George Washington University begs DC Mayor Bowser to help with 'unlawful' encampment that has 'overrun' campus
The president of George Washington University is begging the D.C. government to assist them in its response to the anti-Israel encampment on campus.
The president of George Washington University is begging the D.C. government to assist them in its response to the anti-Israel encampment on campus.
In a Sunday night statement, George Washington University President Ellen M. Granberg said that while the protest has been peaceful “at certain times,” anti-Israel campus occupiers have “overrun” established policies in place to protect the community.
”I know that some in our community and others across the country argue that this, too, is simply a peaceful protest – and, at certain times, this has been true,” said Granberg. “However, when protesters overrun barriers established to protect the community, vandalize a university statue and flag, surround and intimidate GW students with antisemitic images and hateful rhetoric, chase people out of a public yard based on their perceived beliefs, and ignore, degrade, and push GW Police Officers and university maintenance staff, the protest ceases to be peaceful or productive.”
”All of these things have happened at GW in the last five days,” Granberg added. “It is also essential to highlight that at no point was this encampment lawful. From the moment GW students declared their intent to establish an encampment on University Yard, they were in direct violation of multiple university policies and were trespassing on a space explicitly reserved for the GW Law final examinations.”
Granberg said that the university has taken multiple steps to take care of the situation, which includes offering protesters a different demonstration site, initiating academic and administrative consequences, and requesting the assistance of the DC Metropolitan Police Department.
”So far, all of these efforts have failed to end the encampment or deter the protesters from escalating the situation,” she wrote. “We continue to ask for the full support of our partners, including the District of Columbia, in pursuing these aims.”
According to the Washington Post, D.C. police have rejected requests from George Washington University to clear the encampment.
Rep. James Comer (R-KY) has invited D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith to a hearing on Wednesday to discuss their response to the GWU encampment.
