Ariela Lopez
At around 6 am this morning, New Haven and Yale Police began blocking off access to Cross Campus. New Haven Police blocked the entrance from the side closest to Grace Hopper College, and Yale Police officers encircled Cross Campus on the other side, next to Sterling Memorial Library. Later, they blocked off access from College Street.
“Anyone within the caution tape is going to be arrested,” one New Haven police officer told the News. At 6:26 am, Yale Police Chief Anthony Campbell announced that anyone that did not vacate the area by 6:30 am would be subject to arrest and “emergency suspension.”
As of 6:28 am, protesters have begun moving toward College Street after Campbell’s announcement, continuing to chant. A University spokesperson confirmed to the News at 8:06 am that all protesters left the encampment when asked and no arrests have been made. As of 8:00 am, there are about 60 protesters gathered on the College Street sidewalk.
Yale facility workers began to take down the encampment’s tents and as of 8:09 am, all tents have been taken down and the Cross Campus area is almost completely cleared.
Follow the News’ live updates below.
— Tristan Hernandez, Editor in Chief & President, and Yurii Stasiuk, Print Managing Editor ______________________________________________________________
8:29 am:
As of 8:29 am, protesters have begun to disperse. One organizer announced to the crowd, “We will return. Keep checking Instagram. Trust. We will be back.” Another organizer gave protesters an opportunity to speak into the microphone and address the crowd.
There are around 50 protesters remaining on the sidewalk, listening to speeches given by other protesters through megaphones and continuing to chant.
— Jane Park, Arts Editor, and Josie Reich, Staff Reporter
8:16 am:
NHPD Chief Karl Jacobson made an announcement to the crowd of protesters at 8:16 am He told protesters that, “per the Yale Police Department,” protesters will not be allowed back onto Cross Campus until the area has been cleared by YPD.
“No one will be arrested where they are now,” Jacobson said through a megaphone. “But please don’t impede traffic or go in the road.”
The protesters screamed “Shame on you” at the NHPD officers making the announcement.
— Jane Park, Arts Editor, Khuan-Yu Hall, City Editor, and Ariela Lopez, Staff Reporter
8:09 am:
As of 8:09 am, all encampment tents have been taken down. Facilities workers employed by Yale are packing all belongings into black trash bags. The Cross Campus area is almost completely cleared.
— Jane Park, Arts Editor, and Emily Khym, Staff Reporter
8:08 am:
Julia Adams, head of Grace Hopper College, sent an email to students in the college recommending that they enter and exit Hopper through the 189 Elm St. gate rather than the Cross Campus gate.
“A note that the YPD is currently cautioning students not to exit Hopper via the Cross Campus gate,” Adams wrote. “There has been no formal announcement — this is students’ current experience.”
— Yolanda Wang, Staff Reporter, and Sarah Cook, University Editor
8:07 am:
A University spokesperson wrote to the News that early this morning, Yale personnel issued final warnings to protesters in the Cross Campus encampment that they must “end the encampment or face discipline, including suspension for violating university rules and arrest for trespassing.”
According to the spokesperson, the university is in the process of clearing tents and other items from the area because the encampment was “located near student dorms, libraries, and classrooms, where many students are writing their final papers and studying for final exams.”
The spokesperson also confirmed that no arrests were made this morning and that all protesters left the encampment when asked.
“The university does not tolerate the violation of its longstanding policies on using on-campus outdoor spaces, postering, and chalking, or the use of amplified sound,” the spokesperson wrote.
Last week, the University clarified that its policy on outdoor structures requires students to obtain permission from specific administrators in advance of setting up structures in campus spaces.
— Ariela Lopez, Staff Reporter, and Tristan Hernandez, Editor in Chief & President
8:04 am:
“You can’t enter. Probably won’t be able to for a long time,” a YPD police officer on site told the News when reporters tried to leave Berkeley from the gate facing Cross Campus.
— Emily Khym, Staff Reporter
8:01 am:
Protesters have started to chant “YPD, KKK, IDF they’re all the same.” As of now, there are roughly 60 protesters on College Street.
— Adam McPhail, SciTech Editor
7:52 am:
Yale facility workers have begun to take down encampment tents on Cross Campus.
— Emily Khym, Staff Reporter, and Adam McPhail, SciTech Editor
The update has been corrected to clarify that it was Yale facilities workers clearing Cross Campus
7:38 am:
“Y’all they were so fucking afraid of what we built that they pushed us back not once, not two times, but three times,” an organizer announced to the crowd at 7:34 am “What we’ve done here is created community that doesn’t rely on the police to keep us safe.”
The crowd of protesters then began to chant “We’ll be back” on repeat and sing “We shall not be moved.”
— Adam McPhail, SciTech Editor, and Jane Park, Arts Editor
7:20 am:
“Emergency suspension,” which any protesters who remain in the encampment have been threatened with, is issued in writing. Students will have 24 hours to respond to the notice. The Yale College Undergraduate Regulations do not specify whether emergency suspensions are issued virtually or handed to students in person.
