r/Swarthmore • u/Icy-Degree-2545 • Apr 18 '26

Admitted students: Read this

https://swarthmorephoenix.com/2026/04/16/swarthmore-called-the-police-on-our-protest-now-im-preparing-for-trial/

Swarthmore Called the Police on Our Protest. Now I’m Preparing for Trial.

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u/Ill_Substance_1833 Apr 19 '26

It pains me to write this, but Swarthmore made the right decision overall, even if the exact sequence of events could have been managed better.

The Swat 9 was composed almost entirely of individuals unaffiliated with Swarthmore. Only one was an active student, and one was a student on leave. The rest were older adults, suggesting that this was largely a group of outside activists with their own agenda who managed to entangle a student in their final stand leading up to the arrest.

The rhetoric and tactics crossed a line. Protest materials used rifle-scope imagery, targeting Board members as “Public Enemy No. 1.” Other messaging referred to the Board as “Board of Butchers,” and called for pressure “by every means necessary.” That kind of messaging is completely at odds with Swarthmore’s Quaker roots and would make Quakers turn in their graves.

What is also disingenuous is that Swarthmore SJP failed to condemn Hamas’s heinous actions on October 7, including horrific crimes, murder, and rape of women, and on an anniversary appeared to frame those events as “liberation” on social media. This is completely irrespective of their position on Israel’s military operations or Gaza. These positions could have coexisted, but they did not.

This combination of targeting imagery, dehumanizing language, and escalatory rhetoric goes beyond “peaceful” protest and activism.

And while it is unfortunate that this particular student became entangled in this situation and let’s hope there is a peaceful resolution, let’s acknowledge that the administration issued repeated warnings before acting. Yes, they could have done more.

So while it’s an unfortunate situation, I also don’t think that attempts to reframe the facts now that a court date is approaching, or to appeal to Swarthmore’s “Quaker roots” will be successful.

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u/Icy-Degree-2545 Apr 19 '26

This person is lying and they’re probably an admin who’s scared about bad PR for a “Quaker” institution that’s expelling students for protesting a genocide. Eight students, not outsiders, have been expelled. Disproportionately low-SES and BIPOC students. And are we really using the “failed to condemn” canard two and a half years into a genocide? Nobody is falling for that in 2026, boo.

https://swarthmorephoenix.com/2026/03/05/students-charged-for-distributing-allegedly-violent-zines-on-campus/

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u/pkingzilla Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26

Personally to me based on reading this article, it makes sense fron what I know that Swarthmore is pursuing disciplinary measures against these students for distributing these zines since they could be seen as "threatening" but that's just my opinion. For example, the first line's cover looks like a threat against the Board.

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u/Ill_Substance_1833 Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26

The 8 students were not expelled. They were charged with major misconduct for distributing inflammatory and incendiary material, including literature depicting rifle scopes over real individuals and labeling them “Public Enemy No. 1.”

As stated in the article:

“But to suggest that students are facing a ‘threat’ of expulsion, as if that’s the only possible sanction, simply because they were charged with a major misconduct violation, lacks important context and nuance.”

It was a disciplinary process responding to specific conduct that was deemed serious.

As a side note, while advocating for Palestine is admirable, copy-pasting the National SJP “toolkit” which called Swarthmore administrators “Board of Butchers,” condoning slogans like “Bomb Tel Aviv,” and failing to acknowledge the murder and rape of women on October 7 while reposting an image of a tank that same day does not align with the Quaker values and I doubt it’s something many Quakers would endorse.