On day 3 of encampment, Pro-Palestinian Emerson students say they have no plans to leave
BOSTON - Pro-Palestinian Emerson College students say they are determined to stay in a small tent city they created in alley off the campus.
"We're here until the demands are met or we get dragged away by police," said Emerson senior Owen Buxton.
The group is demanding that the college divest from companies and institutions that support Israel and that the college call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Buxton has slept in the public alley that abuts Boylston Street for the last two nights. Buxton says so have some members of the public.
"A lot of community members. A lot of unhoused individuals have kind of joined our camp and getting to meet them and talk to them has been honestly incredible," Buxton said.
Ed Davis on college encampments
WBZ Security Analyst Ed Davis says the college encampment reminds him of the Occupy Wall Street Movement when protesters also pitched tents on public property.
"We devised a plan which included the courts to weigh in on whether our actions were constitutional," Davis said.
Davis says law enforcement and colleges need to walk a fine line when it comes to these protests.
"You have a right to free speech, but you don't have a right to violate someone else's rights," Davis said.
Jewish Emerson student blocked from alley
Margaux Jubin, a Jewish Emerson College student, lives in the alley where the encampment is. She says her return home from Passover Seder on Monday evening made her question whether her rights are being protected.
"So, they were all like linking arms, kind of blocking off the front of the alleyway," Jubin said. "I was like, 'guys I live here, can you please let me through?' And they all just stared at me dead in the face."
"Why do you guys have the authority to decide who gets to go through?" Jubin said.
WBZ reached out to Emerson College, Boston Police, and Mayor Michelle Wu's office about how the encampment is being monitored. None returned our request for comment.
