A timeline of the ‘Gaza Solidarity Encampment’
Wednesday, April 24
Plans leak
Unlike other universities where encampments began unexpectedly, planning documents for the Princeton encampment were leaked to conservative outlet National Review. They published a story on Wednesday morning, before the actual sit-in began.
The documents, independently verified by the ‘Prince,’ outlined a plan for at least 20 people camping overnight. A leaked press release — similar but not identical to demand sheets circulated at the actual sit-in the next day — noted protesters would call for the University to “divest and disassociate from Israel” and publicly endorse a ceasefire.
The University responds
Hours later, Vice President for Campus Life W. Rochelle Calhoun sent a campus-wide email warning that anyone participating in an “encampment, occupation, or other unlawful disruptive conduct who refuses to stop after a warning will be arrested and immediately barred from campus.” The move followed mass arrests at Columbia and Yale at their encampments earlier in the week, and marked a rare step in which a university preemptively warned that it would arrest student protesters for setting up tents.
Calhoun added that for students, “exclusion from campus would jeopardize their ability to complete the semester,” and that the University’s disciplinary process could result in suspension, delay of a diploma, or even expulsion.
In a message to a planning group chat obtained by the ‘Prince,’ an organizer called the email “a partial bluff” and wrote “we will not be deterred.”
Thursday, April 25
Sit-in begins, two students arrested
Protesters established Princeton’s “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” at 7 a.m. Thursday morning in McCosh courtyard. Initially, they erected tents on the grass, and after a warning at 7:03 a.m., two graduate students — Achinthya Sivalingam GS and Hassan Sayed GS — were arrested at 7:06 a.m. mid set-up. Both students were immediately barred from campus.
Soon after the arrests, the other protesters packed the tents up but remained in the courtyard on tarps and blankets. Building on about 40 initial participants, attendance ballooned to about 250 by noon as news spread.
Flyers circulated throughout the day demanded that the University divest from Israel, call for a ceasefire in Gaza, dissociate from Israeli academic institutions, cultivate relationships with Palestinian institutions, end TigerTrek Israel and Birthright Israel trips sponsored by the Center for Jewish Life (CJL), and dissociate from the Tikvah Fund, a politically Zionist nonprofit that has funded campus events in the past.
Professors lecture at the sit-in
Students, faculty and alumni also addressed the crowd throughout the day. At least two history professors also held classes in the courtyard — Max Weiss delivered a lecture for his course History of Palestine/Israel, and Gyan Prakash’s World After Empire seminar met on the grass as well. These professors have since been criticized by alumni for doing so.
Hezbollah flag spotted at sit-in, quickly removed
A flag of Hezbollah, a southern Lebanon-based militant group designated by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization, was spotted at the sit-in at around 5:16 p.m. and published in a viral post on X. Organizers told the ‘Prince’ that once they saw the flag, they asked that it be put away.
Protesters stay awake in shifts
To avoid running afoul of Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students (ODUS) regulations that forbid sleeping “in outdoor spaces of any kind,” organizers decided to stay awake in shifts in the courtyard. Despite freezing temperatures that night, approximately 60 protesters remained, sitting on blankets and lawn chairs. PSAFE officers asked student marshals, who assisted in the organizing of the protests, to wake up a small number of people who had fallen asleep.
Friday, April 26
GSG criticizes bar of grad students from campus
The executive board of the Graduate Student Government (GSG) issued a statement urging the University to allow Sayed and Sivalingam to return to campus. University spokesperson Michael Hotchkiss clarified that the students would be permitted to return to their housing, as their bar from campus did not extend to non-dormitory residences.
CJL, Chabad comment on sit-in
Later that afternoon, Executive Director of Princeton’s Center for Jewish Life (CJL) Rabbi Gil Steinlauf ’91 issued a statement on the sit-in. While he said that some rhetoric and activities were “hateful toward Israel and disturbing for many to experience,” he added that “it’s also important to say that despite these concerns, the majority of students are not living in fear.”
Rabbi Eitan Webb, the co-director of Princeton Chabad, had counterprotested at the sit-in and wrote in an email to the Chabad listserv that he “came away inspired.”
“I've probably had more than 50 conversations with students over the last day and they care too,” he wrote. “The Jewish people are alive.”
Around 30 students held Shabbat dinner at the sit-in later that night, including kosher-for-Passover food.
