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Resume & Cover Letter Guides

by Caitlin | May 19, 2021 | General , General Resource , Gov/PI Resource , Judicial Resource , LLM Resources , Private Sector Resource

For everything from formatting tips to suggested language to how to introduce yourself to an employer who is not familiar with the co-op program to sample letters and resumes, please check out the Resume and Cover Letter Guides.

Cover Letter Guide 2022 FINAL

Resume Guide Jan. 2022 FINAL

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How to perfect your resumé and cover letter

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A perfect resumé and cover letter won’t guarantee that you’ll land your dream job, but it will help you get your foot in the door. According to The Muse, the popular career site, “Your resumé is an incredibly lazy but dependable friend. A pal that can score you interviews—but only when it’s targeted, truthful, and to the point.”

Here are a few tips for perfecting your resumé and cover letter, with insight from employers, designers, and career counselors.

Pass the glance test

Most hiring managers will not spend more than 10 seconds looking at a resumé for the first time, according to Diane Ciarletta, the director of Northeastern University’s Department of Career Development . In order to ensure that your resumé passes the so-called glance-test, she said, “Make sure that your name, education, and most relevant job experience stand out and pop off the page. The first two bullet points should be the most relevant things to the job you are applying for—not the things you spent the most time doing.”

Using Times New Roman on a resumé is like wearing sweatpants to an interview

Using Times New Roman on a resumé is like wearing sweatpants to an interview, according to one designer, who said “it’s telegraphing that you didn’t put any thought into the typeface that you selected.” But Ciarletta sees no problem with Times New Roman so long as your resumé is “organized, spaced well, and easy to read.” Her favorite resumé typefaces: Cambria and Calibri.

Showcase soft skills, relevant class projects

If you’re writing your first resumé, you won’t have much—if any—professional experience to point to. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t impress your hiring manager. According to Ciarletta, students looking for their first co-op position can fill out their resumés with their summer jobs, their extra-curricular activities, and their leadership positions within campus organizations. It’s also smart to highlight relevant class work, particularly if it involved experiential learning. “Maybe you served as a consultant to a company in you organizational behavior class,” Ciarletta said, citing an example. “Substantial projects like that can definitely go on a resumé.”

Your resumé is an incredibly lazy but dependable friend. A pal that can score you interviews—but only when it’s targeted, truthful, and to the point.” — The Muse

Pretend you’re dating online

Writing a generic cover letter is like emailing a generic message to a love interest on an online dating site, according to Darlene Stokes, the human resources director of QinetiQ North America. “Tailor it to the job,” she said at this fall’s career fair. “If you don’t, I’m going to think, ‘Did you even read my profile?’”

Meghan Kelly, Johnson & Johnson’s customer business manger, agreed. “The most important thing is to tailor your cover letter to the job you are applying for,” she said at the career fair. “Doing research on the company is huge.”

Limit your cover letter to four paragraphs—and don’t rehash your resumé. “This is your opportunity to mention the company’s name and show that you have done some research on the organization by explaining what value you bring to the company,” Ciarletta explained.

Before you write your cover letter, she said, “Jot down five things the employer is looking for based on the job description and then outline what you have done on co-op, in class, and during your extra-curricular activities that demonstrate that you have those skills.”

Focus on the facts

Avoid cover letter superlatives like ‘perfect match’ and refrain from using ‘flowery’ adjectives to describe yourself. Instead, Ciarletta said, “Draw attention to your accomplishments by writing results-based statements that qualify and quantify your past success.” Numerical data—maybe you saved your co-op employer $25,000 or helped increase talent recruitment by 50 percent—“is a very good thing to include.”

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Graduate Student Friday Clinic: Writing a Cover Letter

Chat with Jessica Medeiros to learn about how to write a cover letter that clearly demonstrates your skills and qualifications for the job you want.

Registration coming soon

Join Jessica Medeiros for an informal clinic to have your questions about writing the all-important cover letter answered. A cover letter is the first step in landing an interview. Your resume will showcase your talents and professional experience; a cover letter will showcase what makes you a perfect fit and why you should be selected out of a pool of other applicants. Cover letters are valuable marketing tools for promoting your accomplishments and demonstrating your professionalism, communication style, and skills. 

Opportunities at this clinic: 

• Tips for making your cover letter stand out. 
• Learn to personalize your qualifications and demonstrate how you meet the needs of the company.  
• Create a positive impression through your writing. 

This event is for current graduate students and alumni from D'Amore-McKim School of Business Graduate Programs.

Jessica Medeiros is a career advisor and instructor for the Career Management class.

Jessica serves as a career coach and advisor for master's degree candidates and alumni. She helps master's degree candidates polish their resumes, improve their job search and networking strategies, and hone their interview techniques, as they seek internships and full-time employment opportunities. Jessica forges mentorship connections between students, alumni, and Northeastern's multitude of corporate partners.

Jessica also teaches a career management course for full-time students in the MS in Finance program. The course provides students with tools to manage their careers and job searches. She works closely with international students as well, helping them prepare for employment in the U.S. Students develop a personal career search strategy, build a strong professional network, and meet with our employer partners to hear their insider insights.

