The Philadelphia Police Department declined a request from the University of Pennsylvania to forcefully disperse a pro-Palestinian encampment. Instead, law enforcement asked for evidence that the protest presented an imminent danger, according to The Daily Pennsylvanian. Police increased their presence on Penn’s campus on Thursday, and created a barrier of barricades and bicycles between protesters and a group of Pro-Israel counter-protesters. Last Friday, Penn’s interim president J. Larry Jameson called for the protests to be disbanded, arguing that students were violating the university’s facilities policies. On Tuesday, university officials said they’d opened “several student disciplinary cases” against protesting students. The protest is reportedly made up of students from a few different universities in Philadelphia, including Penn, Drexel University, and Temple University.