Saturday, April 27
Statements in support of arrested grad students
Following the arrest of the two graduate students, a group of 145 faculty voiced their support in a letter to University administrators.
The letter demanded “that any and all punitive measures taken against the students be immediately reversed and expunged from their university and public records,” and called for the University to “provide a public and transparent accounting of how disciplinary measures are going to be taken with students moving forward.”
At the sit-in, organizers urged protesters to ignore counterprotesters and chanted, “shut it down” at an Orange Key tour group. Tour guides were directed not to take tours through McCosh courtyard.
Protesters call for Lawnparties cancellation
As Lawnparties neared, organizers called for the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) to cancel the event, sending a message to residential college listservs that included a template for students to copy and send to USG.
“It is vile to continue with festivities while 35,000 people have been killed in just 200 days,” the template read in part. “There is no neutrality. Silence is complicity.”
USG response
Later that night, USG members held an emergency meeting to discuss a potential statement on the sit-in ahead of Lawnparties. The meeting was mostly conducted in an executive session closed to the public, and did not produce an immediate result, despite a petition from several USG members to condemn the arrest of the graduate students.
Sunday, April 28
Lawnparties held mostly uninterrupted
On Sunday, April 28, the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” reminded students of their presence during spring Lawnparties, as many protesters left McCosh courtyard at noon, moving to the Fountain of Freedom in Scudder Plaza, a hotspot for Lawnparties photos.
While Lawnparties was mostly unaffected by the sit-in, the wristbanding location — normally in McCosh courtyard — was moved to Campus Club backyard in order for USG to fulfill its “commitment to community safety and well-being,” according to USG Communications.
Also on Sunday, the Black Student Union (BSU) became the first student affinity group to release a statement in support of the protesters.
USG Senate amendment to condemn arrest fails in confusion
Later that day, the USG Senate gathered in a rushed special meeting called by President Avi Attar ’25 at 5 p.m. in Robertson 100, with 24 of the 26 voting members present. They approved a statement calling on the University to “publicly reaffirm the right to speak and peaceably assemble” and “commit to suspending neither student groups nor individuals without meaningful due process.”
However, an amendment proposed by Sustainability Chair Quentin Colón Roosevelt ’27 explicitly condemning the graduate students’ arrests technically passed 11-10-4, but was not included in the final statement. Because of the four abstention votes, Executive Treasurer Karen Villanueva ’27 declared that the vote did not pass, and in the rush to release a statement, there was no questioning. The meeting had a hard stop at 6:30 p.m. due to members’ religious observances.
The final two votes on an amendment by Samuel Kligman ’26 and the final statement took place in the final four minutes of the meeting. Due to the frenzy, there was no counting or recording of “no” votes or abstentions for the last two votes.
USG sent a final statement to University officials before the Council of the Princeton University Committee (CPUC) on Monday afternoon.
Monday, April 29
Increase in PSAFE presence
The day after Lawnparties opened with extensive efforts to clean up littered sidewalks, as well as an uptick in the presence of PSAFE officers, with around six to eight on site at any time.
Eisgruber addressed protest at CPUC meeting
The day also marked the last regularly scheduled meeting of the CPUC for the academic year, featuring appearances from top administrators including VP Calhoun and University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83. Several CPUC committee members resigned in condemnation of the arrest of graduate students in McCosh Courtyard.
Dean of the College Jill Dolan and Calhoun left the meeting following news of a brewing sit-in at Clio Hall. PSAFE officers were also present, but the sit-in was not addressed and the CPUC meeting followed its planned agenda.
At the meeting, Eisgruber emphasized the University’s right to impose time, place, and manner restrictions on protests, which he classified as “not only viewpoint neutral, but content neutral.” When asked by U-Council Chair Daniel Shaw ’25 to commit to non-violence, Eisgruber said, “we’re going to apply the University policies in the way that they are set forth by the University and pursuant to University procedures.”
Despite organizers’ requests for students to boycott the meeting, some carried out demonstrations that disrupted the meeting. These were met with warnings from Eisgruber and threats of arrest from PSAFE, resulting in the students leaving the meeting.
Protesters stage sit-in at Clio Hall
Minutes after the CPUC meeting began, a group of students and faculty entered Clio Hall to begin a sit-in at the office of Dean of the Graduate School Rodney Priestley. After approximately 45 minutes, PSAFE officers warned that anyone remaining in the building after 5:30 p.m. would be arrested. Several people, including two student journalists, and professors Ruha Benjamin, Dan-El Padilla Peralta, Naomi Murakawa, and Divya Cherian exited Clio shortly after.
