Pennsylvania university on lockdown following pro-Palestinian encampment
PHILADELPHIA (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - A group of pro-Palestinian protesters set up tents on Drexel University's campus in West Philladelphia Saturday, forcing the school's buildings to be placed on lockdown.
The protest is mainly organized by the Philly Palestine Coalition. They started at 4:00pm Eastern at City Hall, marching down JFK Boulevard into West Philly.
By 7:00pm, they were setting up tents on Drexel's Academic Quadrangle. and around 8:00pm Eastern, police set up barricades and came out in riot gear.
Similar to the Penn protests, their two main demands are for Drexel to disclose its investments and redirect any money going to the Israeli military.
"We wanna keep it peaceful. At the same time, we don't want anyone to get hurt...just want people to be heard," said Kendell Lewis, a student of the university.
"Open the books, let us see what it is...Let us see where you're actually spending your money, and democratically, we should be able to decide, as students who go to the area, who work for the schools, we should be the ones to decide where that money goes and what's done with it."
Marie Gioulis, Drexel alumni
The encampment at Penn was disbanded eight days ago when 33 people were arrested, but protesters returned to campus Saturday night, trying to occupy Fisher-Bennett Hall and start a new encampment.
Police arrested 19 people, including six students, one for one for assaulting a police officer. Penn said police found lockpicking tools and homemade metal shields while adding:
"The exit doors had been secured with zip-ties, barbed wire, and barricaded with metal chairs and desks, and the windows were covered over with newspaper and cardboard. Bike racks and metal chairs were also found blocking outside entrances. Penn remains focused on maintaining the safety and security of our campus."
Now, protesters at Drexel said they'd like to combine with folks from the Penn protest to create a bigger footprint. They also want to encourage the university unions to go on strike in solidarity.
"Seeing it finally trickle down from our next-door neighbor to finally here, I hope it is more fruitful, and then more organizations around the area will also step up and also collab," Lewis expressed.
In a statement, Drexel says its buildings are on lockdown and people unaffiliated with drexel are not allowed to trespass on campus. They also added:
"We will be prepared to respond quickly to any disruptive or threatening behavior by anyone against anyone... We will not tolerate the destruction of property...or threatening behavior of any kind, including speech."
