Emerson College unsettled as seniors who entered during COVID leave during protest arrests
BOSTON - The 2B Alleyway off Boylston Street that's been full of Emerson College student demonstrators since Sunday night now sits empty.
"I came down here this morning, and they were hosing it down, so it definitely feels like they're trying to wash away what the community did," said Anthony Ramlochan, a junior at Emerson College.
But an unsettled feeling still lingers on Emerson's campus.
"A lot of emotional bandwidth"
Ramlochan said it's a difficult time for the school community because people are still trying to process all that has happened.
"I know that a lot of my peers who have been really focused on their schoolwork, it's been difficult with what's been going on, to manage both at the same time. It's a lot of emotional bandwidth that it takes to do both," Ramlochan said.
It was a very different scene at the same 2B alleyway early Thursday morning. In video, captured by witnesses, you can see the moments police and protesters began to clash.
Another vantage point of Thursday morning's unrest became available when the Boston Police Department released body camera video.
108 arrested arrested at pro-Palestinian camp
Police arrested 108 people when the encampment was cleared near Emerson College. Four police officers were injured.
"I didn't go to bed until about 5 a.m. last night, just because it was so intense. I woke up at noon to a lot of concerned, text messages, called my parents, they definitely have a lot of mixed feelings. Their main concern was my safety," said Conor Long, also a junior at Emerson College.
Long said the protests are having a significant impact, whether you're a participant, or not.
"So, all the seniors, they, it's definitely hit them hard. Their freshman year was the first big fall of COVID, that was the first real semester back since COVID started. So, they sort of come in to this chaos the pandemic, and now they're leaving in the chaos of all of this," Long told WBZ.
Protest at Northeastern University
Northeastern University is the latest local campus to have students join in on the protest on Thursday.
Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters formed a circle on Centennial Common, before police moved in. However, at last check there have been no arrests on Northeastern's campus.
Emerson students are still hopeful for a resolution.
"That would be the best-case scenario, for Palestine to be free, for all the people across the world to be free. I don't know what kind of action that takes from us as individuals, as students, to get that done, but that's what I would say," Ramlochan said.