Jessica has dedicated her career to helping students successfully navigate their career paths. Before coming to the D'Amore-McKim Graduate Career Center, she was first an academic and career advisor for Northeastern University's College of Professional Studies undergraduate students. She previously held positions as a career advisor and job placement specialist, as well as a transition to college Instructor and integration coach for United South End Settlements.

Application Procedures

The application will consist of:.

• Cover letter, including a proposed start date
• Statement (2-4 pages) describing in detail how the applicant’s academic, employment, personal experience, achievements, and career goals demonstrate commitment to the program objectives
• A complete curriculum vitae
• A research proposal for the Fellowship year (3-5 pages)
• At least three letters of recommendation from faculty outside Northeastern
• Letter(s) of commitment from Northeastern University faculty member(s) who will serve as mentors and hosts. As an applicant, you should contact the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs in the college and express your interest in the fellowship. The Associate Dean will work with you to identify a potential faculty mentor. See the description below for more information regarding letters of commitment.

Applicants are asked to submit items 1-4 as a single file through the Northeastern Human Resources application system. Letters of recommendation and letters of commitment can be sent directly to [email protected] . Incomplete submissions will not be reviewed.

Letters of Commitment

Northeastern University, through its faculty members, must agree to make several commitments to a potential Future Faculty Fellow in order for the potential Fellow to present a complete application for a Fellowship.

Letters of commitment must be obtained from each Northeastern faculty member who agrees to serve as a mentor and agrees to supervise the proposed Fellow in a Northeastern laboratory/discipline. The letter(s) will specify the research support (equipment, supplies, computer, etc.) and resources the Northeastern faculty member will make available to the Fellow. The letter(s) will also include a mentoring plan for the Fellow, including timelines and mechanisms for providing regular feedback to the Fellow and to enable the Fellow to work with the faculty member to establish a Career Development Plan. The faculty member must indicate their willingness to allow the Fellow to pursue independent research and must describe how a balance between independent and collaborative research will be achieved. The research topics to be pursued by the Fellow will be identified by mutual agreement between the Fellow and the faculty mentor(s), and ideally should be a mix of independent and collaborative research.

For assistance in connecting with a faculty member in your area of study, contact one of the associate deans listed below:

Bouvé College of Health Sciences Margarita DiVall 617.373.4664 [email protected]

College of Arts, Media & Design Matthew McDonald 617.373.5076 [email protected]

College of Engineering Yunsi Fei 617.373.2039 [email protected]

College of Science Oyinda Oyelaran 617.373.4494 [email protected]

College of Social Sciences & Humanities Mai’a Cross 617.373.6986 [email protected]

D’Amore-McKim School of Business Olubunmi Faleye 617.373.3712 [email protected]

Khoury College of Computer Sciences Rajmohan Rajaraman 617.373.2075 [email protected]

School of Law Kristin Madison 617.373.4551 [email protected]

What is a CV?

A curriculum vitae, or CV, is a document used to apply for academic teaching or research positions, grants or fellowships, or additional academic training. In countries outside the U.S., it is common to hear the term CV, applied to the document Americans would call a resume. Each country has different expectations for what is required in a CV, so it is important to research the country and learn about their expectations. See GoinGlobal for country-specific guidelines and examples.

Like a resume, your CV will summarize your education, experiences, and accomplishments as they relate to a specific job posting. Academic CVs differ from resumes in the additional material they include and their focus on the “three pillars of the academy: research, teaching, and service.”

Writing a CV

Every CV should begin with your contact information, education, and dissertation topic. The order that follows depends on your strengths, the nature of the job you are targeting, and the conventions of your field. One of the best ways to understand discipline-specific practices is to ask for examples from advisors, mentors, and colleagues.

CV formats vary, but your document should have 1-inch margins on all sides. It should use a common font like Times or Times New Roman in size 11-12 point. To create a clean and professional style, use bolded ALL CAPS for headings, bold for subheadings, and avoid underlining. Italics should be used in bibliographic references as necessary according to the documentation style of your discipline.

CV Categories

The basic areas you need to cover include your contact information, education, research experience, teaching experience, publications, presentations, honors and awards, and the contact information of your references. All information within these categories should be listed in reverse chronological order.

You may wish to include other categories such as grants and fellowships, service to the profession, invited talks, non-academic work, professional memberships/affiliations, languages, community involvement/outreach, etc. Be strategic in your organization to make sure the most important information is listed on the first page.

Online Resources

• Academic CV
• GoinGlobal – Find guidelines and examples for International CVs at GoinGlobal available through NUworks . The link is in the career design menu on the left side of the screen under “resources.”

Target Your CV

Target your CV to each specific job by placing what is most relevant to the job you are applying for at the top. For example, recent graduates seeking a position at a teaching-focused college or university might choose to list their teaching experience after their educational information.

Letters of Evaluation

Letters of Evaluation allow people who know you and have worked with you to support your application.

A strong letter provides information about characteristics that will enhance your success in graduate professional school, and as a practitioner. They speak to qualities such as your resourcefulness, integrity, motivation, drive, altruism, interpersonal skills, intellectual drive and curiosity.

