Penn President Larry Jameson had not pressed charges against the individuals who staged a protest at his off-campus residence as of Tuesday morning, a spokesperson for the Lower Merion Public Information Office told The Daily Pennsylvanian.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The March 21 demonstration<\/a> \u2014 which drew around 50 Penn students, alumni, and Philadelphia community members \u2014 criticized the University\u2019s \u201ccomplicity in Palestinian genocide, violations of free speech, and refusal to protect Penn\u2019s non-citizen community from invasive I.C.E. raids.\u201d The spokesperson added that Lower Merion Police officers responded to the protest and that demonstrators dispersed without incident. In a statement to the DP from the day of the protest, a University spokesperson wrote that Penn intends to \u201ctake whatever legal and disciplinary action that is available to address this conduct.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n According to the statement, the University is working with local law enforcement and coordinating with Penn\u2019s Center for Community Standards and Accountability on \u201cany applicable disciplinary actions\u201d to determine next steps.<\/p>\n The spokesperson rebuked the characterization of the event as a \u201cprotest,\u201d instead calling it \u201can unlawful intrusion and a deliberate act of intimidation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe right to protest does not include the right to threaten and harass,\u201d the statement read. \u201cThis is not protected speech. These actions are not acceptable, and certainly not from members of our university community.\u201d<\/p>\n The DP was unable to confirm if any other disciplinary action has been taken against Penn students present at the demonstration.\u00a0<\/p>\n During the demonstration, organizers demanded that Penn disclose its endowment portfolio, divest from \u201call corporations profiting from the ongoing Nakba,\u201d and defend the University community from United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. Pro-Palestinian student organizers have made similar demands<\/a> since last fall \u2014 including during the Gaza Solidarity Encampment<\/a> that took place on College Green in spring 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a letter<\/a> addressed to Jameson that was \u201cplastered\u201d around the property, the organizers criticized Jameson\u2019s implementation<\/a> of the University\u2019s Temporary Standards and Procedures for Campus Events and Demonstrations, as well as Penn\u2019s use of police force<\/a> against students on campus. The organizers described the University’s response as \u201cstifil[ing] community governance and open expression.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou stonewalled student negotiators and then had your cops throw them to the ground,\u201d the organizers wrote. The letter also referenced the Penn Police Department\u2019s October 2024 search of an off-campus student residence<\/a> belonging to pro-Palestinian organizers.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Penn Police sent 13 armed police in full tactical gear into the homes of students, pointed guns at their heads, and searched their homes, you were at the top of their chain of authority,” the letter read.<\/p>\n