‘F**k finals,’ pro-Palestine protesters in NJ say. This was Rutgers’ response

🔵 Organizers of Rutgers encampment planned a rally to get finals canceled

🔵 Protests continue at Rutgers and Princeton in New Jersey

🔵 Protesters were arrested at Dartmouth and UCLA

UPDATE: Rutgers-New Brunswick on Thursday informed protesters that they had until 4 p.m. to remove all tents.

The morning rally disrupted 28 scheduled exams, impacting more than 1,000 students. While the protesters eventually responded to our request to cease their disruption, the disruption adversely impacted our students and University operations and forced our postponement announcement.

This morning, we met again with the students representing the protest, again expressing our concerns for safety and student success, and informed them that their tents need to be removed from Voorhees Mall by 4 pm today.

If the protesters do not comply and disperse, clearing the area of their tents and belongings, they will be considered to have trespassed, and we will be left with no other option than, with the assistance of law enforcement, to remove the protesters and their belongings.

We value free speech and the right to protest, but it should not come at the cost of our students’ education and safety. We strive to balance these rights and maintain a safe and secure environment for our students to learn and succeed.

The start of final exams at Rutgers University's New Brunswick campus were postponed Thursday morning because of a rally intended to cancel all the finals.

Organizers of the encampment on Voorhees Mall on College Avenue called for a rally Thursday at 7 a.m.

Using the English transliteration of the Arabic word for Palestine, organizers on Instagram called for the "cancellation of finals since there are no universities left in Gaza" under the headline “F**K FINALS — FREE FALASTEEN.”

In response, the university announced that "out of an abundance of caution for the safety of our students" exams on the College Avenue campus were postponed until noon because of the "anticipated escalation of protest activities."

The organizers responded on their Instagram page with a call for as many students as possible to come to the protest to get the exams for the rest of the day.

Finals are scheduled to run through Wednesday. Commencement is Sunday, May 12.

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Disputing the takeover of Princeton's Clio Hall

Meanwhile, organizers of the sit-in at Princeton accused the university of spreading misinformation about the attempted takeover of Clio Hall.

A letter from Princeton University Campus Life Vice President Rochelle Calhoun said staff "found themselves surrounded, yelled at, threatened, and ultimately ordered out of the building."

A letter from Ruha Benjamin, a professor of African American Studies who teaches in Clio Hall, who said he was present Monday, disputed Calhoun's letter as a "misrepresentation" of events.  Benjamin said that protesters were not abusive to the staff when they entered and instead were “cordial, quiet, and organized.”

"What I witnessed firsthand is that they entered the office calmly, their collective demeanor so polite that the individual at the front desk asked if they had an appointment and began to look up something on her computer," Benjamin said.

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Arrests at UCLA, Dartmouth

Arrests continue on campuses around the U.S. as police dismantle camps of students protesting Israel's war in Gaza.

Police removed barricades and began dismantling a pro-Palestinian demonstrators’ fortified encampment early Thursday at the University of California, Los Angeles, after hundreds of protesters defied orders to leave. Some people were detained, their hands bound with zip ties.

The action came after officers spent hours threatening arrests over loudspeakers if people did not disperse. A crowd of more than 1,000 had gathered on campus, both inside a barricaded tent encampment and outside it, in support. Protesters and police shoved and scuffled as officers encountered resistance.

Dartmouth College President Sian Leah Beilock defended the decision to arrest around 90 people at the New Hampshire campus Wednesday night, hours after an encampment had set up protesting the war.

“Last night, people felt so strongly about their beliefs that they were willing to face disciplinary action and arrest. While there is bravery in that, part of choosing to engage in this way is not just acknowledging — but accepting — that actions have consequences,” she said in a statement. She cited campus policies prohibiting demonstrations that interfere with Dartmouth's academic mission or increase safety risks.

29 students were arrested at Stony Brook University on Long Island and 16 at the University of Buffalo.

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