Before selecting evaluators, please consider that participation in the Letter of Evaluation (LOE) process is voluntary. Anyone writing a letter of evaluation for a health professional school bears an obligation of candor to you, the institutions to whom it is addressed, and to the institution the writer represents. It is the writer’s responsibility to determine how to respond to your request for a letter. If a prospective evaluator feels that they are not able to write a letter, then it is their responsibility to decline.

Evaluators typically put tremendous time and effort into letters that they write. It is expected that all LOEs that are received in support of your career goal will be sent on to health professional schools. Students are not allowed to “letter shop,” asking for extra letters and then choosing the best ones to submit.

A Committee Letter is a letter authored by a pre-health committee or pre-health advisor. A committee letter is often sent with additional letters of recommendation that you solicit from your faculty and others in support of your candidacy.

Health professional schools do not have a preference for a Committee Letter versus any other type of letter of evaluation. Rather, health professional schools prefer candidates to utilize the letter services offered through their undergraduate or post-bacc program. Beginning in the 2025 application cycle the Northeastern University PreMed and PreHealth Advising Program will be joining other leading universities in only offering a Letter Packet service (see below) and will no longer be offering an additional Committee Letter service for candidates applying for admission to schools of allopathic medicine (MD), osteopathic medicine (DO), dental medicine, or podiatric medicine.

This change will have no negative impact on the competitiveness on your application! Rather, the decision to eliminate the Committee Letter enables us to extend required deadlines, offer new programming to support applicants during the secondary application process over the summer, and enhance our existing programs and resources .

Additional information regarding this change can be found on our FAQ under “PreMed/PreHealth Letter Process Updates”

A Letter Packet is a composite letter that includes full content of all required evaluator letters (requested via your Medical Applicant Portal ) plus an institutional cover sheet from the PreMed and PreHealth Advising Program.

The PreMed and PreHealth Advising Program’s institutional cover sheet provides context to your academic and experiential preparation. For NU undergraduate students and alumni, this includes information about Northeastern’s Cooperative Education program, Global Pathways programs, unique aspects of our curriculum (I.e., our single-semester general chemistry course), and more. For students and alumni of the Northeastern University Pre-Medical Studies, Post-Baccalaureate Undergraduate Certificate program this includes program details and requirements. 

If you are applying for admission to schools of allopathic medicine (MD), osteopathic medicine (DO), dental medicine, or podiatric medicine, and you are applying within three years of NU graduation, utilizing the letter services (I.e., Letter Packet) offered through your undergraduate or post-bacc program will contribute to a competitive application. If you are a PreMed/PreHealth student who falls outside of these categories, it is recommended that you apply with Individual Letters of Evaluation (see below).

northeastern university letter packet REQUIRED evaluations:

In addition to other deadlines and requirements, the following letters of evaluation are required and must be requested through MAP to be eligible to request a Letter Packet.

3 Internal, Faculty Letters

• Internal letters must be from a graded course (at least 3-credit lecture or 1-credit lab). Evaluations can be requested from in-progress courses.
• Note: students and alumni of the Northeastern University  Pre-Medical Studies, Post-Baccalaureate Undergraduate Certificate program   have the option to substitute their third letter of evaluation from a faculty member at their undergraduate institution.
• Two of the three required internal letters must be from Biology, Chemistry, Math, or Physics (BCMP) faculty (current, former, or retired) OR from faculty instructors on the approved list of  Internal Science Letters .
• One letter may be from any academic discipline, though we recommend a non-science letter.
• The Letter Packet has a THREE internal letter MAXIMUM. Do not request more than the required number of internal letters.

1 External, Clinical Letter

• This letter must come from a practitioner in the health profession to which you are applying (i.e., MD or DO, Dentist, or Podiatrist). Applicants applying to MD and/or  DO programs may have a clinical letter from either an MD  or  DO.
• The letter must represent a college-level patient-facing experience (strongly recommended in-person) with a U.S. licensed physician/dentist/podiatrist. The experience must be within the United States or, if abroad, with a State Department, US university/hospital sponsored, or recognized U.S. organization. Letters from family friends are not encouraged. Letters from family members are prohibited.

2 External, Optional Letters

• Up to two additional external letters may be requested from supervisors, research PIs, clinicians, coaches, etc.
• Applicants may NOT use optional letter slots for additional internal academic letters unless there is a relationship with the faculty member outside of your academic coursework (i.e., research supervisor).
• Applicants applying to MD  and  DO programs are strongly encouraged to obtain a clinical letter from  BOTH  an MD and a DO, utilizing one of their optional letter slots.

**It is the applicant’s responsibility to review individual school’s requirements, as requirements for letters of recommendation vary from school to school. 

More information on Letter Packet processes, deadlines, and requirements can be found within the applicable health professions page on the left side menu or directly via the following links:

• Allopathic & Osteopathic Medicine (MD/DO)
• Dental Medicine
• Podiatric Medicine

If you choose to send individual Letters of Evaluation, please do not request them through your Medical Applicant Portal. Instead, follow the instructions in the centralized application service for your health professional school application, or the directions of the specific schools if they have a different application process.

If you are applying for admissions to schools of optometric medicine, veterinary medicine, or are an Alumni who graduated three or more years ago, it is recommended that you apply with individual letters of evaluation. Physician Assistant Programs require individual letters of evaluation.

