Live Updates: Student encampment, May 8–11
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Publisher's Note: This feed has been closed again as of Tuesday, May 14 at 7:41 a.m, with its last update coming in on Saturday, May 11 at 12:42 p.m.
Publisher's Note: This feed has been reopened as of Thursday, May 9 at 2:20 p.m.
Editor in Chief's Note: Live reporting for this feed has concluded as of Wednesday, May 8 at 9:36 p.m., with its last update coming in at 9:32 p.m. Further coverage will be reported through separate articles.
This is a developing story. Updates are issued live as new developments in the situation occur. Headlines are subject to change.
Primary reporting by Ellie Montemayor '26.
Additional reporting contributions from Alex Tang '26, Arun Wongprommoon '23, Kate Lu '25, Vivian Hir '25, Alexa Simao '25, Omar Orozco '25, Geoffrey Enwere '26, Michelle Xiang '26, and Lee Chen '26, and Karie Shen '27.
SATURDAY, MAY 11
12:42 PM: Four MIT Police cruisers were observed by reporters of The Tech parked on Kresge Oval, with a group of police officers patrolling the area. Police cruisers were also observed parked on the lawn overnight.
FRIDAY, MAY 10 — Riot police descend on Kresge Oval encampment, student protestors arrested in 4:00 AM raid; Graduate Student Union emergency rally takes to streets following early-morning encampment sweep
5:43 PM: As of this time, most protestors have dispersed from the area, and active police officers were no longer observed on-scene. Traffic on Ames St resumed as the street was cleared.
5:29 PM: The march concluded in its entirety, and protestors began to disperse after stopping at the Ames St intersection with Amherst St.
5:25 PM: Protestors began chanting "We'll be back!" as the rally concluded with its final speaker. Coppieters 't Wallant instructed protestors to continue marching down Ames St.
5:17 PM: The rally continued with its final speaker. Protestors continued to chant "shame!" directed towards President Kornbluth and the MIT Police department.
5:12 PM: The march reached Building E1, designated as the President's House, and surrounded the building. A force of MIT Police officers flanked the driveway of the building and ordered individuals approaching the building to stay past the sidewalk.
5:10 PM: The march turned left on the campus-side lane of Memorial Drive and approached Building E1.
5:08 PM: Protestors began chanting, "Drop the charges!" as the march approached Memorial Drive. Traffic is still active on the esplanade-side lane of Memorial Drive as of this time, but the campus-side lane of the street has been shut down by police officers.
5:01 PM: The march turned and continued down Ames St, chanting "Shut it down."
4:58 PM: The march reached the Main St intersection and continued down Main St.
4:56 PM: The march began again as the group continued down Vassar St.
4:51 PM: The rally stopped at the Stata Center parking garage, where nine students were arrested on May 9 during a protest.
Ralliers were observed chanting, "Oink, oink, piggy, piggy / we're going to make your life sh*tty." MIT Police officers formed a line in front of the driveway.
4:43 PM: The march turned on Vassar St and continued in the direction of the Stata Center.
4:38 PM: After the conclusion of Coppieters 't Wallant's speech, the rally began a march on Mass Ave led by Coppieters 't Wallant.
4:25 PM: In a prepared speech presented during the rally, Graduate Student Union president Sophie Coppieters 't Wallant G affirmed the union's support for the campus pro-Palestinian movement as per a referendum adopted by the union on April 19.
Coppieters 't Wallant also described 13 graduate students, and 25 students total, suspended from the Institute. During the speech, Coppiers 't Wallant also described a number of union contract violations allegedly made by the Institute during disciplinary actions on the graduate student members of the union.
3:23 PM: The Graduate Student Union rally officially began with its first speakers. Over a hundred protestors, a combination of undergraduate and graduate students, and non-affiliated supporters rallied around the speakers.
2:40 PM: A large crowd was observed forming on the steps of Lobby 7. This comes before a planned 3:00 p.m. rally at that location by the MIT Graduate Student Union in protest of yesterday's arrests, as discussed over a union general body meeting yesterday night.
