Dickinson College has now joined the ranks of other universities all over the country that have established encampments to protest the ongoing war in Gaza.
Over the past few weeks, colleges such as UCLA and Texas University have seen mass gatherings of students outraged over the violence in Palestine at the hands of the Israeli government. This comes after Congress passed a $95 billion national security package that included $26 billion in aid to Israel. Since October, college-aged Americans have been at the forefront of protesting what they believe to be an active genocide.
A study conducted by the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement found that 49% of 18-29-year-olds believe there is an active genocide in Gaza, with 28% in that age range supporting an immediate ceasefire. Dickinson College has a campus population of 2,204 enrolled students as of fall 2023.
This wave of student activism has now made its way to Dickinson College. Located at Britton Plaza, the encampment began when student Diana Webb set up a folding chair and held a sign advocating “Free Gaza.” Quickly, more students joined Webb, and the encampment has now been active for five days. “People, I think, needed this place to kind of, especially to know that they weren’t alone in what they’ve been feeling and what they want,” Webb said. “To be able to share that and to stand together. It does. It makes my heart feel more full than it has in a long time.”
The encampment is not just directed at ending the war in Gaza but is hoping to tackle an issue on campus as well. Their list of demands includes financial transparency from the university, a scholarship fund for Palestinian students, divestment from sponsors who heavily donate toward Israel. However, their top priority is the cancellation of Commencement Speaker Michael Smerconish.
On March 21, Dickinson College announced Smerconish, an author, radio personality and CNN host as the 2024 commencement speaker. Students in the encampment are upset because of Smerconish’s comments related to Muslims and Arab-Americans in his book “Flying Blind,” published in 2004.
Smerconish went live on his YouTube on Saturday with a livestream titled “Tents=Trespass.” In the stream, he mentioned a visit he had made to one of the encampments at the University of Pennsylvania earlier in the day. “It's not a First Amendment issue, per se, because it’s a private university. We’ve been over this ground many, many times. But I draw the line on tents.” Later he expressed, “Why this suddenly has sparked such a fuse I don’t know. I mean, why not abortion rights? Why not democracy? Why not the invasion of Ukraine by Russia? Why not any of the many controversies surrounding Donald Trump? And then all of a sudden, I just think it’s being engineered. And these campuses are just befuddled. What to do?”
Anna, another student at the encampment explained, “I don’t think that him being best friends with our school’s president is reason enough for him to be a commencement speaker and get an honorary doctorate or anything from this institution, as his values clearly do not align with Dickinson’s values.”
With encampments growing larger, so too has police presence. Many colleges are seeing mass arrests of students and faculty, even some members of the press have had run-ins with law enforcement covering these protests. Despite this growing concern, students at the Dickinson encampment are not worried about escalation. As one student who identified themselves as Eleanor explained, “I have a lot of faith within this borough. That respect for our right to protest, to peacefully protest, is respected. I have a feeling that that will continue to happen. And the people who do come by in a very hateful presence. They have not done anything that has completely infringed upon that.”
The encampment at Dickinson College is now one of several to appear in Pennsylvania, including Penn, University of Pittsburgh, Haverford College and Bryn Mawr College, to name a few. Governor Josh Shapiro spoke on the matter Wednesday with Politico, calling universities’ response to the matter “unacceptable.” As Gov. Shapiro expressed, “If the universities, in accordance with their policies, can’t guarantee the safety and security and well-being of the students, then I think it is incumbent upon a local mayor or local governor or local town councilor, whoever is the local leadership there, to step in and enforce the law.”
The Dickinson College encampment and those in attendance are prepared to remain in their current location for the remainder of the semester, and further updates can be found via their Instagram @free.gaza.dickinson.
UPDATE: Dickinson College announced Saturday that Michael Smerconish will no longer appear as the 2024 Commencement Speaker in wake of the encampment and student outcry. In a written statement to the campus community, Dickinson President John E. Jones III wrote, "It has become clear that our selected speaker, Michael Smerconish, faced overwhelming opposition from our faculty and students, particularly after recent comments he made. As a result, with the support of our Board of Trustees, I have decided to rescind the honorary degree and invitation to speak at Commencement."
He continued, "We want this Commencement to be the most uplifting, memorable, and student-centered event for those graduating and for our community." The encampment is now in the process of being torn down with the students posting to the free.gaza.dickinson Instagram that those who donated to their cause are welcome to retrieve their items or they will be donated to local homeless shelters.
As of 1:37 p.m. on May 4, Smerconish has yet to comment on the cancellation.
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