For current students and recent alums, please know that most allopathic (MD), osteopathic (DO), dental, and podiatric schools do expect you to utilize the letter service (I.e., Letter Packet) offered through your undergraduate or post-bacc program.

Under most circumstances you will want to wait until your application year to request letters of evaluation.

For internal letters from NU faculty this will allow you the opportunity to take your smaller, upper level classes before you request a letter of evaluation. In addition, if you have a professor who you particularly like, you may enroll in another class or complete a directed study with them. After a second class the professor will be able to write a better evaluation. Remember to keep in touch with faculty after class ends; stop by for advice about a co-op or research position, tutor their class, or assist with their research. Make an effort to check in with a couple of former science professors once a semester to let them know what you are doing, and to maintain your relationship.

For external letters you may request letters within a few months of your experience. However, it may be more effective to maintain a relationship with your evaluator and ask for a letter closer to your application time. This allows a mentor to see how you grow over time. It also helps to establish that you are able to maintain long-term professional relationships. We do require that at least one clinical letter from a practitioner in the specific field to which you are applying.

External letters that are dated more than three years before your application year will not assist you to be competitive. Therefore, we require all letters to be dated within the three years preceding your application.

Whenever possible we recommend that you make an appointment to meet with your potential evaluator to request a letter of evaluation. In your email request for an appointment let the evaluator know that you would like to meet with them to discuss your application to medical or dental school.  This sets the stage for your meeting and, in the unlikely event that the evaluator doesn’t feel that they can recommend you, allows them to decline. When you go to your appointment bring a current resume, a draft of your personal statement, and a copy of your degree audit or unofficial transcript to leave behind with the evaluator. Be prepared to talk about your passion for medicine/dentistry and future aspirations.

Once an evaluator has agreed to write a recommendation for you, you will send an official request to them via the Medical Applicant Portal (MAP).  Log into your account and go to the “Letters of Evaluation” section and enter the contact information for your evaluator.  MAP will send instructions for submission directly to the email address that you enter.   Under no circumstances should you send a letter request to your own email address.

Explain to each evaluator who consents to write a letter on your behalf that:

• They will receive an e-mail from the PreMed and PreHealth Advising Program confirming that s/he has agreed to write a letter on your behalf. The confidentiality status of the letter will be confirmed as well as your matriculation year.
• They will be asked to submit a candid letter of evaluation electronically. NU faculty will submit a word document, all other evaluators will be asked to submit a PDF copy of a letter that is signed, dated, and on professional/institutional letterhead.  All NU faculty are required to submit electronically.  For external evaluators, we prefer an electronically submitted PDF but we will accept a hard-copy original by US mail (not by fax).
• Make sure to tell the evaluator the deadline for submitting their letter. It is also included in the letter request email.
• You may also want to give your evaluator a copy of the  AAMC’s Guidelines for Writing a Letter of Evaluation for a Medical School Applicant. This brochure was developed for allopathic medicine programs, but generalizes well to other types of health professions.

The PreMed and PreHealth Advising Program will retain letters of evaluation (LOEs) submitted to MAP for inclusion in a Committee Letter or Letter Packet. LOEs will be available for future use if you decide to defer your application, or if you are not successful the first time you apply.

For those applying with individual letters of recommendation, applicants should stay in contact with evaluators to obtain new or updated letters of recommendation in accordance with their application year. Applicants may also choose to utilize a letter service, such as Interfolio , to store letters of evaluation.

Please note:  The PreMed and PreHealth Advising Program cannot forward letters to any program other than what was designated on the original request.  We are unable to send letters to medical master’s, Post-Bacc, Physician’s Assistant, Nursing (etc.) programs. Please contact your evaluators directly to request that letters be tailored to the program to which you are applying.

Centralized application services for health professional programs typically calculate one or more science GPA’s that may include courses in Biology, Chemistry, Math, and Physics (BCMP). To calculate your science vs. non-science GPA review the instructions in the GPA Calculations section under Supporting Information on the Academic Preparation page.

For some students, the courses you use in your science GPA calculations may come from other departments that teach classes that are concentrated in the abovementioned subjects. Below are courses that the PreMed and PreHealth Advising Program, based on faculty recommendation, encourages you to consider in your science GPA calculations for your health professional school application. All statistics courses offered at Northeastern University may also be considered in your science GPA calculations.

We will also accept these as science (BCMP) letters of evaluation for our Program’s Letter of Evaluation Services (I.e., Letter Packet) since the course’s primary instruction is based in BCMP disciplines, despite the course being offered by a different department. All statistics courses offered at Northeastern University will be accepted as science (BCMP) letters of evaluation. However, while a Letter Packet typically sufficiently meets the letter requirements for most programs, it is the applicant’s responsibility to review individual school’s requirements, as requirements for letters of recommendation vary from school to school. 

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Cover Letter Writing

Sample cover letters.

• Cover letter sample 1
• Cover letter sample 2
• Cover letter sample 3

A cover letter introduces you to a potential employer and should accompany your résumé unless the employer requests otherwise. You should use a business-letter format and keep to one page of three to five paragraphs. Each cover letter you write should be tailored to the specific position and employer to align with the organization’s culture and the requirements of the role.

