Emerson College lays off 10 employees citing low enrollment tied to Gaza camp protests

Emerson College announced in an email on Tuesday the layoffs of nearly a dozen staffers, citing low enrollment projections for the coming school year. The institution attributed a decline in enrollment to the "negative press" the college received over its anti-Israel Gaza camp demonstrations this past Spring.

President Jay M. Bernhard laid off 10 employees and notified faculty and staff about the decision in an email writing, "College leadership has made the difficult decision to eliminate ten staff positions to help us realize our necessary cost savings."



"We are grateful for the contributions these dedicated staff members have made to the College, and we have made arrangements to support them in this transition," added Bernhard, according to the email obtained by Fox News.

Emerson officials stated that they implemented financial measures to "minimize the number of eliminated positions and programs." Adding that, "Most of the reductions take place immediately, while some will be phased in within the policies and procedures of the college and its bargaining units."

The layoffs impacted "multiple areas and affected a variety of supplemental programs and functions," officials told the Boston Globe, which was the first to report on the matter. In April, Boston police arrested 108 demonstrators participating in notorious anti-Israel Gaza camp protests at Emerson College, in which students violently clashed with police.

Bernhardt forewarned about the projected low enrollment over the Gaza camp protests in an email citing "negative press and social media generated from the demonstrations and arrests."

"We attribute this reduction to multiple factors, including national enrollment trends away from smaller private institutions, an enrollment deposit delay in response to the new FASFA rollout, student protests targeting our yield events and campus tours, and negative press and social media generated from the demonstrations and arrests," said Bernhardt.

The college's freshman class enrollment was "significantly below" what administrators had anticipated after the deposit deadline for new students. Emerson will reportedly be compelled to restrict recruiting for the upcoming year as a result of the unfavorable circumstances. Emerson was one of several colleges nationwide that came under negative fire for allowing antisemitic Gaza encampments to thrive on university property.