Drexel Lockdown Lifted, Officials Looking To Clear Encampment

PHILADELPHIA — Drexel University's president said its community is starting a "phased return" to normal operations as the pro-Palestinian demonstrators on Korman Quad maintain their encampment and that he has authorized "all necessary steps to clear the encampment safely."

President John Fry said he worked with Vice President of Public Safety Melvin Singleton Jr. and his team to develop the plans for a return to normal operations after the encampment led the school to lock down campus Monday.

"I have determined that we have sufficient security in place to begin a phased return to normal operations," he said Monday.

Labs, studio classes and simulation classes returned to being in-person attendance Tuesday. Lecture classes are still virtual, he said.

Students should confirm with their faculty member if they have any questions.

Operations for all nonessential personnel are virtual Tuesday. Anyone with questions about working remotely should contact their supervisor.

Fry said faculty and professional staff for labs and studios will be considered essential, while researchers engaged in critical activity that requires in-person work will be allowed access to campus with approval from their dean or division head.

Drexel community members are encouraged to report any intrusions by demonstrators into labs, studios, and other learning and event spaces by calling the Drexel Public Safety Emergency Center at 215-895-2222 or dialing 911, or contacting Public Safety via the Guardian app.

Fry also addressed the encampment itself.

"Drexel University safeguards free speech and recognizes the right to peaceful protest, even when such protest features the expression of views that many members of our community might consider objectionable," he said. "At the same time, the University has the right both to impose restrictions on any demonstration that disrupts normal operations or creates a threatening, unsafe environment for other members of our community, and to take action against illegal trespassing."

He said despite protesters being "peaceful and respectful of passersby for long stretches of time, this demonstration already has proved extensively disruptive to normal operations."

"It has forced the cancellation of numerous campus events and placed added strain on our Drexel Public Safety officers, who have been redeployed both to ensure the safety of protesters and passersby and to prevent unauthorized entry into our buildings and facilities," he said.

The encampment led to all virtual instruction Monday.

Fry said the protesters "have created a hostile, confrontational environment by subjecting passersby to antisemitic speech and by issuing several 'demands' that have unacceptably targeted individual members of our faculty and professional staff, a member of our Real Estate Advisory Committee, and two Jewish campus organizations (Hillel and Chabad)."

Details on this antisemitic speech were not provided.

The group, which has called itself the Drexel Palestine Coalition, has issued the school several demands aiming to "hold Drexel accountable for the harm it has caused through its investments linked to the ongoing genocide in Gaza, and for the repression of student activism."

Fry reiterated his call for protesters to disband the encampment and said he has authorized "all necessary steps to clear the encampment safely."

"In any event it is paramount that the encampment is removed so that every member of our community is free to move safely across the campus without threat of intimidation or harassment," he said.

With that, Fry said he has not lost sight of the need to bridge the deep division within our community over the war in Gaza.

"This protest already has elicited intense emotional reactions from our community and beyond,
he said. "Some have registered their strong support for the protestors and condemned the University's response as heavy-handed. Others are upset with us for not removing the encampment right away.

"As a community of scholars and problem solvers, we must create spaces to listen to one another and learn from one another," he said. "So I look forward to the day after the encampment has been removed when we all can come together to utilize our teaching, research, and civic work toward making a real contribution toward fostering civil discourse and mutual understanding within our community."