By clearly highlighting your strengths and credentials, a cover letter should capture the employer’s interest. Don’t repeat all the content from your résumé; instead, select two or three experiences that showcase the positive impact of your relevant skills.

• Use the same header on both your cover letter and résumé for a cohesive and polished look. When available, include the name, title, company, and address of the person you’re writing.
• If you don’t know the recruiter or hiring manager’s name, address your letter to “Recruiting Team” or “Hiring Manager.” Avoid using “To whom it may concern.”
• Use the opening paragraph to introduce yourself. State why you’re writing and how you learned about the position. Demonstrate your level of interest and knowledge of the organization in two to three more sentences. These final sentences of the opening paragraph should grab the employer’s attention and encourage them to read on.
• If someone referred you or you’ve established a contact through networking, include the person’s name and affiliation with the employer.
• The middle paragraphs should emphasize and elaborate on your strongest qualifications and key relevant experiences. Address qualifications specified in the job description and give specific examples of when you’ve demonstrated the skills the employer is seeking.
• Use the closing paragraph to express thanks for consideration and to request an opportunity to discuss the position. For long-distance searches, let the employer know of any plans to visit the area so that you might arrange an in-person interview.
• If you’re using the header from your résumé, do not repeat your contact information in the signature. 

It’s a good idea to solicit feedback on your cover letter by sharing drafts with NCA staff, professional contacts, and peers. Ask your reviewers, “What did you learn about my qualifications and interest in the position?” Make sure to proofread your letter carefully before sending it.

Police clear 100 protesters from pro-Palestinian encampment at Northeastern University

Editor’s note: This story has been updated multiple times since Friday evening. Our latest update reflects additional information about an inflammatory statement that Northeastern University cited in its decision to clear the student encampment. The Globe is reviewing video from the scene and its earlier reporting to better determine how events unfolded.

In the second dramatic sweep of a college campus in Boston this week, police cleared a pro-Palestinian encampment at Northeastern University early Saturday, detaining around 100 people.

But the police operation gave way to a roiling debate over the origin of an antisemitic statement that was shouted among the gathering, which included at least two counterdemonstrators holding a flag of Israel, before officers moved in and dismantled the encampment.

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In a statement released at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Northeastern said that “professional organizers with no affiliation” to the university had co-opted the demonstration. Northeastern also said “virulent antisemitic slurs, including ‘Kill the Jews’” were heard.

Student groups involved in the encampment and a peace activist organization said one of the counterprotesters who was not involved in the demonstration had shouted “Kill the Jews,” and that Northeastern had incorrectly blamed the pro-Palestinian demonstrators for the statement to justify the police action.

Massachusetts Peace Action shared a video clip that shows two men holding an Israeli flag as a gathering of pro-Palestinian demonstrators organized chants.

The video shared by the peace organization appears to show one of the unidentified men holding the Israeli flag, yell, “Kill the Jews, anybody on board?”

Several of the demonstrators responded by booing and yelling, “No.”

The peace group said in a statement that the counterprotester’s actions were “an apparent attempt to get the crowd to repeat the antisemitic remark.”

Two other organizations, Jewish Voice for Peace Boston and If Not Now Boston, also denounced Northeastern for making “false claims” that the pro-Palestinian demonstrators were “infiltrated by professional organizers” who used “virulent antisemitic slurs.”

Shortly after 11 a.m., Northeastern issued another statement addressing the remark. The statement didn’t address who was responsible for shouting the phrase and cited The Boston Globe as reporting that a person yelled the remark on campus.

“The fact that the phrase ‘Kill the Jews’ was shouted on our campus is not in dispute. The Boston Globe, a trusted news organization, reported it as fact. There is also substantial video evidence,” Northeastern spokesperson Renata Nyul said in the late morning statement. “Any suggestion that repulsive antisemitic comments are sometimes acceptable depending on the context is reprehensible. That language has no place on any university campus.”

Officers from the campus police department and State Police began clearing the encampment Saturday morning and began making arrests at 7 a.m. Boston Police were also on hand. They removed the demonstrators in about two hours.

The police raid took place two days after authorities broke up a similar encampment at Emerson that resulted in 118 arrests and drew criticism for what some saw as heavy-handed police tactics. The Northeastern operation did not appear to feature the same type of physical confrontations between police and protesters.

State Police said in a statement that Northeastern made the call Saturday morning to clear the protest and had asked them for assistance. Spokesperson David Procopio said troopers responded to a campus police request for assistance and “assisted in removing protesters who refused to leave.”

Those who are booked could face charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct. They were being taken to the Suffolk County House of Correction to be booked and processed, Procopio said, adding that about 102 people were detained in total.

Northeastern activist group Huskies for a Free Palestine disputed the statements that the demonstrators had been yelling antisemitic slurs. In a statement, the group said counterprotesters yelled the phrase to mock them.

“After deploying campus police, city police, and state police on peaceful activist students, Northeastern Administration published an entirely false and fabricated narrative that members of our encampment engaged in hate speech early this morning,” the student group said in a statement after the arrests.

“The conduct of Northeastern administration has been deplorable as they continue to defame their students and take away from the main cause of Huskies for a Free Palestine: to divest from Israeli Apartheid and call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.”