MIT Police officers were observed patrolling the area. (4:44 PM clarification: the rally was also monitored by a force from Cambridge Police.)
Several pro-Palestinian posters and flyers, which were not observed present the day before, have been spotted across campus. A group of pro-Palestinian student protestors reportedly put up the messages earlier today following the sweep of the Kresge Oval encampment.
12:17 PM: All 10 students arrested from the police raid and eventual sweep on the Kresge Oval encampment earlier today have reportedly been released after a court hearing held at Cambridge District Court.
8:37 AM: By 8:37 AM, all items on Kresge Oval have been cleared from the premises, including barricades. Facilities workers were no longer present. A small group of MIT Police officers continue to patrol the Student Center plaza.
8:30 AM: The hearings of the 10 student protestors arrested today, initially set to begin at 8:30 a.m., is briefly delayed after a delay in court proceedings.
7:38 AM: In a statement to the MIT community at 7:38 a.m., President Kornbluth detailed the events of this morning and presented a timeline of key events since the establishment of the encampment up to its removal. Kornbluth writes that she "had no choice but to remove such a high-risk flashpoint at the very center of our campus."
Many pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli posters and picket signs, which had been put up around the encampment and taken down by facilities workers as the encampment was dismantled, were set aside and loaded into a truck. Reportedly, they are being stored by the Institute for archival purposes.
7:17 AM: An MIT Advisory Alert was issued on 7:17 a.m., detailing that all Institute buildings have been placed on tap access.
7:00 AM: According to a social media post by the National Lawyers Guild, which had representatives on scene earlier this morning, arrested students will be taken to Cambridge District Court this morning. A legal team from the guild will be representing the arrested students.
Another message published by the guild's social media account noted 10 student arrests from the protest at the Stata Center garage on May 9, writing that those students had court hearings set for next week. All students from the Stata Center protest yesterday have been released from booking.
6:53 AM: As of 6:53 a.m., all reporters from The Tech have left Kresge Oval and are no longer providing live updates from the ground. The Tech will continue to monitor the situation as it develops and re-deploy reporters to the scene as necessary.
6:45 AM: A small contingent of police officers remain on standby in front of the Student Center. Other officers in the area have largely dispersed. State troopers were no longer visible in the area.
6:29 AM: A small contigent of MIT and city police officers and state troopers remain on standby as the encampment continues to be cleared by workers.
5:54 AM: Riot police were observed lining up on Amherst Alley. Within minutes, riot police and uniformed state troopers began loading into the police buses stationed at Amherst Alley.
Other officers were also observed dispersing. As of this time, access to Amherst Alley has been reopened. All areas surrounding the encampment have also reopened for access.
5:43 AM: Tap access to the Student Center has reportedly been selectively deactivated. Some student club offices on the fourth floor facing the encampment were observed to be unopenable, but other offices not faced towards Kresge Oval retained tap access.
The situation remains stable as of this time. Riot police continue to stand by as workers disassemble the encampment. The protestors have largely dispersed from the scene.
Workers were observed loading tents and other large materials from the encampment into a garbage truck.
5:37 AM: A contingent of police officers, which had followed the march of student protestors, were observed stationed around Building W31. Protestors were observed by reporters of The Tech entering the building just minutes earlier.
5:29 AM: The last tents and canopies have been knocked down. Officers and workers continue to disassemble the encampment.
5:28 AM: The demonstrators have ended their protest nearby and have begun marching down Mass Ave.
5:23 AM: Media correspondents on Amherst Alley were asked to vacate the street, as it is "private property." They were observed being asked to move to Mass Ave. Reporters from The Tech continue to report from Amherst Alley.
5:19 AM: A large contingent of riot police were observed by reporters of The Tech entering Kresge Auditorium.
5:17 AM: A group of police officers and facilities workers were observed by reporters of The Tech continuing to clear the encampment.
