HAVERFORD, PA — Haverford College students who are demanding the school call for a permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and have been staging a sit-in protest allege they could be expelled for their actions.
Haverford Students For Peace said 50 student participants of their sit-in protest at Haverford College’s Founders Hall have been threatened with facing a Dean’s disciplinary panel. The group said a Dean’s disciplinary panel has not been convened in more than 25 years, according to some faculty members.
The panel has the power to expel students, the group said.
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“We regard the process of engaging with students as a living example of what it means to be a vibrant and dynamic learning community,” a Haverford College representative told Patch in an email last week. “With respect to the sit-in, we support our students’ rights to expressive freedom and peaceful protest while together advancing our shared educational goals for Haverford.”
>>>RELATED: Haverford College Student Among 3 Palestinians Shot In Vermont<<<
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The group now is accusing the school of reneging on its support for student protests.
When asked if the group could take legal action against the school for disciplinary actions against the protestors, it said it is “prepared to take any necessary steps if institutional leadership continues to escalate their attempts to silence us.”
Critics argue calling for a ceasefire will not likely impact the situation in Israel and Palestine.
However, the group said calling for a ceasefire is “in alignment with our values of peace, community, and concern – it is symbolic and will impact tangible change.”
Above all, we call for a ceasefire as a life-affirming statement for our community and beyond,” the group said in an email to Patch. “Our community is hurting and is so deeply in need of this and we cannot overlook our obligation to care for our community.”
Calling for a ceasefire aligns with Quaker teachings, according to the group.
“We are appalled that the school will not act in our greatly marketed Quaker values to support a ceasefire,” the group said.
Haverford College has made resources available to students affected by the Israel-Hamas war online here.
“We are a peace-seeking community that condemns violence in principle,” the website reads. “We seek ways of navigating the world and solving problems without resorting to acts of violence. Among the things we draw from our Quaker history – and which is central to our identity – is the notion of seeing the light in every person.”
The group went on to cite former Haverford College President John Coleman, who opposed the Vietnam War by sending a letter to President Richard Nixon. The letter featured 79 other college presidents who were against the war.
“President [Wendy] Raymond is well aware of this history of activism, yet she refuses to leverage her power in a way that would make our community and world safer,” the group said. “We feel very strongly that what we are calling for is grounded in the core values of this institution, and that the history of institutional leadership at Haverford confirms we are righteous in our demands. At the end of the day, we understand that what we are asking for takes courage, and right now that is lacking in our leadership.”
The group said students have also been labeled as antisemitic “in an attempt to silence activism and organize for Palestinian liberation.”
“We are deeply committed to fighting all forms of oppression, which are rooted in white supremacy,” the group said. “Our coalition has received letters of support from the Jewish Student Union and Jewish Voice for Peace, and our core organizing team includes numerous Jewish students.”
Kinnan Abdalhamid, the Palestinian Haverford student who was shot in Vermont along with two of his Palestinian friends, led students in delivering letters to Raymond urging her to support a ceasefire.
“Let us remember that silence often speaks louder than words,” Adalhamid said. “Today, our presence here is a powerful message that we will not stay silent, we will not be passive observers.”
While the sit-in has been ongoing since Dec. 6, protestors are still participating in academics.
“Dozens of students rotate through the sit-in each day. It has become a space of community care, where students can learn updates about the crisis in Palestine through a robust teach-in schedule, study, eat snacks, and sleep,” the group said. “Students have been actively participating in classes and completing assignments while also sitting-in the past week.”
Patch has submitted a series of questions to Haverford College regarding the protest and will update the story when responses are received.
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