Skip to main content
Mobile Rutgers Logo Tablet Rutgers Logo

Enter a Search Term

  • New Brunswick
  • Newark
  • Camden
  • Rutgers Health
  • Apply
    • Prospective Students and Parents
    • Current Students
    • Faculty and Staff
    • Alumni and Donors
    • Job Seekers
    • Veterans & Military
    • Rutgers Today
    • Events
  • Giving
  • About Rutgers
    • About the University
    • President Jonathan Holloway
    • Rutgers Excellence
      • Discover Rutgers Excellence
      • Rutgers Rankings
      • Faculty Excellence
      • Great Things at Rutgers
    • Rutgers, By the Numbers
    • Our Structure
    • Our Revolutionary Roots
    • Rutgers Presidential Search
  • Academics
    • Academics Overview
    • Undergraduate Academics
      • Explore Undergraduate Programs
    • Graduate and Professional Studies
      • Explore Graduate and Professional Programs
      • Explore Graduate Medical Education Programs
      • Top Graduate Programs
    • Schools and Colleges
    • Academic Resources
      • Course Catalogs
      • Libraries
      • Student Support
    • Online Degree Programs
    • Continuing Education
    • Global Learning
    • Rutgers at Your Community College
  • Admissions & Tuition
    • About Applying
    • Tuition and Financial Aid
    • Visits and Tours
    • Get Ready for Rutgers
  • Experience Rutgers
    • Discover Rutgers
    • Rutgers–New Brunswick
    • Rutgers–Newark
    • Rutgers–Camden
    • Rutgers Health
    • Rutgers Athletics
    • Show Your Rutgers Pride
    • Commencement
  • Research
    • Research at Rutgers
  • Health & Patient Care
    • Advancing Treatment and Wellness
Mobile Rutgers Logo Tablet Rutgers Logo
  • About Rutgers
    • About the University
    • President Jonathan Holloway
    • Rutgers Excellence
      • Discover Rutgers Excellence
      • Rutgers Rankings
      • Faculty Excellence
      • Great Things at Rutgers
    • Rutgers, By the Numbers
    • Our Structure
    • Our Revolutionary Roots
    • Rutgers Presidential Search
  • Academics
    • Academics Overview
    • Undergraduate Academics
      • Explore Undergraduate Programs
    • Graduate and Professional Studies
      • Explore Graduate and Professional Programs
      • Explore Graduate Medical Education Programs
      • Top Graduate Programs
    • Schools and Colleges
    • Academic Resources
      • Course Catalogs
      • Libraries
      • Student Support
    • Online Degree Programs
    • Continuing Education
    • Global Learning
    • Rutgers at Your Community College
  • Admissions & Tuition
    • About Applying
    • Tuition and Financial Aid
    • Visits and Tours
    • Get Ready for Rutgers
  • Experience Rutgers
    • Discover Rutgers
    • Rutgers–New Brunswick
    • Rutgers–Newark
    • Rutgers–Camden
    • Rutgers Health
    • Rutgers Athletics
    • Show Your Rutgers Pride
    • Commencement
  • Research
    • Research at Rutgers
  • Health & Patient Care
    • Advancing Treatment and Wellness

Utility Mobile

  • Apply
    • Prospective Students and Parents
    • Current Students
    • Faculty and Staff
    • Alumni and Donors
    • Job Seekers
    • Veterans & Military
    • Rutgers Today
    • Events
  • Giving
  • New Brunswick
  • Newark
  • Camden
  • Rutgers Health

Office of the President

  • President Holloway
  • About the President
    • Downloadable Photos
  • Publications
    • Administrative Searches
  • Academic Freedom/Free Speech
  • Communications
    • Messages to the Rutgers Community
    • Op-eds, Presentations, and Speeches
    • Selected News Coverage and Articles
  • Recognition Awards
    • About the Program
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • 2024 Honorees
    • Past Honorees
  • Scarlet Service
  • Byrne Seminar: Citizenship
  • Inauguration
    • Presidential Medallion
    • Scarlet and Black: Today's Gift
    • Core Planning Committee
  • Initiatives
  • Leadership Team
  • Administrative Searches
    • Search for Chancellor of Rutgers University–Newark
    • Search for Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, Rutgers University-New Brunswick
    • Search for Senior Vice President and General Counsel
  • Contact Information

Regarding the Protest on Voorhees Mall

May 2, 2024

Members of the Rutgers–New Brunswick Community,

We wanted to address the recent events surrounding the Voorhees Mall protest and share our actions to ensure the safety and academic success of our students.

