Students protesting at MIT are facing disciplinary action, but say they are prepared to deal with the consequences.
College campuses in Cambridge, Massachusetts, are at odds as student protesters ramp up their demonstrations.
School officials at Harvard University and MIT have threatened to take action against those involved in pro-Palestinian protests.
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MIT said Tuesday afternoon that it had begun suspending students.
"As a consequence of events that have already occurred, dozens of interim suspensions and referrals to the Committee on Discipline are now in process," a school spokesperson said in a statement. "As we said previously, these actions are necessary to ensure the safety of our community."
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On the MIT campus, an encampment was set up on the Kresge Lawn, which is just off of Massachusetts Avenue. It was a stark difference from Monday, when the encampment was clear after school leaders handed the protesters a notice to vacate.
Protesters jumped on and over barricades that were set up and stormed back into the area to recapture their encampment.
Gabriella Martini, one of about 100 students still protesting in the encampment Tuesday, says students won't leave until MIT cuts any financial ties with the Israeli military.
She says she's prepared to face the consequences.
"The more of us who come out, the harder it is to bring those punishments against students," said Martini.
Also on Tuesday, right next to the tent encampment, a large group of Jewish students celebrated the upcoming Israeli Independence Day.
They had reserved the lawn months ago, and declined to move their celebration elsewhere.
"We're showing one group cannot monopolize this campus," said student Avi Balsam.
Balsam says since the tent encampment is violating MIT's policies, the pro-Palestinian demonstrators should have been the ones to relocate.
"The administration told us, or offered us, or suggested, that we move the celebration later, but we declined to do that," said Balsam. "We said we want to be here, this is where we reserved it and the other group that is here did not reserve this space."
On Massachusetts Avenue Monday, dozens of high school students took to the street in support of the pro-Palestinian protesters at MIT, closing down the busy roadway for several hours.
This was the result of negotiations between a student led Palestinian group at MIT and the school, with leaders saying in the end that "it quickly became clear that their primary demand had not changed and that we would not be able to reach an agreement."
Meanwhile on Harvard's campus, protests continued, and a group marched to the school's interim president's home, but he wasn't there.
And just like at MIT, the protesters there made it clear they're not taking down the encampments until their school addresses their demands.