The crowd grew to around 200 people who gathered in front and behind Clio, chanting and banging on buckets in support of the 13 people inside. According to an Instagram post from Princeton Israeli Apartheid Divest (PIAD), protesters occupied Priestley’s office to force the University to negotiate.
Several dozen protesters blocked the front and back doors of Clio, but made a path as staff were escorted out by PSAFE.
Around 6 p.m., officers emerged with Ariel Munczek Edelman GS and Sam Nastase, a researcher in the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, and escorted them to a TigerTransit bus parked beside Clio.
In one of the most intense moments of the protest, a large group of people gathered around the bus, banging on the windows and shouting, “Let them go.” Others wedged green safety cones in the back left wheel of the bus and blocked it from moving up Elm Drive.
After 30 minutes of chaos outside the bus, history professor Max Weiss addressed the crowd with a megaphone, asking for the road to be cleared so the students on the bus could be released with summonses. The crowd did not budge.
Weiss and senior research scholar Zia Mian then stepped onto the bus to discuss with PSAFE before Edelman and Nastase were released three minutes later to cheers from the crowd.
All of the protesters inside Clio were then periodically released through the front to shouts and cheers from the outside crowd, and given a 7:30 p.m. deadline to turn themselves in to PSAFE Headquarters. PSAFE escorted them to their dorms, where they were given ten minutes to gather their belongings. They were then barred from campus.
Sit-in migrates to Cannon Green
Protesters gradually dispersed onto Cannon Green, and organizers began to move supplies from the original McCosh courtyard site.
An email from Eisgruber later that night — his first comment on the protests — called the demonstration at Clio “completely unacceptable,” and detailed that the arrested students would also face University disciplinary action.
Tuesday, April 30
Morrison Hall locked
Morrison Hall, located just west of Cannon Green and home to the Department of African American Studies (AAS), was locked Tuesday morning. Four of the five undergraduates arrested at Clio were seniors in the AAS department.
Arrested students speak at press conference
At 2 p.m., people involved with the occupation of Clio held a press conference at Palmer Square.
“We prayed and sang together while ziptied and handcuffed. Criminal charges have been filed, disciplinary charges are still pending,” said Khari Franklin ’24, one of the arrested students.
Meanwhile, back at the sit-in on Cannon Green, counterprotesters in support of Israel began to set up south of the lawn. One of the organizers of the counterprotest, Ilay Furman ’25, told the ‘Prince,’ “It is important to remember that we have a lot of kidnapped people still in Gaza that weren’t able to celebrate [Passover].”
Wednesday, May 1
Affinity groups release coordinated statements
At least six student affinity groups released separate statements criticizing the University’s response to the occupation of Clio, including the arrest of students and the closure of Morrison Hall.
Faculty witnesses address Clio sit-in
Meanwhile, Benjamin and other faculty released a letter accusing Calhoun of mischaracterizing the actions of student protesters during the Clio Hall occupation “in a misleading and even inflammatory way.” Benjamin called the students’ behavior “cordial, quiet, and organized.”
Buildings near Cannon Green remain locked
Throughout the day, both doors to Whig Hall were locked in addition to Morrison Hall and Clio Hall. East Pyne became the only building directly adjacent to the sit-in that remained open for student prox access.
‘Black Princeton’ group chat deleted following leak
Also on Wednesday, Abigail Anthony ’23, a reporter for The National Review, began posting screenshots on social media from a group chat called “Black Princeton” where students were discussing the Clio occupation. Anthony had first reported that students at the University were planning an encampment earlier that week.
Her posts to X included students’ full names, and the group chat was deleted hours later.
Anthony wrote in a message to the ‘Prince’ that multiple current students sent her the screenshots. She declined to explain her decision to post them and her choice to disclose student names.
The Black Student Union (BSU) wrote in a statement to the ‘Prince,’ “The Black Princeton chat has become a cultural institution within our community, existing for years with students and alumni alike. The deletion of the chat is a great loss to the community, but we are focused on the safety of all of our students first and foremost.”
Thursday, May 2
More student groups comment on Clio sit-in
At least three additional student affinity groups released statements in support of student protesters, while pro-Israel student group B’Artzeinu condemned the occupation of Clio Hall.