This morning, we made the unprecedented decision to postpone morning exams on the College Avenue Campus. 

We understand the importance of exams and the impact that any disruptions can have on our students’ academic progress. We are committed to doing everything in our power to provide a safe and secure environment for our students to learn and succeed.

Several days ago, some people, including Rutgers students and individuals not from our community, set up tents on Voorhees Mall. The University has consistently taken steps to make clear to protesting organizations, including this group, our policies reflecting our commitment to free speech and the University's thresholds for disruptive activity. 

Our strategy has been focused on de-escalation and yesterday, we met with a group of students representing the protest to discuss the need to ensure that their fellow students’ exam period was not disrupted. We emphasized that student safety and student success are our most important priorities as an institution. 

However, we were disappointed to learn that overnight, Students for Justice in Palestine called for a significant rally on the Voorhees Mall, coinciding with the beginning of the exam period, specifically intended to disrupt finals for our students. Buildings surrounding Voorhees Mall are the site of hundreds of exams during the finals period, and students are rightly concerned about their ability to take exams in this environment.

The morning rally disrupted 28 scheduled exams, impacting more than 1,000 students. While the protesters eventually responded to our request to cease their disruption, the disruption adversely impacted our students and University operations and forced our postponement announcement.

This morning, we met again with the students representing the protest, again expressing our concerns for safety and student success, and informed them that their tents need to be removed from Voorhees Mall by 4 pm today.  

In sharing this decision, we also committed to the student protesters that we have convened the existing Chancellor’s Advisory Council on Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian Life to review and advise us on their academic and student life requests at Rutgers–New Brunswick.  

The safety of our students and their academic success are our highest priorities. Exams previously scheduled for this morning are being rescheduled or relocated, and the protest area on Voorhees Mall and any other places where University business is conducted will be cleared of all protesters for the remainder of the semester. 

If the protesters do not comply and disperse, clearing the area of their tents and belongings, they will be considered to have trespassed, and we will be left with no other option than, with the assistance of law enforcement, to remove the protesters and their belongings.

We value free speech and the right to protest, but it should not come at the cost of our students’ education and safety. We strive to balance these rights and maintain a safe and secure environment for our students to learn and succeed.

We believe that the action we have taken today is appropriate and will allow our students to successfully complete the semester.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Holloway
President 

Francine Conway, Ph.D.
Chancellor, Rutgers University–New Brunswick
 

Site Footer

  • New Brunswick
  • Newark
  • Camden
  • Rutgers Health

Connect

  • Campus Safety
  • Contact Us
  • Continuing Education
  • Giving to Rutgers
  • Graduate Admissions
  • Undergraduate Admissions
  • University Maps
  • Universitywide Offices
  • Work at Rutgers
  • Find a Health Care Provider
  • University Events

Academic

  • Academic Calendars
  • Course Catalogs
  • University Libraries
  • myRutgers Portal
  • Middle States Accreditation

Notices

  • University Operating Status
  • Accessibility Resources
  • Budget Facts
  • Consumer Information
  • Disclosures
  • Privacy

Follow Us

Subscribe to Rutgers News

Rutgers is an equal access/equal opportunity institution. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to direct suggestions, comments, or complaints concerning any accessibility issues with Rutgers websites to accessibility@rutgers.edu or complete the Report Accessibility Barrier / Provide Feedback form.

Copyright ©2025, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. All rights reserved. Contact webmaster