The statement said the group was not “‘infiltrated’ in any way, shape or form by ‘professional protestors’, no one hired, it was comprised primarily of students.”

The encampment at Northeastern is one of several that demonstrators set up at universities in the Boston area this week, part of a national wave of protests at college campuses as students call on administrators to condemn the climbing death toll in Gaza and divest from financial ties to Israel.

Mayor Michelle Wu and Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the decision that police would clear the Emerson encampment after police and city officials warned protesters that it created a safety hazard because it blocked a public way leading to a state transportation building. Video from protesters and onlookers showed officers tussling with screaming protesters, prompting criticism of police tactics.

Encampments remain at Harvard, MIT, and Tufts.

The Northeastern demonstrators, who set up the site Thursday, quickly faced opposition from administrators, who said protesters were violating the student code of conduct.

As they began clearing the camp Saturday morning, about a dozen Northeastern and State Police walked in a single file line from Shillman Hall, lining up around the other side of the circular pathway.

“Time to go home, guys,” one officer said. The students responded that it was their lawn. “Private property,” the officer said. “It’s time to go home.”

The crowd had grown to about 200 demonstrators at its peak late Friday night. Earlier in the day, the university cut off power to the common, where there are outlets that demonstrators were using to charge mobile devices as well as water heaters, speakers, and other items. Two academic buildings near the common were also closed with their doors locked.

Michael Armini, Northeastern’s senior vice president of external affairs, said university officials had “tried to talk to students several times” but were not successful.

But the hostility continued to rise. At one point, a person called out, “Kill the Jews,” while others yelled, “No right to exist,” at the two counterprotesters holding the Israeli flag. Campus police later escorted the men away from the encampment.

About 5:35 a.m. Saturday, police at Northeastern ushered about two dozen protesters down Leon Street, where they stood and continued to chant and film from a distance.

Ruben Galindo, Northeastern’s deputy chief of police, walked around the encampment with a loudspeaker to warn demonstrators to leave the area. He told students they could leave with no disciplinary action, but none obliged. Instead, chants grew louder still.

“When the officers approach you, don’t resist,” Galindo told the demonstrators.

At 5:45 a.m., a large, black moving truck pulled up next to the encampment’s border. Police and workers lifted metal blockades from inside, dragging them around the encampment to block people from entering.

One protester began shouting at the workers putting together the barricade fence.

“You’re helping these police?” he called, holding his phone up to record video.

“We’re just doing our job, brother,” a man holding a barricade said.

Officers established barricades on either side of the encampment, blocking students off from the outside. One side of the barricades reached from Shillman Hall to Ryder Hall, the other between Ryder and Holmes halls.

By 5:55 a.m., the encampment was fully blocked off. At 6:08 a.m., police began dragging away Adirondack chairs and tossing tents aside, as the protesters still inside continued their chants. Other demonstrators sat on the ground with their arms linked.

One officer picked up a small Palestinian flag and walked to the perimeter of Centennial Common, where demonstrators stood outside the barriers. “Do you want this?” he said, offering the flag to the student. She took and it began waving it along to the chant, “Gaza sees you.”

Meanwhile, a group of students gathered outside the barriers, screaming at officers and repeating chants being shouted from within the encampment. An officer motioned for backup, telling other officers to “cover” gaps between barriers and the encampment.

Two students within the encampment used homemade seat cushions, built from pool noodles and Styrofoam, as shields. Around 6:15 a.m., students in the encampment rose from a sitting position and stood, with their arms linked, chanting at the police.

Police approached the wall of protestors around 6:35 a.m. They appeared to speak with organizers, gesturing and pointing toward the outside of the barricades.

Before police reached campus, droves of State Police cruisers and unmarked vehicles filed into a parking lot behind the Ruggles MBTA station, a short distance from the common. Officers could be seen embracing and shaking hands, as others began to take equipment out of the vehicles.

The arrests began shortly after 7 a.m. as police placed some demonstrators’ hands in zip ties and led them to Shillman Hall. The protesters were then taken from Shillman and placed into transport vans parked in an alley around 7:25 a.m., drawing cheers from a nearby crowd of more than a dozen onlookers standing behind a barricade.

“These are nonviolent students,” one protester said to police from across the barricade.

On the common, students linked arms around the perimeter of the encampment, while an organizer stood in the center and spoke into a megaphone. “Please do not actively resist arrest, I know you want to, I want to as well. Do not engage, it’s not worth it,” the organizer said.

Some protesters tried to block police vehicles.

Encampments have sprung up at dozens of campuses nationwide since New York City police made more than 100 arrests as they attempted to break up a camp at Columbia University last week.

More than 34,300 people in Gaza have died, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, since Israel invaded the territory following Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

At Northeastern on Saturday night, dozens of people gathered by the Krentzman Quad for a Havdalah service marking the end of Shabbat. The arrests were a main topic, as speakers, including Jewish Northeastern students, criticized the university for calling in police to shut down the encampment.

Rachel, 21, a fourth-year student Northeastern student who is Jewish and asked that her last name not be published for fear of retaliation for speaking out, said she spent two days at the encampment, but was away early Saturday when the police action occurred. She said it was a peaceful and communal setting.

