Student protesters at Vanderbilt University who were staging a sit-in protest against Israel fell into a state of panic over logistical mishaps, and ended up urinating into plastic bottles and calling 911 because a woman said she’d go into toxic shock if she couldn’t change her tampon.
The students rushed into Kirkland Hall, an administrative building on the Vanderbilt campus that was closed for construction, pushing past a Community Service Officer. Once inside the building, the demonstrators remained for about 21.5 hours, protesting the administration’s decision to halt a vote from the student government in favor of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.
The protest was derailed however when the students realized they couldn’t leave the hall to handle basic bodily functions without getting arrested for their protest. At one point in the protest, demonstrators gathered in front of Kirkland Hall and clapped while chanting “Let them pee.”
UPDATE: some of the students seem to be panicking.
They called 9-1-1 because they’re worried one of them could go into toxic shock.
They’re also worried she’ll be arrested if she leaves the building. https://t.co/U08EzaYLG2 pic.twitter.com/NrXAQvuxeu
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) March 27, 2024
Other protesters called emergency medical services for a woman who said that she was at risk of toxic shock because she was not able to change her tampon and cited concerns that she would be arrested if she left the building.
Protesters also complained that “Vanderbilt administration is starving protesters” after the officers monitoring the sit-in were brought food from Panera Bread for themselves. “Vanderbilt administration prohibited students from receiving food from outside Kirkland and students are currently peeing in bottles,” one graphic posted by students about the sit-in claims.
Later in the evening, the students said the administration brought Panera Bread for security but was denying food and bathroom access to students.
They were peeing in bottles. pic.twitter.com/NNEtcLtpiq
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) March 27, 2024
Vanderbilt Spokeswoman Julia Jordan explained the reasons for the arrests in a statement, noting that three students pushed “a Community Service Officer and a staff member who offered to meet with them as they entered Kirkland Hall on Tuesday,” going on to add that “a fourth student has been charged with vandalism after breaking a window on the building’s exterior last evening.”
“All of the protest participants who breached the building will be placed on interim suspension,” Jordan went on to say. “Yesterday’s protest at Kirkland Hall was not a peaceful one. It began with the assault of a Vanderbilt community service officer and continued with protesters physically pushing Vanderbilt staff members with the hope of entering and occupying the chancellor’s office.”
One journalist covering the event on behalf of the Nashville Scene was arrested by the Vanderbilt University Police Department after he allegedly attempted to enter an administrative building despite being told by authorities that he could not enter.
“The Nashville Scene reporter, after repeated attempts to enter the administration building through multiple locked doors with signs noting the building was closed and being told by officers it was off limits, was eventually detained, arrested and released without charges filed,” a statement from Jordan reads.
Scene reporter Eli Motycka (@ejmotycka) was arrested by Vanderbilt police while reporting on student protests. pic.twitter.com/5HPcRHtI7H
— Nashville Scene (@NashvilleScene) March 26, 2024