'Purdue Liberation Zone' faces limited police, continues to day 3

The "Purdue Liberation Zone," an encampment of tents, signs and wooden structures on Memorial Mall, is entering its third day.

Dozens of Purdue students started the protest zone on Thursday as part of a nationwide student protest against the conflict in Gaza, mimicking thousands of others who have set up barricades and resisted university administration on campuses across the country.

But the "Liberation Zone" at Purdue is missing one thing in common with the others nationwide: police.

Purdue police have barely stepped foot near the protesters, who for three days have camped out on Agriculture and Memorial malls in an occupation that administration claims is against the university's rules.

Similar to other “pressure campaigns” in colleges across the United States, the protesters are calling for the boycott of partnerships with organizations that they say are actively supporting the conflict.

The lack of police presence at Purdue is a stark contrast to the likes of Columbia and Yale, where protesting students and faculty have been forcibly dispersed and arrested.

PUPD Chief Leslie Wiete told local media Thursday that police have no plans to interfere with the protest unless it poses a safety risk or disrupts university business.

"Technically, they're not supposed to camp," she said. "They've always been pretty peaceful."

Cass Roach, one of the protesters on Memorial Mall, said Saturday the students have been told by university administrators to tear down their tents overnight or be suspended from Purdue.

"They've been telling us 'you stay the night, that violates the no-camping rule,'" he said.

Some of the students have stayed at the encampment awake overnight, Roach said, after a university administrator told the group they'd be breaking the no-camping rule if they fell asleep.

Otherwise, response from Purdue has been limited, Roach said, even though it's still clear the university doesn't want the protesters to remain.

He said the protesters plan to stay camped on Memorial Mall "as long as possible," but don't expect the support of the university.

"I think it feels too generous to say it's because Purdue is some sort of free speech campus," Roach said. "Administration just doesn't want the bad press from arresting students."