“It was the closest I’ve felt to any community,” she said in an interview. “It was really sad to see what was such a beautiful liberation zone completely destroyed.”

Alexa Coultoff can be reached at [email protected] . Follow her @alexacoultoff . Lila Hempel-Edgers can be reached at [email protected] . Follow her on X @hempeledgers and on Instagram @lila_hempel_edgers. Daniel Kool can be reached at [email protected] . Follow him @dekool01 . Nick Stoico can be reached at [email protected] . Sean Cotter can be reached at [email protected] . Follow him @cotterreporter . Laura Crimaldi can be reached at [email protected] . Follow her @lauracrimaldi .

Israel’s war on Gaza updates: Hamas says reviewing new Israeli proposal

Official Khalil al-Hayya gave no details of offer, as Israeli FM says Rafah invasion to be ‘suspended’ if deal reached.

This live page is now closed. You can continue to follow our coverage of the war in Gaza here .

• Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya says the group is reviewing a new Israeli truce proposal, as Israeli FM Katz says Rafah invasion would be “suspended” if a prisoner swap deal is reached.
• At least seven people were killed and others injured when the Israeli army bombed a home in southern Gaza’s Rafah, Palestinian news agency Wafa reports, citing local and medical sources.
• Hamas’s military wing has published a video of two Israeli captives held in Gaza, showing footage of them calling on PM Netanyahu’s government to make a deal to secure their release.
• Growing student protests in the United States against the war on Gaza and universities’ ties with Israel have spread into Europe and beyond.
• At least 34,388 Palestinians have been killed and 77,437 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attacks stands at 1,139, with dozens of people still held captive in Gaza.

That’s a wrap from us

Thank you for joining us for updates on everything related to Israel’s war on Gaza.

For more news, analysis and opinion on the conflict, click  here .

A look at what happened today

We will be closing this live page soon. Here’s a quick recap from today:

• US news site Axios, citing two Israeli officials, reported that a new Israeli proposal for a possible deal with Hamas included a willingness to discuss the “restoration of sustainable calm” in Gaza.
• Israeli FM Katz said the Rafah invasion would be “suspended” if a prisoner swap deal is reached.
• Al Jazeera’s correspondent reported that 30 rockets were fired from Lebanon towards Israel.
• An Israeli strike in Srebbine, southern Lebanon, destroyed a house and injured 14 civilians, two of them seriously, according to Al Jazeera’s reporter.
• Student protests  in the United States against the  war on Gaza and universities’ ties with Israel continued.
• Students at Columbia released their five demands from the US university, including a demand to divest from companies that aid the Israeli government and another to sever ties to Israeli universities.
• Some senior US officials advised Secretary of State Antony Blinken that they do not find “credible or reliable” Israel’s assurances that it is using US-supplied weapons in accordance with international humanitarian law, according to an internal State Department memo reviewed by Reuters.
• Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian farmers in residential areas in the occupied West Bank.
• Hamas’s military wing released a video of two Israeli captives demanding the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reach an exchange deal.
• At least seven people were killed in an Israeli army attack on a home in Rafah, Wafa reported.
• A flotilla hoping to deliver aid to Gaza was blocked in Turkey after the West African country of Guinea-Bissau withdrew its flagged vessels.
• Muqtada al-Sadr, an influential Shia Muslim leader in Iraq, expressed his support for the pro-Palestinian encampments at universities in the United States.

WATCH: A 74-year-old Palestinian activist spends six months in Israeli jail

Omar Assaf has just been released from an Israeli prison after six months in custody.

Our cameras caught him reuniting with his family and a little bit of his story.

Watch our video for more: 

‘We’re living this war in all aspects of life’

Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary was one of the signatories of the letter calling on US White House journalists to boycott the correspondent’s dinner.

She spoke to us from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza. Here is what she said:

I don’t have the words to describe what I have been going through since October 7.

This is not something that has been ending. It has been continuous every single day for more than 200 days. We have been killed, displaced and homeless, and we’re not only reporting on this, but we’re also living it with every single detail.

We’re living this war in all aspects of life. We have not seen our families as journalists. We have not been able to eat well. We have been dehydrated.

We have been reporting in one of the harshest conditions any reporter can go through despite losing a lot of colleagues, and it hurts our souls and our hearts every single day.

We have been constantly targeted by the Israeli air strikes and shelling.

All of these daily things we have been living as journalists are overwhelming [and] exhausting, but we still continue because there have been at least 100 Palestinian journalists whom I personally know that have been killed since October 7.

If they were here today with us, they would be reporting, and they would be raising the voice of the voiceless Palestinians.

Pro-Palestine protesters arrested at Indiana University

The Indiana University police department in Bloomington, United States, says that 23 protesters have been arrested.

Indiana State Police and Indiana University police told pro-Palestinian protesters they could not pitch tents and camp on campus.

When the tents were not removed, police arrested and transported protesters to the Monroe County Justice Center on charges of criminal trespass and resisting arrest.

A police statement read, “The Indiana University Police Department continues to support peaceful protests on campus that follow university policy.”

Protesters shout, ‘Shame on you’, outside White House correspondents dinner

Reporting from Washington DC, US

It’s astonishing. We’ve never seen a White House correspondent’s dinner like this.

