The video is disturbing. A white-haired woman rolls over, stands up to grab her cell phone, is pinned down by a police officer, and is dragged to the ground. “Are you kidding me?” a bystander asks.
“What are they doing to her?” adds another.
Anneliese Orlek, a labor historian who has taught at Dartmouth College for more than 30 years, was knocked to the ground Wednesday night while participating in an anti-Palestinian protest in Gaza. Local police said the 65-year-old doctor was tied up with cable ties and was one of 90 people arrested.
The professor walked away with whiplash. But a short video clip of the episode has been making the rounds on the Internet, intensifying debate over Dartmouth College President Xian Li Beilock's relatively quick decision to call the police, arrest the students, and clear the encampment. did.
Unlike other campuses where tents have been allowed for days, Dartmouth College has allowed tents to be set up for days, according to the college's newspaper, The Dartmouth, and students who observed the situation Wednesday. Police action began a little more than two hours after the encampment first appeared.
Dr Beilock defended her decision.
“Last night, people felt so strongly about their beliefs that they were willing to face disciplinary action and arrest,” Dr. Beilock said in a message to campus Thursday. “It takes courage, but choosing to work in this way means not only acknowledging but also accepting that actions have consequences.”
Dr. Beilock did not directly address the treatment of Dr. Oreck, who called the message “outrageous.”
“Her actions have consequences,” Dr. Oreck said in an interview. “The campus is in turmoil. It's been a long time since students and faculty have been as radicalized as they are feeling today.”
“I've been teaching here for 34 years,” she added. “There have been many protests, but I have never seen riot police on the green.” Dartmouth declined to comment on the incident.
For university administrators, how to deal with encampments has become a daunting task. Earlier this month, protests erupted on campuses across the country after Columbia University's president decided to call in the police.
At least 2,000 people have been arrested at universities across the country in the past two weeks due to demonstrations over the war in Gaza, according to a tally by the New York Times. The arrests have also angered some teachers, who have sometimes stepped in to help students.
Police in Hanover, New Hampshire, home of Dartmouth, said those arrested included students and non-students, but did not provide a breakdown. Charges include trespassing and resisting arrest. Hanover police and state police asked the students to disperse, and some did so while others did not, police officials said.
It is unclear what kind of disciplinary action the arrested students may receive from the university.
Dr. Oreck said she was charged with trespassing and was temporarily removed from campus as a condition of her bail. University administrators said Thursday that her suspension was a mistake in her bail process and that they are working to correct it.
In his message, Dr. Beilock strongly defended the decision to clear the encampment. And she said the protesters' main demand, that the trustees vote on divestitures from companies with ties to Israel, violates rules for making such decisions. Ta.
“Dartmouth's endowment is not a political tool, and using it to take sides on issues like this sets a very dangerous precedent,” she said. Ta.
Dr. Oreck, who previously served as the university's director of Jewish studies, said he watched with anxiety as clashes between police and student demonstrators escalated across the country.
She wanted to join the Dartmouth protests because she thought that, as a senior Jewish professor, in addition to many other senior Jewish professors, her presence would help keep students safe. he said.
As police moved in and arrested the students, Dr. Orek said he began recording video.
“I told them, and I said, a little angrily, 'Please leave the students alone.' They're students. They're not criminals,” she said. “The next thing I knew, I was being hit from behind.”
Messages left with local and state police were not immediately returned.
One short viral video begins with Dr. Orlek falling to the ground. she gets up. She advanced toward the officer with her hand outstretched and grabbed her cell phone, she said. She twitches again and is pushed down. It is unclear what happened before the video began.
Ivy Schweitzer, a recently retired English professor at the university, said the situation changed when security on campus dropped and outside law enforcement moved in to make arrests.
Dr. Oreck recorded the police encounter on his cell phone.
“Annelise would never have any physical contact with a police officer,” Dr. Schweitzer said. “But she'll shove a cell phone in their face. I'm sure they won't like that.”
jenna russell Contributed to the report. Sealag McNeil contributed to research.
