The Drexel protesters’ demands ranged from the university administration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and divesting from companies that do business with Israel, to abolition of the Drexel police department and termination of the school’s chapter of Hillel, the Jewish campus organization, and another Jewish campus group, Chabad.
In an Instagram post earlier this week, the Drexel Palestine Coalition said, “It is slander to accuse the encampment of ‘hateful’ or ‘intimidating’ actions when we have done neither.” The group accused Drexel and city police of harassment and intimidation. A pro-Palestinian group of faculty and staff also blasted Fry on Monday for shuttering campus facilities and said the encampment was “not disruptive to learning.”
Fry said several requested meetings with protesters have been refused.
Earlier this month, protesters set up an encampment at the University of Pennsylvania before it was dismantled by police two weeks later. Since then, other demonstrations on and near the Ivy League campus were held and led to several arrests.