Thirteen people were arrested Friday outside the inauguration of Emerson College's new president to protest the school's tuition hikes and stance on the Israeli-Hamas war, school officials and law enforcement officials announced.
Boston Police confirmed to Boston.com that 13 people were arrested by Emerson College Police and arrested by the Boston Police Department.
The school said in a letter to the community on Friday that the arrest was made Friday morning at Cutler, where about 50 protesters gathered during the inauguration of Emerson's new president, Jay M. Barnhart. The school said it happened outside the Majestic Theater. According to the school, 12 of the 13 demonstrators were Emerson students.
“Many demonstrators failed to comply with multiple police requests, which further escalated the situation, leading to the detention of 12 Emerson students,” Bernhard said in the letter. “Initial reports indicate these individuals were arrested for disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct.”
Emerson's Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) group said in a post on its Instagram page that all students had been released from detention as of Saturday. Bernhardt said in a follow-up letter Sunday that the school would not pursue charges against those arrested at the demonstration.
“I urge the Boston District Attorney to drop all criminal charges,” said Bernhardt, the university's 13th president. Mr. Bernhardt was appointed president in June of last year.
Students protest against school's 'silence' on Israel-Hamas war
Friday's demonstration was organized by SJP to protest “university tuition hikes, the repression of students and faculty, and the silence on the ongoing genocide in Gaza,” the group said in an Instagram post.
According to SJP, 11 of the 13 students arrested were people of color.
“Emerson lied and failed to protect his students,” the organization said in an Instagram post. “The university is directly responsible for what happened today and over the past six months of genocide in Gaza.”
In recent weeks, the university has held 26 disciplinary hearings against students on charges related to past protests. Charges include failure to comply, disorderly conduct and disruptive conduct, SJP said.
Arrest caused 'distress and anxiety' in Emerson community
The school announced in a statement Sunday that it will hire an “external, independent reviewer to oversee the administrative hearing and student conduct process related to Friday's demonstration.”
“At Emerson, we value respectful dialogue and value diversity of opinion and background as integral to our identity,” Bernhardt said. “We firmly support the right to express dissenting opinions and viewpoints, provided that expression is consistent with established standards of time, place, and etiquette.”
The arrests follow months of demonstrations by university students protesting Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip since the October 7 Hamas attack, which has also led to disciplinary action from the university. there were. Last month, MIT suspended a group of students on campus for demonstrating “without going through normal permitting procedures.”
Bernhardt reportedly told students they could demonstrate “just outside” the theater as long as they didn't block the doors. The group insisted the protests were peaceful.
Bernhardt said the students' arrests have caused “deep distress and anxiety” in the Emerson community.
“On behalf of the leadership team, we understand the depth of these feelings and the context of this protest against the backdrop of global events,” Bernhardt wrote.
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