Philadelphia
Within days of Swarthmore students reviving a pro-Palestinian encampment on April 30, police arrested nine protesters in the early hours of May 3 after giving them just minutes to disband. The college is located in Media, Pennsylvania, outside Philadelphia.
Swarthmore encampment calling for divestment from Cisco named in honor of Hossam Shabat, Palestinian journalist killed by an Israeli airstrike in March 2025. Credit: The Swarthmore Phoenix, James Shelton
Organized by the Swarthmore chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), the peaceful encampment was set up a year after a Swarthmore pro-Palestinian encampment voluntarily ended in 2024 — the last college protest encampment in the Philadelphia area.
This year’s encampment went beyond protesting the U.S./Israeli genocide in Gaza. Key issues this time include the college’s refusal to divest from the tech company Cisco because of the company’s contracts with Israel. On campus, Cisco powers WiFi and other systems. Protesters also called for the college to support students at risk for deportation.
Ash, a spokesperson for the encampment, said, “We want divestment from Cisco, because this is a tech company that is used to surveil Palestinians.” (Philadelphia Inquirer, May 1)
When the encampment protest started, Swarthmore College President Val Smith issued a statement claiming that the protest was joined by “non-community members” which resulted in “unknown and unrecognizable people coming to campus.” (Inquirer.com, May 1) Claiming that, “These actions put many of the most vulnerable members of our community at serious risk,” Smith announced the restrictions of vehicle access to campus.
Smith’s glaring hypocrisy was clear when just three days later on May 3, the Swarthmore College administration brought 30 police officers onto campus just before 8:00 a.m. A video of these “non-students” shows police throwing lawn chairs, pulling down tents and signs and multiple officers pinning students to the ground. The crowd on hand as the arrests took place chanted: “Who do you protect? Who do you serve?”
The state’s response was overkill. The Phoenix, a student campus newspaper, confirmed that 31 officers from the Delaware County Sheriff’s office, Swarthmore Police, Nether Providence Police, Radnor Police, Springfield Township Police, Marple Township Police, Folcroft Police and Morton Police participated in the raid.
Jamal, another encampment spokesperson, said, “Gaza is still and will always be our main focus, but our premise is to look out for people that are vulnerable and that are experiencing state violence, whether that be in Gaza or here, and we see that as very clearly connected.” (Inquirer.com)
Inspired by upsurge in encampments
Students credited seeing recent successful protests at other colleges as their motivation to restart an encampment. They are also resolved to address Trump’s crackdown on campus protests against the war in Gaza. Swarthmore is one of the 60 schools under investigation.
Repression from the state and the college administration has not lessened student protests. Swarthmore students have held multiple pro-Palestinian demonstrations since the 2024 encampment, including SJP occupying an administration building for 11 hours in February to protest disciplinary charges against students involved in the first encampment.
In March, Swarthmore College issued sanctions against 14 students for participating in anti-genocide activism for Palestinians in Gaza between October 2023 and March 2024. The sanctions included the suspension of a graduating senior and probations against the rest. (workers.org/2025/03/84621/)