For more recent coverage of the encampment, check out LIVE UPDATES: Scenes from day 9 of Gaza encampment, campus protests
8:37 p.m. in Dunn Meadow
A protester who previously rallied the crowd at 6:09 p.m. began chanting “free free Palestine” and called anyone willing to train for possible police action.
“We need to be able to lock arms with each other to be able to hold our ground,” he said.
He demonstrated the drill with two other protesters.
“You’re going to link your arms and lock wrists,” he said, locking arms with the others.
He explained to have a wide stance in order to reduce the likelihood of being knocked down.
He then said if people cannot afford to be arrested, they can encircle the cops without being a part of the “wall" of people.
“This is the support that we need when this happens,” he said.
Another protester came by during the drill and announced the Bloomington City Council had voted to override Mayor Kerry Thompson’s veto of a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The group cheered at his announcement.
The roughly 30 protesters then formed into three lines linking arms. The front line was told to have elbows locked and hold wrists. The back two were instructed to be ready to pull people back if the cops pull them away to arrest them.
While walking everyone through the drill, the protester referred to the police as “the pigs” whenever discussing the actions that they may take part in.
He also stated everyone should be aware of if they want to be in the front or back lines, and if they are in the front, they will be pulled by the cops.
Another protester who helped in the demonstration offered advice as well.
“It’s probably best if you don’t wear super recognizable clothing,” she said.
She explained that cops have been pointing out students wearing specific clothes in order to identify and to arrest them.
The protesters also practiced moving side to side while locking arms. While doing so, they began chanting.
7:38 p.m. online
Aidan Moran, an undergraduate student in the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering, sent an email signed by 591 students, faculty and other members of the IU community to IU President Pamela Whitten and other administrators. It called for Whitten to resign.
The letter referenced the aggressive arrest of 57 protesters in Dunn Meadow by Indiana State Police last week. It also mentioned the administration’s refusal to negotiate with the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition for a higher minimum wage and recent no confidence votes from faculty and graduate workers.
“We fully condemn the actions taken by you and the IU administration,” the letter read. “You no longer uphold the values that Indiana University claims to represent. You no longer have the best interest of the students in mind. Therefore, we no longer consider you a welcome part of Indiana University. We can no longer stand by quietly. As the members of Indiana University, we demand your resignation.”
7:13 p.m. online
The College Policy Committee held a 24-hour vote Tuesday for all faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences. 911 of the college’s 1209 faculty participated in the vote. The results were released in an email to faculty from CPC chair Brian Yanites on Wednesday.
92.1% voted to repeal the policy banning the use of temporary structures without prior approval in Dunn Meadow adopted April 24, one day before the beginning of the encampment. 839 voted yes, 38 voted no and 34 abstained.
93.4% called for the Board of Trustees to immediately repeal the campus bans on protesters who were arrested April 25 and 27. 851 voted yes, 35 voted no and 25 abstained.
86% called for the Board of Trustees to fire IU President Whitten and Provost Rahul Shrivastav. 783 voted yes, 54 voted no and 73 abstained.
6:30 p.m. at Sample Gates
A tent displaying the Palestinian flag sits on May 1, 2024, between the Sample Gates. Some groups took senior photos in front of the tent.
A tent with a Palestinian flag was set up in between Sample Gates.
At the same time, groups took senior photos. One person said they were happy it was there, and they wanted to take their photos in front of it.
Another person expressed their disappointment at the tent’s placement.
“You waited four years for one photo at the Sample Gates,” they said.
A woman with a “I stand with Israel” shirt observed the tent and shook her head in disapproval.
Around 7 p.m., a woman there to take senior photos moved the tent behind one of the main pillars, out of the middle of the gates.
A woman in a dress moves a tent with a Palestinian flag out of the middle of Sample Gates on May 1, 2024. Other people took senior photos in front of the tent.
6:15 p.m. at Showalter Fountain
A student takes senior photos as a tent sits in the grass on May 1, 2024, at Showalter Fountain. The tent appeared ahead of the “Rally Against Hamas Propaganda” protest scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday at the fountain.
A tent displaying a “Free Palestine” cardboard sign was set up on the northwest lawn of Showalter Fountain. Nobody was inside. A group of seniors taking graduation pictures at the fountain said the tent was up at 5:30 p.m. when they arrived.
The tent appeared ahead of the “Rally Against Hamas Propaganda” protest scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday at Showalter Fountain. Organized by Associate Director of the Indiana University Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, Gunther Jikeli, the protest is open to “anyone who condemns the glorification of Hamas.”
“We thought it was important to show that there is in fact opposition to the false narrative being presented about Hamas, including on this campus,” Jikeli said in a press release Tuesday.
