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8 Johns Hopkins Students Chain Themselves To Building As Police Force Protests Continue

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Eight Johns Hopkins University students chained themselves to Garland Hall, the university's administrative building, Wednesday afternoon in protest.

The protestors said for 29 days the university president Ronald Daniels and provost Sunil Kumar have ignored their demands to end the private police force initiative, the cancellation of ICE contracts and justice for Tyrone West -- a Baltimore man who died in police custody in 2013.

It was a part of a larger "Day of Action" involving 28 colleges around the country.

"Though some might call this extreme, I don't think it is at all. Chaining myself here is not nearly as extreme as JHU's daily brutalization of the Baltimore community. We are part of a history of protest at institutions of higher education that brought attention to great injustices, such as against the Vietnam War and apartheid in South Africa," said Mariam Banahi, a JHU anthropology PhD candidate.

The students said they represent 75 percent of undergraduate JHU students on the Homewood campus, the Homewood faculty assembly and more than 49 community associations.

Hogan Expected To Sign Bill Allowing Hopkins To Establish Its Own Police Force, Protests Continue

The sit-in turned into a shutdown of the building, with students taking control of the building. They held the building overnight.

Other schools around the country are showing solidarity with JHU.

There's no comment for university administrators yet on this sit-in.

You can follow the protestor's tweets here:

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

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