Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
Swat Marches for the Jena Six
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SJP Encampment Ends with Arrest of 9 Protesters, Including 1 Current Swarthmore Student
Nine protesters, including one Swarthmore student and one student on an extended leave of absence, were arrested last Saturday, May 3, ending the four-day Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) encampment on Trotter Lawn. The seven others arrested were unaffiliated with the
The Dismantling of the Encampment in Photos
Photographer Zack Kreines '25 and Photography Editor James Shelton '28 capture the encampment and subsequent police response.
After Encampment, Sympathetic Students Frustrated by “Unambiguously Ineffective” SJP Tactics
The pro-Palestinian encampment constructed on Trotter Lawn on April 30 by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and demolished May 3, 2025, bears many similarities to the encampment the group constructed Spring 2024. However, one of the most striking differences between the
Faculty Reflect on Encampment, Arrests
As the encampment continued at Swarthmore College, faculty-admin communication on next steps was minimal, with many faculty sharing that there was no communication other than President Smith’s messages to the entire campus. On Friday afternoon, more than 48 hours after the tents
Timeline of the Trotter Lawn Encampment
A comprehensive timeline of the Trotter Lawn encampment and subsequent police response.
Unfortunately, it looks like we may have jumped the gun, as this “controversy” is quickly going the way of the discredited 2006 Duke Lacrosse team rape case and the story pushed by the “victims” in this case is quickly unraveling. This is not to say that justice is race-blind in this country, but the story of these 6 young men is just not the best case in point for us to rally around. Not only were some of those 6 black young men hardly angels, with a couple of them having long criminal records sprinkled with violent offenses, but the “noose in the tree = ultraviolent free-for-all against lone white kid” narrative has some serious holes in it. To argue that they attempted to kill the boy is hyperbole, but they did beat the living daylights out of him long after he had already become unconscious from his injuries. I’ll save my poster boards and Sharpies for the truly innocent.
See for yourself in this article from a newspaper frequently lauded for its objectivity: http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1024/p09s01-coop.html