Instagram. Said before.
“I want you to think about your legacy,” she added. “No one will remember your history studies or your eight months as president. What they will remember is your silence and complicity in this genocide.
Divisions quickly emerged among protesters after the area around the building was spray-painted with slogans such as “Resist” and “Kill the cops.”
In a statement, Free Stamford denounced the activists who they claimed “took it upon themselves to spray-paint or vandalize the exteriors of these buildings.”
“These are not the principles we abide by, and these actions are disrespectful to the Palestinian souls lost in the struggle for justice,” Liberation Stanford wrote. “The purpose of this movement is not to create an unnecessary workforce for service members, and we refuse to allow our uprising to be hijacked by unknown agitators.”
The occupation follows months of protests and negotiations between Stanford officials and pro-Palestinian activists. Last year, protesters set up a massive encampment in White Square called the “Sit-in to Stop Genocide,” which became the longest sit-in in Stanford history until administrators “acted out of fear for the health and safety of the population.” ” The camping ban was enforced in February.
In April, activists set up another encampment in White Square. On May 20, a small group of demonstrators attempted to occupy a mechanical engineering building and blocked the entrance with barricades and furniture. Saller told a faculty meeting that students involved in the profession face “immediate suspension and the inability to attend graduation” and possible criminal charges.
