In a walk-out organized by Coalition for Palestinian Liberation, around 200 students and local residents rallied outside Ballou Hall on Tuesday, calling for the release of Tufts doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk and for the university to condemn her detainment.
Öztürk, who was detained on March 25, is currently being held in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Louisiana. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed on Thursday that Öztürk’s valid F-1 visa had been revoked and a federal judge ordered Friday that Öztürk not be removed from the United States.
Protesters carried signs listing seven demands to the university including to “condemn Rumeysa’s abduction for pro-Palestine speech” and “expunge student disciplinary records.”
The signs listed previous CPL demands for Tufts to divest from Israeli corporations and cut ties with U.S. Army DEVCOM, which shares a joint research lab with Tufts School of Engineering.
“Many of our most vulnerable community members — immigrants, international students and Muslim students, Palestinian and Arab students — remain at risk,” a student speaker at the protest said.
The speaker said that in the week since Öztürk’s detainment, “the Tufts administration continues to rail undergrad students with absurd disciplinary charges in an effort to stall student organizing and instill fear.”
In addition to disciplinary messages from Tufts administration, the speaker reminded protesters of Rubio’s threats to detain more students across U.S. college campuses. At a press conference last Thursday, Rubio stated that at least 300 student visas have been revoked.
“We do not bow to these fear tactics. The state and the university know that we have the power and it is up to us to use that power to take care of each other,” the speaker said.
In response to protesters’ calls for the university to expunge disciplinary records, Patrick Collins, executive director of media relations, wrote in a statement to the Daily, “the university applies the Student Code of Conduct consistently and fairly, and follows the Student Conduct Resolution Process.”
“As part of that process, students with concerns about conduct proceedings and outcomes can avail themselves of the appeal process. Access to student records is protected by FERPA,” Collins wrote.
A speaker from the indigenous students’ organization at Tufts spoke about how ICE enforces laws that “erase” Indigenous voices and about borders imposed without Indigenous peoples’ consent.
After students spoke, the protesters marched around Ballou Hall, where University President Sunil Kumar’s office is located, chanting “Say it loud and say it clear: ICE is not welcome here” and “Hey, Tufts, you can’t hide, you’re supporting genocide.” The words “F— ICE” and “Free Palestine” were spray painted on the outside of the building.
Protestors spray painted the side of Ballou Hall on Tuesday.
“I think it was completely unjust, taking her off the streets and stalking her. In the video, she didn’t seem like she felt safe in any way, shape or form so I just think coming out here and supporting her as a graduate student at Tufts is an important thing to do,” Sam, whose last name was withheld due to safety concerns, said.
The demonstration was attended by a handful of local residents from the Greater Boston area.
“I’m Jewish and I’ve seen the apartheid in Israel and the foreign policy of Israel being conducted in the name of Jews, and I really oppose it,” Jordan Weinstein, an Arlington resident, said. “Frankly, the weaponization of antisemitism in order to justify this kind of genocide is disgusting.”
Weinstein said he attended the protest on campus because Öztürk’s detainment was the “closest to home” of recent apprehensions of valid visa carriers across the country.
“I’m here to show my solidarity with her cause and my opposition to this fascist tactic that’s being used by the Trump administration to attempt to quiet and suppress criticism and opposition,” Weinstein said.
Another resident, Kaspar Kasparian, said that since it started, he has identified the Israel-Hamas conflict as a “genocidal war.”
“It’s just shocking that we’re enabling Israel and [Israeli President Benjamin] Netanyahu to bomb, kill innocent people, destroy hospitals, schools, homes of people, kill press people and deprive people of basic food, water and medical supplies.”
Student protesters expressed their desire for Tufts leadership to make a stronger effort to speak out against President Donald Trump’s administration’s efforts to enforce Trump’s January executive order to deport international students who participated in pro-Palestine activism on college campuses.
Students said they are unsure about how the university is working to support Öztürk due to their lack of detailed communication with the student body.
“I am told by professors that they are doing a lot, that they’re probably not showing that they’re doing a lot,” Sam said, “but I wish that we could see more coming from Tufts … I wish they did speak up more.”
Another Tufts student who participated in the protest said that the demonstration serves as a method of urging the university to stand against Öztürk’s detainment.
“Tufts students are not afraid to say we go to this school. We want our school to be on the right side of history and we want our school to actually take a stand for what’s right, and if the higher ups aren’t doing it, then we’ll do it, and that’s what this represents,” the student said.
“The university has been actively working to ensure Rümeysa’s access to her due process rights while at the same time mobilizing its resources and networks to advocate for the needs of our international community,” Collins wrote.