Friday, May 3
Undergrads begin hunger strike
At least 17 undergraduates began a hunger strike on Friday to urge a meeting between the University and protesters about divestment from Israel. The strikers also called for the criminal and disciplinary charges against the 13 students arrested at Clio Hall to be dropped.
Students hold silent march and Shabbat services
More than fifty students took part in a “Silent March for Free Speech,” which started at Frist Campus Center and paused for 15 minutes — one for each arrestee — at Nassau Hall.
Additionally, around twenty students held Shabbat services at the sit-in, marking the second service since it began on April 25.
Calls for VP Calhoun’s resignation grow, Eisgruber responds
Pushback against Calhoun escalated as protesters marched to Firestone Plaza to oppose an event organized by her office on May 2. Additionally, a letter signed by 82 faculty members called for her resignation and urged the University to drop charges against the arrested protesters.
Amidst growing discontent with Calhoun’s handling of the protests, Eisgruber expressed his support for her in a statement to the ‘Prince,’ writing, “Some commentary on this week’s incident at Clio Hall has veered into attacks on VP Calhoun that are false and unfair.”
Saturday, May 4
Stolen poster
On Saturday night, two individuals stole a poster that read “Hunger Strike for Palestine” from a tree on the east side of Cannon Green. PSAFE officers took statements from witnesses and filed a report, but individuals at the sit-in chose not to press charges.
Sunday, May 5
Protesters, PSAFE dispute structures
Over the weekend, as temperatures dropped and it rained intermittently, some protesters constructed a makeshift shelter at the sit-in to shield the strikers from the elements.
Because University policy explicitly forbids “tents, or other structures,” PSAFE officers asked protesters to take tarps sheltering hunger striking students down when the rain stopped that morning. Later that day, students reassembled the lean-to.
Monday, May 6
Sit-in meets with Eisgruber
As day four of the hunger strike dawned, a group of students, faculty, alumni, and postdocs met with Eisgruber, Priestley, and Dean of the School of Public and International Affairs Amaney Jamal in the first formal interaction between protesters and administrators regarding divestment from Israel since the beginning of the sit-in.
Multiple students present at the meeting told the ‘Prince’ that Eisgruber declined to meet any of their demands, describing the meeting as unproductive. The hunger strikers said that their strike would continue.
Eisgruber said via a university spokesperson that divestment would require “an orderly process that includes input from across the community.”
Patrick Jaojoco GS, a student present at the meeting, noted with frustration that “We’ve submitted requests through every formal and procedural channel.”
Tuesday, May 7
Hundreds rally on Dean’s Date
More than 350 people rallied outside Nassau Hall in the hours after Dean’s Date, the deadline for undergraduate students to submit all written work. Several students arrested at Clio Hall — at the time still banned from campus — gave speeches through FitzRandolph Gate. Others criticized Eisgruber, who declined to meet the demands of the sit-in at a Monday meeting with members of the protest’s bargaining team.
“My last words to him as he walked out of that room yesterday were that this will be his legacy, that he stood by and supported a genocide. This will be what he is remembered for,” Brandi Bushman GS said.
Jewish community members hold step sing
About an hour after the protest, around 200 people attended a step sing a few hundred feet away at Blair Arch organized by a group of Jewish students.
Ellie Naider ’25, president of the Chabad Student Board, called the last several months “a mix of complex emotions for Jewish students on campuses everywhere” in a speech.
“What is especially concerning to me is that many will try to diminish the current experience of Jewish students — rolling their eyes that we are dramatic, and that we can’t possibly be experiencing antisemitism at this level,” she said.
Wednesday, May 8
Late night arrest warnings issued, but no arrests made
After multiple brief interactions with protesters over the past several days, PSAFE officers issued three paper handouts titled “Warning and No Trespass Notice” late Tuesday night. The cards threatened immediate arrest in response to the attempted construction of a tarp structure to shelter some of the students currently participating in a hunger strike.
Protesters had previously attempted to construct various shelters on Cannon Green, such as a tarp hung over a rope between two trees, only to be asked by PSAFE to take them down. ODUS policy prohibits camping in “vehicles, tents, or other structures,” as well as sleeping outside.
During discussions with a protest marshal into Wednesday morning, officers could not provide details about what constituted a structure, and told protesters that someone from ODUS would meet with them in the morning. One officer suggested that students could “hunger strike in their dorm room.”
