Reports from student and alumni newspapers confirm the arrest of two students, including Achinthya Sivalingan, a Tamil Nadu-born graduate student at Princeton University, in connection with pro-Palestine protests on campus. Sivalingan, alongside Hassan Sayed, was taken into custody after protesters erected tents in a university courtyard early Thursday morning, as reported by the Princeton Alumni Weekly (PAW).
The arrests were made on grounds of trespassing, with university spokesperson Jennifer Morrill stating that the action violated campus policy. Both Sivalingan and Sayed have been promptly banned from the campus premises. However, they have not been ousted and will still be allowed to stay in their university housing, clarified spokesperson Michael Hotchkiss to the Daily Princetonian.
Sivalingan is pursuing a Masters in Public Affairs in International Development, while Sayed is a PhD candidate at Princeton University. Morrill mentioned that the students had been warned multiple times by the Department of Public Safety to discontinue their activities and vacate the area. Disciplinary measures are now pending against them.
The university maintained that the arrests were carried out without the use of force, contrary to claims of violence made by some protesters during the pro-Palestine protests. The demonstration involved not only Princeton students and faculty but also members of the wider community, with organizers indicating participation from both insiders and outsiders.
This incident at Princeton adds to a series of pro-Palestine demonstrations that have erupted across leading US universities, echoing calls for divestment from companies profiting from the Gaza conflict and advocating for an immediate ceasefire. The movement, which originated at Columbia University in New York, has since spread to campuses nationwide, with students confronting authorities and amplifying pro-Palestine chants.