According to the Regulations, an emergency suspension is issued when a student has been arrested or has “allegedly violated a disciplinary rule of Yale College and the student’s presence on campus poses a significant risk to the safety or security of members of the community.”
This type of suspension “may be lifted earlier by action of the dean or a delegate of the dean, or by the disciplinary committee after a preliminary review.”
The News could not verify whether any students have been issued an emergency suspension.
— Josie Reich, Staff Reporter
7:13 am:
Yale Police Officer Sabrina Wood told the News that officers are now going through the encampment, searching for valuable goods such as medications, phones and computers.
Personal items will be made available for retrieval at the Yale Police Department later this afternoon, according to Wood. She added that other items, like tents and blankets, would be brought to the Yale Office of Facilities at 150 York St. Those other items will also be able to be retrieved, but likely not as soon.
— Khuan-Yu Hall, City Editor
7:11 am:
As of 7:11 am, there are now around 115 protesters gathered on College Street.
—Jane Park, Arts Editor
7:02 am:
Ezra Stiles Head of College Alicia Comacho, who was present during the arrests on Beinecke Plaza last week, is on scene. Comacho declined to comment for the News, only saying that she was here for her students.
— Ariela Lopez, Staff Reporter
6:58 pm:
Officers have closed off Alexander Walk. The Humanities Quadrangle remains accessible, but cannot be reached by walking through Alexander walk.
Around eight YPD officers are stationed by the front of Alexander Walk. The News overheard one officer say they are “serving and protecting” when a protester approached them.
— Emily Khym and Josie Reich, Staff Reporters, Jane Park, Arts Editor, and Khuan-Yu Hall, City Editor
6:57 am:
“NHPD has no plans to arrest unless people try and block the road again,” NHPD officer Christian Bruckhart wrote to the News.
Any arrests of protesters on campus would be made by Yale police, not NHPD officers.
Bruckhart told the News that 26 NHPD officers and supervisors and three NHPD motorcycles are on the scene.
— Ariela Lopez and Josie Reich, Staff Reporters
This update has been corrected to clarify that Yale police handle arrests on campus.
6:55 am:
As of 6:55 am, the entire perimeter of Cross Campus, as well as Alexander Walk, has been closed off to the public. When asked about how long this area will remain closed, YPD officers said that they were unsure.
—Jane Park, Arts Editor
6:54 am:
Protesters have begun to chant “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “from the sea to the river, Palestine will live forever.”
— Adam McPhail, SciTech Editor
6:52 am:
According to NHPD Chief Karl Jacobson, no students have been arrested so far. Jacobson wrote that the protesters so far are “complying with the orders to leave.”
— Ariela Lopez, Staff Reporter
6:51 am:
There are around 40 police YPD officers guarding the taped-off area between Hopper and Berkeley colleges. More protesters are joining the crowd on College Street.
Protesters are chanting “Officers, officers can’t see you, you’re on the wrong side of history. Officer Wood, you’re on the wrong side of history. Chief Campbell, you’re on the wrong side of history.”
-Emily Khym, Staff Reporter
6:50 am:
YPD officers directed reporters to Sergeant Sabrina Wood as the point person for media. When reporters reached out for comment, Sergeant Wood referred all reporters to Yale’s Office of Public Affairs & Communications.
—Jane Park, Arts Editor
6:47 am:
New Haven Police Department Officer Christian Bruckhart told the News that the Yale Police Department requested NHPD assistance. Bruckhart said that, to his knowledge, the YPD has been planning this action since yesterday.
Bruckhart estimated that around 20 NHPD officers are on the scene, but was not able to provide an exact number. The News previously estimated there were 50 officers on the scene but could not verify how many of them were Yale and how many were New Haven Police.
—Ariela Lopez, Staff Reporter
6:46 am:
The News could not confirm whether any protesters remained in the encampment. Officers have announced that anyone who remains in the encampment will be arrested.
— Yurii Stasiuk, Managing Editor
6:40 am:
Yale Police officers threatened protesters and the News with arrest if they did not vacate the entirety of the Cross Campus lawn. About 75 protesters have now congregated on College Street.
— Khuan-Yu Hall, City Editor
6:40 am:
Yale Police officers are not letting student enter Berkeley College’s South Court from Elm Street or from the Cross Campus entrances. Students in Berkeley will be allowed to exit.
— Ariela Lopez, Staff Reporter
6:40 am:
“If your children were here, would you put them in zip ties? How many of them would you arrest?” one protester asked.
—Jane Park, Arts editor
6:31 am:
All protesters, as well as members of press, were warned to vacate the lawn if they did not want to face emergency suspension or arrest. Both protesters and members of press
— Jane Park, Arts Editor, and Emily Khym, Staff Reporter
Ariela Lopez, Khuan-Yu Hall, Jane Park, Chloe Edwards, Yurii Stasiuk, Adam McPhail, Emily Khym, Josie Reich and Tristan Hernandez contributed reporting.
Tags: LIVE Haven Yale Police clear encampment Cross Campus arrests
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