Anecdote

This morning I happened to be on the University of Pennsylvania campus, so I walked through the encampment just to see it for myself. It was pretty quiet, and no one cared when I walked through the middle of it and took photos. It didn't feel hostile or threatening to me at all. Of course, I don't feel any attachment to Israel (or any other government, for that matter).

UPenn has threatened to clear the encampment, although people seemed to be leaving them alone for now. However, these were hanging up on the fences near the protest site:

Frankly, I think Penn would be stupid to violently clear the encampment. The semester is ending and graduation is less than three weeks away. If they just wait, the encampment will probably disappear when the students leave. Maybe administrators are worried about disruptions of the graduation ceremonies, but, in my opinion, any disruption won't be as bad as the horribleness that could ensue if the Philadelphia Police were called in to clear the camp.

Plus, the camp just isn't that disruptive. The footprint of tents is relatively small, and just outside the encampment people were going about their business as normal. I had business in a nearby building, where people were talking and studying. If I entered on the other side of the building I would have had no idea there was an encampment nearby