Swarthmore College will hold commencement off campus for first time since its founding in 1864
The ceremony will be held Sunday at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia,
Swarthmore College for the first time since its founding in 1864 will hold commencement off campus, due to a pro-Palestinian encampment on Parrish Lawn where the ceremony was to be held.
The commencement, Swarthmore’s 152nd, has been relocated to the Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park, about 10 miles from campus, the college announced to the campus community Monday. It is scheduled for 11 a.m. Sunday, and about 410 students are expected to receive degrees.
“We know that some of you will be disappointed by the decision to move the ceremony off campus,” wrote Tomoko Sakomura and Rob Goldberg, acting co-presidents of Swarthmore. “The fact is that there is really no viable on-campus alternative to Parrish Lawn that can accommodate an event as complex and large as commencement.”
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The encampment at Swarthmore was erected nearly four weeks ago; it was the first in the region and remains in place. Others at Haverford, Bryn Mawr, and the University of Pennsylvania have since come down. The only other current local encampment is at Drexel University.
The development at Swarthmore comes after talks with protesters broke down last week. An impasse was reached on Wednesday, the college said. The college cited “deeply upsetting” behavior by protesters as talks broke down.
“The group became confrontational before walking out of the room,” wrote Sakomura and Goldberg in a Thursday email to the Swarthmore community. “During that time, dozens of other students surrounded the Intercultural Center exits, creating a threatening, intimidating environment, especially for those of us who felt trapped inside.”
They said it “went beyond a reasonable definition of peaceful protest.”
Student organizer Ragad A., who declined to give her last name for fear of doxxing and harassment, said meetings seemed fruitful at first. Students rolled back some of their initial demands, focusing on the university’s divestment from what they call the “Israeli apartheid regime” as well as getting the school to issue a statement denouncing scholasticide in Gaza — the last university in Gaza was destroyed in January.
In turn, the administration suggested creating an “ethical investment committee” and were open to creating a scholarship for students at risk in Gaza, said A. But conversations hit a stalemate last week, when students received a memorandum of understanding that they said did not reflect the progress made.
”We were practically stabbed in the back,” said Ragad A., who is Palestinian American.
She said the investment committee was rolled back to a subcommittee, the school now said it would look into the scholarship idea, and they would not make a public statement concerning scholasticide, which students saw as one of the more actionable items from their list of demands.
”As an institution that believes in the rights of education, it is the obligation of institutions like Swarthmore College to recognize and denounce the destruction of universities and educational facilities in Gaza,” she said.
The college had a different view.
“We engaged in good faith negotiations with the students to try to find common ground and to bring the protest to a peaceful conclusion,” said spokesperson Alisa Giardinelli on Monday. “We disagree with their characterization of those negotiations.”
College leaders said they are focused on making sure commencement will be “a festive and inclusive occasion” for seniors. They acknowledged that “many” have asked why the college, which has Quaker roots, doesn’t just clear out the encampment and hold the ceremony on Parrish Lawn as planned.
“Swarthmore has a long-standing commitment to supporting peaceful protest,” the college leaders said. “As we’ve seen at other institutions, attempts to clear encampments have often led to physical confrontations — including between police officers and protesters — and, in many cases, have not successfully ended the protests.”
Stephanie Ives, the college’s vice president for student affairs, sent an email to Swarthmore Students for Justice in Palestine and allies on Monday telling them it was time for the encampment to come down.
“Please consider this official notice that you are required to clear the site on Parrish Lawn as soon as possible,” she wrote, according to a copy of the email provided by a student. “The academic year is almost over, and the College must shift its attention to all of the work that occurs during the summer to prepare for the fall semester.”
Students who do not comply will face measures, including loss of privileges and interim suspension from the college, she wrote. Students also will face consequences for violating campus policies over the course of the year, she said, while some incidents including the one at the intercultural center last week remain under investigation.