Petition calls for Penn protest encampment to be shut down; man charged with spraying "stink spray" on tents
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- As the pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the University of Pennsylvania's College Green enters its eighth day, Thursday was already set to be an active day on campus. A march and counter-demonstration took place and a traditional junior class ceremony and walk through campus changed its location.
Protesters have been camping in tents and hanging up signs with pro-Palestinian messages like "Free Palestine" and calling on the school to separate from companies advancing Israel's military efforts in Gaza.
The group includes Penn students, faculty and groups unaffiliated with the university.
Workers were seen power washing protest messages off the brick walkway near the Ben Franklin statue after it was defaced overnight.
Counter-demonstrators deliver petition, want Penn encampment disbanded
The Philadelphia chapter of the Israeli-American Council marched through Penn's campus and delivered a petition to the office of Interim President J. Larry Jameson asking for the encampment to be removed.
Organizers say the petition was signed by over 3,000 people, including students, faculty and alumni.
"It is unfortunate to many of us that the encampments have been allowed to persist, despite harassment, threatening speech and vandalism," said Dr. Ben Abella, who works at Penn Medicine.
Dr. Abella and Penn senior Eyal Yakoby hand-delivered the petition to Jameson's office on Wednesday.
"As a student, we haven't been told any update for one week whether the encampment is staying or going," Yakoby said.
"I know I speak for myself and every other student and faculty as well that we really just want to return to the classroom without fear and without having to worry about protesters storming in like we saw at Columbia, and just really wrapping up the semester, and then working on building back our community," he added.
For the last eight days, protesters have said they will not leave until their demands are met, including divestment from Israel.
Many Jewish students and faculty said they feel threatened by the encampment and said the protesters' actions have been antisemitic.
"My daughter is a Penn student, she's been harassed," Abella said. "It's included hate speech, it's included calls for intifada, which is a violent action. People have been flying flags of known documented terrorist groups and we don't believe this is what Penn stands for."
Penn has issued multiple trespassing notices to encampment protesters and posted signs about the violation, though it's not clear if the university plans to remove the camp.
"Your activities are in violation of state and local laws, as well as university policy," the signs read.
On Thursday, Penn said it reached out to the city to "ensure we have the necessary resources to keep our community safe."
"The University has been managing an encampment and surrounding protests on our campus for several days," the statement from Penn read. "Protest activity began to escalate overnight and has steadily continued, with large crowds and in and around College Green today. We have reached out to the City of Philadelphia to ensure we have the necessary resources to keep our community safe."
A Penn spokesperson said the university is in the process of providing additional information to Mayor Cherelle Parker's office in regards to potentially providing additional police resources and maintaining safety on campus.
Sources within the government and law enforcement said high-level meetings are taking place regarding Penn's request.
Police were also seen on Wednesday removing zip ties that held metal barriers together around the camp.
Police moved in on pro-Palestinian protesters camped at the University of California, Los Angeles early Thursday morning. On Tuesday night, hundreds of protesters at Columbia University were taken into custody after the school president asked the NYPD to clear them from campus.
Back at Penn Thursday, IAC demonstrators also plan to bring a projector and display social media videos filmed by Hamas and a documentary about sexual violence against Israeli women, "Screams Before Silence."
Their goal is "to demand a safe environment for Jewish students and to focus attention on the Hamas terror attacks of Oct. 7."
Penn's Hey Day relocates
Hey Day is a University of Pennsylvania tradition dating back to 1916 where juniors dress up in red shirts, wear flat-brimmed hats and carry canes.
Hey Day comes after the last day of classes and celebrates the juniors moving up to senior year. Students usually strut down Locust Walk and end on the College Green.
"I think this is something you look forward to since you get into Penn from Freshman year," Anna Shell said.
However, the protest camp is located on the College Green.
Penn students participating in Hey Day were notified that the procession instead would end at Annenberg Plaza this year, a student involved in organizing Hey Day told CBS News Philadelphia.
"Not at all," Ethan Moses said. "We're still here, I'm still with a bunch of my friends here and we're going to continue to have a good Hey Day."
"It's a little disappointing that it's not going be on College Green," Alisha, a junior, said, "but as long as we're going to be all together, the tradition's still there."
Instead, students said they chose to focus on spending the day with their friends, enjoying the tradition and looking forward to their senior years.
"In the grand scheme of things, what's important is that we're here together celebrating our class. Where we are doesn't matter," Shell said.
Man charged for spraying "stink spray" on Penn encampment protest
A man was seen carrying a canister with an unknown liquid and spraying the liquid around the protest camp Wednesday.
The man, who was later seen in handcuffs, is now facing charges, according to Penn.
"Penn Public Safety removed an individual, who had allegedly sprayed a sulfur-based 'stink' spray in the encampment," a university spokesperson said Wednesday. "No injuries were reported. The individual was charged with disorderly contact and harassment."
Protesters wrote on social media that the substance was "similar to skunk spray."
"We do know it's giving off a strong smell, we don't know what it is," demonstrator and Penn student Eliana Atienza told reporters Wednesday.
"He's a random person whom the police let walk into our encampment," Atienza added, claiming the man "sprayed our food, sprayed our grass, sprayed our tents, sprayed our signs."
What are protesters calling for?
Atienza said protesters' three main goals are calling for Penn to disclose its investments, to divest from "companies profiting off the Israeli apartheid" and to protect the speech of Palestinian student protesters.
On protest groups' social media accounts, one frequent target for divestment has been Ghost Robotics, a company that got its start in Penn's Pennovation lab. According to an article in Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper, the Israel Defense Forces procured four "Vision 60" ground drone robots from Ghost Robotics and they entered service in the war.
Haaretz said the robots were joined with a "Rooster" drone from the company Robotican, and the two robots used together can examine whether buildings contain IEDs or Hamas fighters.