Chabad at IU and IU Hillel, two Jewish student organizations, shared Instagram posts promoting the event. The bottom of the post read “Organized by IU Faculty & Staff for Israel.”
6:09 p.m. at Dunn Meadow
After a calm afternoon of protesters taking part in a variety of activities, a pro-Palestinian protester yelled into a black megaphone to call the roughly 100 people to the middle of the encampment.
“I worry we are complacent,” he said in the beginning of his speech. “We need to be ready because the moment is now.”
Two protesters stood in the middle of the crowd to reiterate the demands of the encampment. Since April 25, the first day of the encampment, the demands from the pro-Palestinian protesters have been for IU to divest from Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division — a U.S. naval installation southwest of Bloomington; for the school to follow the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement guidelines; for full financial transparency from the university; and for the resignation of President Pamela Whitten, Provost Rahul Shrivastav and Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs Carrie Docherty.
Both protesters took a turn speaking to the crowd through the megaphone before leading the group in a march around a cluster of six canopies connected by tarps.
They chanted “Free, free Palestine.”
They cheered and then returned to making kites and t-shirts, taking part in conversation or passing a soccer ball to one another.
At this point, there were 21 tents and 10 total canopies – the most since the encampment started.
The second speaker said they acknowledge it has been a powerful space and community but also understands that despite no police presence within the camp since Saturday, everyone needs to be ready.
“We have to consider everybody's safety,” one of the speakers said. “But at the end of the day the events that are happening in Gaza, we could never experience even a fraction of that.”
1:30 p.m. at Dunn Meadow
IU landscaping employees worked in Dunn Meadow. One on a riding lawn mower cut the grass on the west side of Dunn Meadow, across the sidewalk from the encampment. He then drove on the sidewalk around the tents and cut the grass in the patch of Dunn Meadow east of the encampment.
The music at IU Chabad had stopped.
Other maintenance workers placed rolls of sod in the stretch of grass between the sidewalk and East Seventh Street. They patted the rolls down with tampers. One worker accidentally flung dirt at a protester sitting in a chair on the sidewalk. He apologized.
Noon at Dunn Meadow
A rally planned for noon was canceled.
Across Seventh Street, IU Chabad played music from speakers placed on the steps. Nobody from Chabad was outside.
Two masked protesters in Dunn Meadow kicked a soccer ball back and forth.
In the encampment, canopies were set up based on their function, including an art canopy, two connected food canopies and medical canopies. One canopy, located on the west side of the encampment, had several portable phone chargers for protesters.
Many protesters sat in chairs on the sidewalk above the meadow or on blankets in the grass. At least a dozen cases of water bottles and water jugs sat, unopened, near the sidewalk.
A multimedia art piece with leaves and twigs glued to it hung from a tree. It read “Palestine will be free... from the river to the sea” on the frame and “free free Palestine” within the painting.
10:17 a.m. online
The IU Divestment Coalition sent a Telegram message saying the encampment has no room for “any form of hate.” It specifically mentioned antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, patriarchy, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, classism and xenophobia.
It said to notify an organizer if someone observed any instances of hate and they will “hold all parties accountable.”
“The fight for Palestinian liberation is a fight against all these interwoven systems of oppression,” the statement read. “We are not free until we are all free.”
10:09 a.m. online
Indiana State Treasurer Daniel Elliott announced he has authorized an additional $5 million investment in Israel Bonds for the state in a press release.
He specifically mentioned campus protests supporting the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement.
“While there may be a few loud individuals on college campuses and other places that want us to abandon Israel, I believe now is the time to refocus and recommit to our most important ally,” Elliott said in the release.
The release said Indiana will hold $110 million in Israel Bonds after today’s purchase.
9:15 a.m. online
IU Police Department Public Information Officer Hannah Skibba confirmed in an email Indiana State Police arrested 34 people in Dunn Meadow on April 25. A previous arrest log released April 26 listed 33 arrests.
This brings the total number of arrests to 57.
The IDS is working to confirm the information of the additional arrested person.
9 a.m. at Dunn Meadow
The clock struck nine over IU as the encampment occupying Dunn Meadow reached its seventh day. Protesters in more than 20 tents and 10 canopies stayed largely silent on a quiet morning.
Protesters at the encampment have served food — all three daily meals when not deconstructed — every day since it started. The main course at Wednesday’s breakfast was focaccia bread and cinnamon rolls.
Most of their food is donated by community members. One protester said a group brought in a tray of coffee at 5 a.m. this morning. A group brings them hot meals for all three daily meals — Tuesday’s dinner was Algerian chicken.
In the center of the encampment stands two connected blue canopies — designated the “University Centre.” Five stacked crates hold dozens of books in the “Liberated Library,” all donated.
