On the one-year anniversary of mass arrests during a pro-Palestinian protest, Dartmouth students erected another encampment on the lawn of Parkhurst Hall. During the encampment, members of the Palestine Solidarity Coalition engaged in a negotiation process with the College. The negotiations ended today with what PSC leaders described as a “win,” when the College accepted the group’s demand for a proposed addition to the Office of Visa and Immigration Services protocol on law enforcement — notably Immigration Customs Enforcement— visiting campus.
The proposed revision to OVIS protocol on ICE’s access to campus led to the protesters taking down one of their two tents around 7:30 p.m. “Our conversation with the protesters helped us to understand that adding a clarifying paragraph would give our community a greater sense of safety and support,” senior vice president for community and campus life Jennifer Rosales said. The previous version of the policy did not contain language about requiring judicial warrants or defining non-public areas. The proposed addition reads, “Federal agents, including ICE, must have a judicial warrant or subpoena to access non-public areas [which are] areas not open to the public such as classrooms, housing and areas requiring a Dartmouth identification.” This comes after the PSC and the Student Workers Collective at Dartmouth have made bids for the administration to increase their protections of international students.
Roan Wade ’25 said the change is a win. “We’ve been going back and forth with admin on our two demands,” she said. “They have made concessions that we are very happy with on the clause for a sanctuary campus, specifically that they will not cooperate or allow ICE on campus without a warrant signed by a District Court judge.
This has been something we have been negotiating for, and advocating for, for months now, and so we do consider this a win.” This was different from how College President Sian Leah Beilock’s administration has dealt with student protesters in the past. Beilock has called law enforcement to remove student protesters instead of using disciplinary action. A year ago, 89 students were arrested while peacefully protesting on the Green.
On Oct. 28, 2023, Wade and Kevin Engel ’27 were arrested after setting up an encampment on the lawn of Parkhurst. The protesters were also advocating for the College to divest from companies that support the Israeli war effort in Gaza. College spokesperson Kathryn Kennedy said the College offered the protesters “the opportunity to deliver their proposal to a representative of ACIR.” “They declined that opportunity, and demanded to present it directly to the Board or to President Beilock instead,” she said.
Wade said the PSC is still in negotiations. “We’re going back and forth on moving forward with the divestment proposal,” she said. “It is getting caught in a lot of bureaucracy.
The system in its current state does not work, and we are trying to make it more efficient, so that this proposal that we’ve spent months and months and months writing is actually able to move forward. So, we’re still in negotiations.” The protest began at 12 p.m. As of about 12:50 p.m., two tents had been set up. At that point, about 40 people were gathered in front of Parkhurst Hall, including a mix of students and non-students.
Protesters carried large Palestinian flags and chanted throughout the afternoon and into the evening. Meanwhile, College representatives went in and out of Parkhurst, speaking to administrators and then to the students. Negotiations eventually ended for the night shortly after 11 p.m., and are expected to continue today.
The PSC is continuing to push for a meeting with the Board of Trustees or the Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility. Shortly after midnight, Department of Safety and Security officers came out of Parkhurst and distributed fliers to students, advising them that they are subject to disciplinary proceedings. “BE ADVISED,” the flier read.
“You failed to comply with the previous warning. The College disciplinary processes have now begun.” Protesters stood outside Parkhurst in the pouring rain. After 12:30 a.m., officers from the Department of Safety and Security removed Palestinian flags from Parkhurst Hall, while protesters cried out “shame!” The nine remaining protesters planned to stay for the night, despite facing disciplinary action.
Kent Friel Kent Friel ‘26 is an executive editor at The Dartmouth.