The first police bus, which left the scene at 4:54 a.m. while transporting arrested student protestors, reportedly reached the Cambridge Police Department precinct on 6th St. Three other police buses were observed stationed on Amherst Alley, beside the MIT Chapel.
5:10 AM: The first tent has been knocked down.
5:08 AM: Police officers enter the encampment and search through the area. Officers are reportedly beginning to disassemble the encampment. As of now, most of the barricades enclosing the encampment remain up but a section of the three-foot enclosure facing Kresge Auditorium has been opened to allow for police entry. (Note: an earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the opened section was facing the Student Center. This has been corrected as of 6:37 a.m.)
4:58 AM: Media correspondents were observed being denied requests for comment by an officer on-site. "You can talk to the media office or the chief of the police station," the officer was overheard saying.
4:54 AM: A police bus holding at least ten detained student protestors began exiting the area alongside a contingent of police motorcycles.
4:29 AM: The first arrest of a student protestor has been made. Arrested protestors are being loaded onto a police bus stationed on Amherst Alley.
4:03 AM: A 15 minutes' notice was issued to pro-Palestinian student demonstrators to vacate the premises.
Within minutes, encampment affiliates and other pro-Palestinian student demonstrators were escorted out of Kresge Oval and onto Mass Ave.
Police officers, including many dressed in riot gear, are positioned surrounding Kresge Oval Contingents of officers were observed along Mass Ave, on the Amherst Alley inteesection, around Kresge Oval, and on the path towards the Zesiger Center.
Several forces of police officers, many dressed in riot gear, patrol the scene. The surrounding area has been blocked off by officers with caution tape and metal barricades.
On Mass Ave, student protestors began an emergency rally as the encampment was raided by police.
4:00 AM: Several forces of police officers were observed in the area of the Kresge Oval encampment.
THURSDAY, MAY 9 — Pro-Palestinian student protestors arrested by city police during Stata Garage rally
5:20 PM: According to a social media post shared by the MIT Graduate Student Union (GSU), nine undergraduate and graduate students were arrested during the Stata Center protest.
(May 10, 3:03 PM clarification: five graduate students were reportedly arrested following today's events. The other four students arrested are undergraduate students.)
As of 5:20 PM, all news helicopters and active media correspondents have left the premises.
4:56 PM: News helicopters from WCVB and NBC News continue to encircle the encampment.
4:33 PM: The demonstrators have returned to the Kresge Oval encampment, and the march concluded. Within a few minutes, the members of the group from the side of the Stata Center driveway beside Main St also returned to the encampment.
4:31 PM: Police officers on Vassar St began disassembling the taped perimeter and began to disperse. The street was reopened for traffic.
4:30 PM: The march turned on Mass Ave and continued towards Kresge Oval.
4:20 PM: After a brief speech by a student protestor, the demonstrators began marching along Vassar St back to the Kresge Oval encampment.
4:10 PM: At least two protestors were observed being arrested and loaded into vehicles. They were also reportedly transported to a nearby precinct. The arrested protestors were reportedly being transported to the Middlesex House of Correction and Jail in Billerica, MA, according to a statement by a state trooper. (8:39 p.m. modification: reports from individuals familiar with the situation indicate that the arrested students may have been instead transported to the Cambridge Police Department precinct on 6th St.)
4:05 PM: The Chief of MIT Police, speaking on a megaphone, instructed protestors to clear the driveway or face arrest. Officers then began pushing protestors on both sides of the driveway away from the area. Protestors continued to be escorted away from the driveway on both sides. Vassar St was cordoned off with caution tape on both sides at the Dreyfoos entrance of the Stata Center and by Collier Memorial, with protestors being escorted to move behind the line.
4:02 PM: Police officers escorted spectators further back from 15 Vassar St opposite of the garage. Officers from the Special Emergency Response Team were also reportedly on scene.
4:00 PM: Reporters from The Tech observed that, at this time, the number of police officers on scene outnumbered student protestors. Dozens of officers patrolled the area.
3:52 PM: After a brief confrontation with police officers, three student protestors returned to the entry lane of the garage and began a sit-in. Other protestors continued to chant from the sidewalk immediately to the sides of the garage while flanked by officers.
