The College Fix

‘Actions have consequences,’ college president tells protesters

Ninety pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested at Dartmouth College this week, including a Jewish studies professor who accused police of being “brutal,” according to news reports.

The arrests at the New Hampshire college add to the thousands at similar protests this spring across the country, many of them for trespassing or failure to disburse – although vandalism and violence also have been problems.

An Associated Press tally put the total number of pro-Palestinian protest arrests at more than 2,100 to-date.

At Dartmouth, history Professor Annelise Orleck, who teaches Jewish studies classes and supports the protest, was arrested along with dozens of students late Wednesday into early Thursday morning, The Dartmouth student newspaper reported.

A video on X shows Orleck approached police while pointing her finger at them and then appeared to resist arrest.

“Those cops were brutal to me. I promise I did absolutely nothing wrong,” Orleck wrote on X afterward. “I was standing with a line of women faculty in the their 60s to 80s trying to protect our students. I have now been banned from the campus where I have taught for 34 years.”

Dartmouth history professor Annelise Orleck presses her luck one too many times with police and finds out.

These are the extremists teaching your kids.pic.twitter.com/zj0j4bA82u

— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) May 2, 2024

The Dartmouth reported more:

According to College spokesperson Jana Barnello, in an email statement to The Dartmouth, Orleck’s prohibition was a condition “imposed by the bail commissioner,” while the College “had no intention of seeking Prof. Orleck’s exclusion from campus.”

The College “will promptly request that any errors be corrected,” Barnello added.

“As we have advised the faculty member, we are taking every reasonable step to ensure she can continue teaching classes,” Barnello wrote.

College President Sian Beilock also issued a statement in response to the arrests Thursday, saying “actions have consequences.”

“[P]eople felt so strongly about their beliefs that they were willing to face disciplinary action and arrest. While there is bravery in that, part of choosing to engage in this way is not just acknowledging – but accepting – that actions have consequences,” Beilock said.

Beilock also responded to protesters’ demands the college divest from Israel, saying, “Dartmouth’s endowment is not a political tool, and using it to take sides on such a contested issue is an extraordinarily dangerous precedent to set. It runs the risk of silencing academic debate, which is inconsistent with our mission.”

The Hanover Police Department said in a news release they gave “multiple” disbursement warnings to the crowd before making arrests.

“Ninety people were arrested for multiple offenses including criminal trespass and resisting arrest,” police said.

Earlier Wednesday, Provost David Kotz sent a campus-wide email stating that college policies “specifically prohibit the use of tents and encampments on the Green and other areas of campus,” according to the student newspaper.

Kotz also said students and employees would be disciplined if they violate the policies, including potential expulsion.

MORE: Police break through barricade at University of New Mexico encampment, haul away activists

IMAGE: Dartmouth New Deal Coalition/Instagram

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