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Pro-Palestinian protesters remain on University of Pennsylvania's campus despite warnings to disband

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Pro-Palestinian protesters remain on University of Pennsylvania's campus despite warnings to disband


PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — It’s been more than 24 hours since the University of Pennsylvania called for a group of pro-Palestinian protestors to pack up and leave campus.

The encampment includes both students and outside demonstrators. Organizers say they aren’t going anywhere.

“We have three demands and we will not be leaving until those demands are met,” explained Emma Herndon, a student organizer of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment.

On Thursday, a rally at City Hall led the group to the University of Pennsylvania campus where they set up camp.

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“Our demands are to disclose the university endowment, to divest from Israeli, and defend voices of pro-Palestine voices on campus,” explained Herndon.

On Friday, Penn’s interim president called for the group to disband.

“Failure to disband the encampment immediately and to adhere to Penn’s policies will result in sanctions consistent with our due process procedures as they apply to students, faculty, and staff,” expressed Interim President J. Larry Jameson in a letter to the community.

WATCH | Penn’s interim president warns pro-Palestinian protesters to disband encampment immediately

Penn’s interim president warns pro-Palestinian protesters to disband encampment immediately

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“As students and as members of the Philadelphia community we have rights to protest and take a space on this campus,” said Herndon.

The letter, however, mentions credible reports of harassment and intimidation, which have been documented.

It goes on to mention the encampment itself violates the university’s facilities policies and certain actions by some protestors violate Penn’s open expression guidelines as well as state and federal law.

“I support the right for people to protest always as they should have. I think it brings in a lot of outsider antagonists,” explained one Penn student to Action News.

Students want campus life to return to what it was, while university officials say maintaining a safe inclusive campus is a priority.

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“The general feeling on campus is obviously we want no violence but somehow they’re gonna have to move,” a student said.

Meanwhile, Jewish students from neighboring schools are concerned.

“If you’re going to make intense claims you have to stand behind it. I’m letting them see me. It’s making a lot of bold claims with a lot of fear goals rather than trying to spread a message of hope for something better,” said Daniel Nahamo, a Drexel student.

A ‘Say No to Hate’ rally is planned for Sunday in support of the Jewish community.

Read the full letter sent to the Penn community on Friday:

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“To the Penn community,

At Penn, we pursue our academic mission guided by fundamental commitments to upholding freedom of inquiry and open expression, while maintaining a safe, inclusive, and respectful campus community.

Over the last 24 hours, we have closely monitored the protest that evolved into an encampment on College Green. We have vigilantly supported the rights of our community members to protest peacefully. Representatives from Open Expression, University Life, and faculty leadership have engaged with some of the protestors, with limited access to the broader group.

Unfortunately, blatant violations of University policies and credible reports of harassing and intimidating conduct compel us to protect the safety and security of our campus community.

The encampment itself violates the University’s facilities policies. The harassing and intimidating comments and actions by some of the protesters, which were reported and documented by many in our community, violate Penn’s open expression guidelines and state and federal law, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. All members of our community deserve to access our facilities without fear of harassment or being subjected to discriminatory comments or threats.

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The vandalism of the statue in front of College Hall with antisemitic graffiti was especially reprehensible and will be investigated as a hate crime.

As we have repeatedly emphasized, we will uphold free speech and the productive exchange of ideas, but we will not allow any actions that harass, threaten, or intimidate others. We have also said that the safety of our community is paramount, and we will live up to our commitment.

I am deeply saddened and troubled that our many efforts to respectfully engage in discourse, support open expression, and create a community that is free of hate and inclusive for everyone have been ignored by those who choose to disrupt and intimidate.

We have notified the protestors of their legal and policy violations. Failure to disband the encampment immediately and to adhere to Penn’s policies will result in sanctions consistent with our due process procedures as they apply to students, faculty, and staff.”

Copyright © 2024 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.

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Pennsylvania

Northern lights put on show for stargazers across parts of Philadelphia region

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Northern lights put on show for stargazers across parts of Philadelphia region


PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — An unusually strong solar storm hitting Earth produced stunning displays of color in the skies across parts of the Philadelphia region early Saturday morning.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a rare severe geomagnetic storm warning when a solar outburst reached Earth on Friday afternoon, hours sooner than anticipated.

This is NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center’s first severe geomagnetic storm watch in nearly 20 years.

The solar flares are associated with coronal mass ejections (CMEs) directed toward Earth. CMEs are expulsions of plasma and magnetic field from the sun’s corona, the outermost part of the sun’s atmosphere, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center.

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When these ejections head toward Earth, taking as long as days or as little as 15 hours, they cause geomagnetic storms, which are disturbances in the magnetic field around the planet.

“Then fast-moving particles slam into our thin, high atmosphere, colliding with Earth’s oxygen and nitrogen particles,” according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “As these air particles shed the energy they picked up from the collision, each atom starts to glow in a different color,” giving us the aurora borealis in the northern hemisphere and the aurora australis in the southern hemisphere.

Quicker clearing of skies just before dawn in our region allowed for better chances to see the northern lights Saturday. The celestial show was captured from South Jersey to northeastern Pennsylvania.

The geomagnetic storm is expected to last through the weekend. You can share your photos with Action News here.

The SWPC recommends traveling away from city lights to experience the full brightness of the aurora and to be looking at the skies within two hours of midnight, between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time.

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These storms also have the ability to potentially disrupt communications, the electric power grid, radio signals and satellite operations. As of Saturday, there were no immediate reports of disruptions.

Severe geomagnetic storms in October 2003 caused the northern lights to be seen as far south as Texas but it affected more than half of all Earth-orbiting spacecrafts and temporarily disrupted satellite TV and radio services. Additionally, several deep space missions had to be put in safe mode or completely shut down to prevent them from being disrupted.

ABC News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2024 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.



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Pennsylvania

Notes off a soiled cuff: Thoughts on turkeys, CWD in Pennsylvania, and more – Outdoor News

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Notes off a soiled cuff: Thoughts on turkeys, CWD in Pennsylvania, and more – Outdoor News


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Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania environmental organization celebrates 50th anniversary with gala

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Pennsylvania environmental organization celebrates 50th anniversary with gala


Pennsylvania environmental organization celebrates 50th anniversary with gala – CBS Philadelphia

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The Riverbend Environmental Education Center celebrated its 50th anniversary. CBS Philadelphia anchor Jessica Kartalija emceed the event.

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