Stanford threatens crackdown on pro-Palestinian student sit-in

Update, Feb. 14: Students representing the “Sit In to Stop Genocide” have agreed to end overnight camping at White Plaza on Friday, Feb. 16, according to a statement posted by Stanford University. The university said it would not initiate law enforcement action or disciplinary procedures until after that time. The university also has agreed to two meetings with students representing the group to hear their demands. Both meetings were scheduled to occur before the Friday deadline. Students are expected to comply with the ban on overnight camping, irrespective of the meetings’ outcomes, according to a letter that the sit-in representatives accepted on Feb. 12 and was posted on their Instagram account.

Update, Feb. 10: In a letter to the Stanford University community posted on the Stanford Report website and dated Feb. 8, administrators stated that a recent incident in which space reserved by a group known as the Blue and White Tent was taken over by another group “escalated risk of conflict in White Plaza and increased the threat to the safety of members of our community.” University staff have told the students of the second group that they need to vacate the space, the letter states. 

In addition, the university wrote, to enforce its overnight ban, “any tents, tables, chairs, or other similar items will need to be removed from White Plaza between the hours of 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. Any overnight displays and/or camping items left unoccupied are subject to removal for health and safety reasons.”

In a hand-delivered letter, Stanford University gave 12-hours notice to student protestors on Thursday morning, Feb. 8, that they needed to pack up their belongings and end the longest continuous sit-in protest in the university’s history.

Since Oct. 20, students have been camping out in Stanford’s White Plaza, protesting the war in Gaza and Israel’s actions against Palestinians. The students have said that they will not end their “Sit In to Stop Genocide” until the university supports a cease-fire in Gaza and commits to a broader movement that calls for the boycott, disinvestment and sanction of Israel, among other things.

The university has responded to a few of the demands, stating that it would do more to combat Islamophobia and ensure the safety of its Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students. But it did not accede to the students’ other demands and, in response, they have not left their sit-in on the plaza.

During this same period, additional protest groups have taken up residence at White Plaza as well, including a pro-Israel one known as the Blue and White Tent. 

“Rain or shine, day and night, over the breaks and holidays, we’ve been here,” said Hana Spahia, a Stanford student.

Now it looks like the 112-day stalemate could come to an end. On Feb. 8, a Stanford administrator walked up to the protestors and delivered a letter from Student Affairs stating that the university would no longer allow “overnight displays and camping” in White Plaza.

The letter, which has been posted to the demonstration’s Instagram account, cites the university’s existing policy prohibiting overnight camping unless specifically permitted by the university and said it would be enforced as of 8 p.m. Thursday evening.

“The university has allowed overnight camping in White Plaza since the events of October 7, out of a desire to support the peaceful expression of free speech in the ways that students choose to exercise that expression,” the letter states. But then it asserts that the continuing camp out is causing safety issues.

“Extended camping in an open area accessible to the public, accessible to rodents and other animals, and vulnerable to extreme weather inherently poses safety concerns,” it said.

The letter goes on to cite an incident of a display that was left unoccupied overnight by the Blue and White Tent group that collapsed during last weekend’s storm, posing a safety hazard on campus.

But for students who have been participating in the Palestinian sit-in, the safety concerns are overblown and a pretext for getting rid of them, they said. With less than 12 hours to mobilize, the demonstrators asked supporters to join them at White Plaza and resist the university’s plan to break down their site.

Hundreds of supporters, mostly Stanford students, showed up to demonstrate their solidarity with the sit-in movement. At 6:30 p.m. they congregated in front of the tents, their numbers steadily growing over the next hour.

Safety volunteer marshals, affiliated with the demonstration, kept the crowd in order and out of public throughways while organizers called out protest chants and made speeches in support of Palestine.

“Stanford has yet to take action, has yet to condemn the genocide,” said an organizer with a megaphone. “We intend to be here until our demands are met,” she added, to a roar of cheers.

The university in its letter stated that students who didn’t leave would receive a disciplinary referral to the Office of Community Standards and “may also be cited for trespass.” But the threat of disciplinary action did not seem to dampen the crowd’s mood; many students expressed an intent to defy the university’s directive and camp out overnight.

“This is part of something larger,” said Annabelle Davis, a Stanford student who has been closely involved in the sit-in. “We want the university to behave ethically,” she said, adding that this was one of the few spaces on campus where she has found an accepting and welcoming community for all people, including herself, as she is Jewish.

As 8 p.m. approached, the crowd linked arms, forming a circle around the tents in anticipation that they might be forced to leave. But as the hour passed, nobody from the university came to dismantle the sit-in. Students then sat down for the night, still closely pressed to each other.

“It’s wrong to make them leave in such an underhanded way,” said one Stanford student, who asked not to be identified by name. The student was watching from outside the circle. When asked why he was attending the demonstration, he explained that he was working on a class project with a Palestinian student who can’t return home.

“I don’t have a connection to the conflict. But I do have a connection to the people here,” he said, noting that he was from South Korea and his parents had been refugees from North Korea.

“I want to support students like him. This is a big turnout from the community and it’s important that it exists,” he added.

By 12:45 a.m., students had settled down for the night with blankets and books, Davis said. She estimated that more than 100 students stayed overnight. Officers from the Santa Clara County Sherifff’s Office, which staffs Stanford’s Department of Public Safety, showed up at 7:30 a.m. but left around 8 a.m., Davis said.

Dee Mostofi, Stanford University’s assistant vice president of external communication, provided the following emailed statement on Feb. 9 when asked how the university would enforce the overnight sit-in ban at White Plaza.

“As we said in our statement yesterday, Stanford’s commitment to supporting the free expression of views on White Plaza remains firmly in place. However, we also believe that overnight camping compromises the safety and wellbeing of members of our community and remains prohibited. We are in continued discussion with our students on White Plaza on this matter and are committed to exploring peaceful ways to allow them to express their free speech rights while ensuring the safety of our entire community.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include information about the Blue and White Tent group and the university’s specific directive regarding the removal of tables and other displays from White Plaza overnight.