While no arrests were made that night, the interactions with PSAFE over structures marked a relatively tense moment for the sit-in, now nearing a week on Cannon Green with only sporadic contact from University officials.
Hunger striker hospitalized
Later that day, one hunger striker was admitted to the hospital, according to a social media post by PIAD.
Thursday, May 9
Princeton High School students walk out
Around 50 Princeton High School (PHS) students walked out of school at around 1 p.m. to join protesters at the University’s sit-in. Princeton Police officers accompanied protesters to campus.
Controversy ensued at PHS, however, as school administrators reported in an email to parents that “signage and inappropriate flyers” were distributed to students.
Posters obtained by the ‘Prince’ read “Stop the genocide, speak out, walk out” and “Teacher, what did you do during the Gaza genocide?” An email from PHS administrators said that they were investigating the posters, and could not comment “without a comprehensive, objective investigation.”
Sunday, May 12
Students “rotate” hunger strike
The 13 students who had only consumed water since Friday, May 3 ended their hunger strike that day. Seven other students took their place.
Organizers of the sit-in had previously cited the hunger strike as a source of leverage during negotiations with University officials, which broke down the week before. A group of faculty had also published a letter in the ‘Prince’ calling for the Board of Trustees to “closely monitor and investigate the inner workings of this administration” due to the urgency of the strike.
Monday, May 13
Eisgruber announces protesters must clear camp
After nearly three weeks of the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment,” Eisgruber sent an email announcing that all protesters must clear Cannon Green ahead of preparations for Reunions and Class Day.
The email responded to student complaints about the meeting between organizers and administration on May 6, with Eisgruber writing that the issues could not be resolved “through negotiations with a single interest group.”
Eisgruber noted that the University was exploring the possibility of a restorative justice process for arrested students, as well as new “academic affiliations with Palestinian scholars, students, and institutions.” Additionally, he reported that administrators had offered to “convene a working group on the experience of Palestinian students, staff, and faculty at Princeton.”
Looking ahead, Eisgruber confirmed that the CPUC Resources Committee would meet on Tuesday to make an initial assessment of the divestment demands. He clarified that “requests for severing ties from the United States military, academic boycotts of Israel, ceasefire statements, or complete amnesty for arrested protesters” would not be fulfilled due to incompatibility with the University’s governance and mission.
Tuesday, May 14
Administrators, protesters negotiate end of sit-in
Administrators from ODUS entered the sit-in on Tuesday for the first time to speak with protesters. Following the meeting, University Facilities began to place signs around the site that read “THIS SPACE IS CLOSED.” Protesters sent messages asking students to convene to defend the site, but saw limited participation.
Protesters met with ODUS administrators multiple times, with the University maintaining a vague deadline for decamping. “Eisgruber failed to provide a clear timeline, emphasizing a smooth return to ‘business as usual’ in a time of genocide,” organizers wrote in a press release.
Wednesday, May 15
After three weeks, sit-in closes
Around 5 p.m. on May 15, organizers declared that the sit-in would disband that day. A PIAD spokesperson also confirmed to the ‘Prince’ that the hunger strike had concluded.
That evening, protesters officially bid the sit-in farewell. Several speakers reflected on the three weeks of the sit-in at McCosh courtyard, where the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” began.
Around 9 p.m. on May 15, protesters began to clear the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment,” Princeton’s longest sit-in in history. They began removing signs, food, and tarps from the site on Cannon Green, finishing most of the work by midnight. A few people who lingered sang “Happy Birthday” to celebrate the three weeks of the sit-in.
In its final nights, fewer than a dozen people congregated on the green. When asked to leave, protesters collected their tarps and supplies, exposing patches of dead grass — their final imprint.
Narratives
Miriam Waldvogel ’26
Vivien Wong ’27
Olivia Sanchez ’26
Sophie Brissett ’28
Cynthia Torres ’27
Sheryl Xue ’28
Victoria Davies ’27
Eojin Park ’28
Sena Chang ’28
Chris Bao ’27
Nikki Han ’28
Isabella Dail ’26
Annie Rupertus ’25
Photos
Ammaar Alam ’27
Calvin Grover ’27
Louisa Gheorghita ’26
MC McCoy ’26
Ryan Konarska ’25
Sandeep Mangat ’24
Vitus Larrieu ’26
Web Development
Cole Ramer ’28
Ethan Park ’27
Yacoub Kahkajian ’26
Yusuf Abdelnur ’27