Mary Lyon Hall, where the sit-in took place, in the winter. Photo courtesy of carolinnelissa via Wikimedia Commons.
By Jada Jackson ’26
Staff Writer
Content warning: This article discusses state-sanctioned violence and police brutality.
Since the Israeli state declared war on Hamas militants in October, universities around the world have seen their fair share of student-led organizing in support of Palestine.
Mount Holyoke College is now one of these institutions after a chapter of the international movement Students for Justice in Palestine began meeting early in November. The group led a rally, march, vigil and sit-in for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, Nov. 9, with several students occupying Mary Lyon Hall overnight.
On Instagram, the group goes by @1837sjp, excluding Mount Holyoke from their handle since the College does not recognize the organization. The rally began at 4:30 p.m., with students handing out stories and poems relevant to the ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza.
Gathering in front of and around Mary Woolley Hall, Mount Holyoke students and faculty listened as organizers read the words of those in Palestine. The group opened their march chanting, “Palestine belongs to the Palestinians.” The march grew in size and support, with passing drivers pausing in traffic to honk along to the chant until the march ended at Mary Lyon Hall. From there, the vigil began.
According to Tobin Mayo-Kiely ’26, a member of Students for Justice in Palestine Organizing at Mount Holyoke College, members have decided to stray away from using the protest chant “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” over criticism that it conflates anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. An article by AP News explains that some interpret this phrase as an indication that all of the land occupied by Israel should be ceded.
The vigil began with attendees gathering around Abbey Memorial Chapel and holding candles, as well as offering space for students to speak. Attendees read Palestinian testimonies from slips of paper. As community members tearfully read the words of those they described as “martyrs,” they began pouring libations — offerings of water — to honor the dead.
“I've been pouring this water out, and I've run out of water twice. I've never had to run out,” one student said, speaking to the crowd. “How many more times will I have to go back inside that chapel and fill up my water to give these dead the respect that they deserve?” the student continued.
“After the vigil, I had multiple students come up to me and say it was the first time that they had felt supported on this campus since the events of October 7th,” Jules Camargo ’25, a board member of 1837 SJP, shared.
Once the vigil ended, the next call to action was a sit-in. “Before I even got there, I noticed [Campus Police] was stationed at every single one of the entrances to Mary Lyon. Which historically has never been a problem with sit-ins,” Camargo said.
Sit-in participants claim that with Public Safety, formerly Campus Police, blocking all entrances and administration refusing to help bring food inside, they were obstructed from having food delivered to the building as the sit-in progressed.
“This was unprecedented in terms of Mount Holyoke’s sit-in activism history,” Camargo said. “We weren't prepared to be shut out in terms of food. We didn't prepare for food to be stored there because we expected [not to] have an issue getting in and out. … Administration wasn't working with us; no one was working with us. We started looking at other ways to get the food into the building.”
In a Nov. 10 Instagram post, the group described the obstructions as “starvation tactics.” According to Camargo, the sit-in participants “devised a plan to make a pulley system out of blankets, jackets, and a tote bag to get USEFULL containers full of food into the building through the second-story window.”
Mayo-Kiely recalled becoming separated from the group on Thursday night after leaving Mary Lyon Hall and finding that the doors between Abbey Chapel and Mary Lyon had locked.
After making several attempts to rejoin the group inside, Mayo-Kiely claimed that one Public Safety officer “picked me up and moved me out of the way, and grabbed me,” they said.
Cavalcante claims they also had an interaction with Public Safety that night along with another student of color. “We were trying to get food in. And the cop opens the door and fucking body slams both of us,” Cavalcante said. “[The officer’s] arm was across his chest … and he pushed it into our chests.”
The sit-in continued from Thursday night into Friday morning. Mayo-Kiely and Luisa Cavalcante ’25, another 1837 SJP board member, used the scaffolding attached to Mary Lyon Hall as a means to enter the building around 11:30 a.m.
“Initially, we tried to just open the window or have another student who was part of the sit-in open the window for us so that we could climb in that way, but then a [Campus Police] officer came over and kind of shut the window over the other student who was inside,” Mayo-Kiely said.
According to Mayo-Kiely, an officer then attempted to lock the window, preventing both Mayo-Kiely and Cavalcante from entering before leaving a note on the window, reading “not safe.”
While Mayo-Kiely and Cavalcante remained on the scaffolding, Camargo, acting as a liaison between sit-in participants and College administration, recalled having a verbal conversation with Associate Dean of Students, Community and Belonging Latrina Denson.
“She was disclosing to me what the repercussions of [the two students trying to get in via scaffolding] would be and that it wasn't coming from the College, but they would be charged with trespassing because the scaffolding company had called South Hadley Police, not the College,” Camargo explained.
According to a Nov. 10 Instagram post from 1837 SJP, the day of action concluded with “five brave students occupying Mary Lyon Hall.” The same post stated, “The students have been denied access to bathrooms, denied access to food, pushed by police, threatened with severe legal action and intimidated into providing full names to police.”
Members of 1837 SJP told Mount Holyoke News that four students were inside the building for the sit-in.
Director of News and Media Relations Christian Feuerstein emailed Mount Holyoke News a statement from The College regarding the sit-in, writing, “A small group of Mount Holyoke College students aimed to occupy an administrative building on campus. Acting in the best interest of the campus community, the College secured the building; four students chose to remain in the building for one night despite multiple requests to leave. The students left of their own accord the next day. Allegations of physical altercations, harassment, and lack of restroom access are false and appear to have been made by individuals not directly involved with the peaceful student action inside the building.”
In an interview with Mount Holyoke News, members of 1837 SJP explained that Mary Lyon Hall remained closed on Friday morning while students occupied the building. Disability Services and the Office of the Registrar were inactive for the time period, with administrative functions moved to Zoom. According to Cavalcante, who had also participated in a previous sit-in at Mary Lyon Hall, the College administration and Public Safety’s treatment of the students who participated in this sit-in was unprecedented.
According to a press release from @1837sjp on Instagram, the sit-in ended at 1:58 p.m. on Nov. 10. The post stated, “This finite action has reached a positive and successful conclusion with a commitment from President Danielle Holley to meet one of our core goals and collaborate with SJP to realize our complete list of institutional goals.”
“[President Holley] made it very clear that she wouldn't, in any real capacity, work with us and meet with us until we left Mary Lyon,” Mayo-Kiely said.
Mayo-Kiely added that President Danielle R. Holley verbally committed to supporting students' decision to form a support group “for Palestinian and Arab students that's led by a Palestinian or Arab person.” Mayo-Kiely also claimed that Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students Marcella Runell said she would work with Counseling Services to form such a group.
Camila Juarbe ’26, a participant in the sit-in, expressed why they engaged despite the challenges.
“I participated on Thursday/Friday's sit-in because I believe that, at an institutional level, Mount Holyoke is complicit in the genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. It is not enough to say that MHC isn't directly invested in Israel because it still has ties to Israel,” Juarbe said. “...every person’s action can matter, no matter how small- the march and the sit-in are proof of this. It was heartening to see the growing support for Palestine in Thursday’s march and vigil, but it will be an ongoing fight for the liberation of the Palestinian people.”
Since the sit-in ended, the SJP chapter has continued to hold meetings. They are looking forward to being in communication with the College to implement community goals they have for the future.