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While a few other universities reach compromises with protesters, why can't Penn?

Susan Snyder, Ellie Rushing, Anna Orso and Beatrice Forman, The Philadelphia Inquirer on

Published in News & Features

The mayor’s office asked for additional information, and the university said it provided the information. Neither the mayor’s office nor the university would discuss what specifically was asked for or the city’s response.

Parker declined to comment through a spokesperson. Media requests to the city are being directed to the Police Department.

Penn has not formally asked for the Philadelphia Police Department to clear the encampment, a source said, and unless things dramatically escalate, there’s no imminent plan to clear the group over the weekend. There has been some tension between the city and university, though, over the question of who would be responsible for initiating a potential disbanding: police from the city or Penn?

City police are reluctant to take the lead and then have to face the consequences of clearing a protest site when Penn has its own police force.

Gov. Josh Shapiro on Friday deferred questions about whether the encampment should be disbanded to the university.

“I don’t think it’s my judgment on that that matters,” he said. “I think it’s the university’s judgment that matters. They’re closer to it, they see it.”

Penn has not requested assistance from the Pennsylvania State Police, he said.

 

Meanwhile, some universities continued to call in police to remove protesters and dismantle encampments, most recently New York University. More than 2,000 arrests have been made on campuses since the protests started last month, according to The New York Times.

Atienza, the Penn student, said protesters here are prepared to stay.

“We’re doing this for Gaza,” Atienza said. “There is a lot of attention paid to the students in the encampment and on the university. But we are doing this for Gaza, to re-center the conversation on genocide and to re-center the conversation on Gaza and free Palestine.”

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(Philadelphia Inquirer staff writer Sean Collins Walsh contributed to this article.)

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©2024 The Philadelphia Inquirer. Visit inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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