3:28 PM: The exterior doors of Building 46 were put on card access with the revolving doors locked, according to an email sent by Brain & Cognitive Sciences administrative director Tristan Davies. (3:38 PM clarification: a 3:15 PM email from Koch Institute administrator Erica Burds noted that Buildings 46, 48, 32, 45, 36, and 76 have all been put on tap access.)
3:13 PM: The situation remains stable as a few dozen protestors, some wearing kuffiyehs and holding up picket signs and Palestinian flags, chant from either side of the garage driveway while flanked by Cambridge Police officers. Contingents of officers stand by at the perimeter of the cautioned-off area and at the Main St intersection.
2:41 PM: The protestors began chanting, "No justice, no peace / f*** these racist-ass police."
2:32 PM: Police are blocking off the walkway on both sides of the road from the Picower Institute to the Collier Memorial with police caution tape.
A force of eight state troopers are positioned on Vassar St by the Picower Institute as MIT Police officers and Cambridge Police officers stood in formation and kept protestors on either side of the driveway as vehicles continued exiting the garage.
2:16 PM: A dispatcher was reported announcing, "Call for all units at 2:16 p.m. to come to Stata" via an overheard police radio.
2:10 PM: At least 15 police vehicles seen on Vassar Street near the protest, with dozens of officers. Cars are being allowed out of Stata Garage but all other traffic is blocked. Pedestrians walking past the protest are directed to take a detour around 15 Vassar Street, the building opposite of Stata Garage.
Some of the previously-detained protestors are no longer being held and were observed rejoining the protest.
2:05 PM: An MIT Advisory Alert was issued on 2:05 p.m., detailing the protest in front of the Stata Center garage. Vehicles were instructed to use alternate routes and parking spaces.
1:57 PM: At least two protestors were detained in zipties and forced into Cambridge Police vehicles. The protestors were reportedly arrested and driven out of the scene. Allegedly, the arrested protestors were transported to a nearby police station.
1:55 PM: Protestors were observed being pushed to the ground and cuffed by police officers. Several protestors were ziptied and forcefully moved away from the protest in front of the Stata Center garage.
1:40 PM: The rally at the Student Center concluded. Protestors marched to Vassar St and began a protest in front of the Stata Center garage.
The protestors were observed attempting to form a blockade on the garage driveway.
(Note: an earlier version of this article incorrectly described the Vassar St protest as a second, separate demonstration. This has been corrected as of 4:51 p.m.)
A force of MIT Police officers, Cambridge Police officers, and state troopers were observed congregating on the scene.
1:00 PM: A pro-Palestinian rally was observed forming at the Student Center plaza.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 8 — Pro-Palestinian student protestors receive notices of suspension from MIT administration
9:32 PM: The previously reported gathering of pro-Palestinian protestors has now dwindled.
6:16 PM: Dozens of pro-Palestinian protestors have gathered on the outside of the encampment to rally against the suspension of student protestors earlier this afternoon. A suspension letter for an unknown individual that has been circulated states that suspended students will "continue to have access to services at MIT Health," but "all other privileges connected to your student status are also suspended." According to the letter, the suspensions are interim, "lasting at least through Institute commencement activities and pending a review by the COD."
4:51 PM: Dozens of students were said to have been issued suspensions, ranging from interim academic suspensions to interim full disciplinary suspensions that end access to campus buildings, housing, dining halls and meal access, employment and income as well as academic participation. Students issued with interim full suspensions have reportedly been asked to vacate campus housing.
3:21 PM: From 2:40 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. today, Pro-Palestinian student protestors received notices of suspension from MIT administration via email. The encampment on Kresge Oval remains up with a police presence.
Earlier at 8:30 a.m., a contigency of pro-Palestinian protestors blocked the entrance to the Stata Garage while chanting and waving signs. MIT, Cambridge, and State Police were present. At around 9:15 a.m., police relocated and began allowing vehicular traffic into the garage.