At the Washington Hilton, the president is here to speak while being warmly applauded by the national US press core.

But these VIPs are all dressed up in the evening finery, and they have to run the gauntlet of hundreds of protesters out here who are shouting, “Shame on you”.

“Shame on you” for breaking bread when there are 140 journalists dead as a result of, as far as they say, Biden’s complicity in their murder.

Rockets fired from southern Lebanon at northern Israel

Al Jazeera’s correspondent reports that 30 rockets were fired from Lebanon towards Israel.

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that rockets were fired from Lebanon towards the Meron area, which is located in northern Israel.

Israeli media and platforms broadcast scenes showing explosions over the area.

As we have reported, there were several exchanges of fire across the Lebanon-Israel border on Saturday.

An Israeli strike in Srebbine, southern Lebanon, destroyed a house and injured 14 civilians, two of them seriously.

Since October 8 , the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah and the Israeli military have traded fire regularly.

You can read our in-depth analysis of these cross-border attacks here .

Photos: Day 10 of pro-Palestine protest at Columbia University

Students continue to occupy an encampment at Columbia University’s campus in New York.

They have been protesting the university’s investments in Israel and showing their support for Palestine for almost two weeks – inspiring other students across the nation to do the same.

Prominent US activist expresses support for campus pro-Palestine protests

Linda Sarsour tells Al Jazeera that she is “extremely inspired and encouraged by these young people all across this country”.

Sarsour, who is of Palestinian descent, was visiting the protest at Princeton University where students, as they are on campuses across the country, are protesting in support of Palestinians, as well as against their institutions’ investments in Israel.

“These young people are reaffirming and demonstrating that the tide is shifting on Palestine, that the Palestinian people have solidarity not just across the United States of America, but across the world,” she said.

When asked why no major university presidents are supporting the students in their protests, she said that the institutions “are beholden to their donors, instead of being loyal to their students”.

Police staying away from Emory University after Thursday’s violent scenes

Reporting from Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Over the last hour or so, the number [of protesters has] steadily been growing. At the moment, it’s probably more of a gathering than a protest.

But this is very much a peaceful affair, and that’s been very much what the organisers have been selling it as on social media. [They say] come along, bring a blanket, bring some food, bring something to drink, sit on the ground, make some posters, write some slogans on the floor with chalk, just show your solidarity through peaceful motives.

There’s also a significant lack of police here. The occasional officer walks by, but compared to Thursday, when we saw those scenes and those mass arrests, the police are very much staying away.

The president of this university is coming under increasing pressure because he is the man who said that the police were right to be here on Thursday when we saw those violent arrests . Yesterday, one of the faculties here held a motion to hold a vote of no confidence in him.

Israeli truce proposal includes possibility of ‘restoration of sustainable calm’ in Gaza: Report

US news site Axios, citing two Israeli officials, reports that a new Israeli proposal for a possible deal with Hamas includes a willingness to discuss the “restoration of sustainable calm” in Gaza after an initial release of captives on humanitarian grounds.

According to Axios, the Israeli officials said the new proposal was formulated jointly by the Egyptian intelligence delegation and the Israeli negotiations team.

The new proposal is reported to offer a response to several of Hamas’s demands, including a willingness to allow the full return of displaced Palestinians to their homes in northern Gaza and a withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Netzarim Corridor, which splits the north of Gaza from the rest of the enclave.

Axios states that “the proposal also includes a willingness to discuss the establishment of a sustainable ceasefire as part of the implementation of the second phase of the deal”, which would take place after the release of the Israeli captives on humanitarian grounds.

This would mark the first time since Israel began its war on Gaza that Israeli leaders have shown an openness to discussing an end to the war as part of a deal to release the captives.

WATCH: Aid ship delayed as Israel creates ‘administrative roadblock’

A flotilla aiming to deliver aid to Gaza has been blocked in Turkey after the West African country of Guinea-Bissau withdrew its flagged vessels.

“Sadly, Guinea-Bissau has allowed itself to become complicit in Israel’s deliberate starvation, illegal siege and genocide of Palestinians in Gaza,” said the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.

Watch our video to learn more:

491 Palestinians killed in West Bank since Oct 7: Ministry

The Palestinian Authority (PA) Ministry of Health has said that the number includes 123 children, five women, five elderly people and 10 detainees in Israeli prisons.

Earlier today, we reported that Israeli troops killed two men, ages 20 and 21, in Jenin, and injured two others moderately, according to medics at Jenin’s government hospital.

Palestinian journalists call for boycott of White House correspondents dinner

More than two dozen Palestinian journalists have called for a boycott of the upcoming White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, which annually brings reporters, politicians and a glitzy array of celebrities together.

With President Joe Biden heading a long list of VIP guests, Palestinian journalists penned an open letter urging their American colleagues not to attend the dinner.

“You have a unique responsibility to speak truth to power and uphold journalistic integrity,” said the letter. “It is unacceptable to stay silent out of fear or professional concern while journalists in Gaza continue to be detained, tortured, and killed for doing our jobs.”

According to the New York-based Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ), at least 97 journalists – including 92 Palestinians – have been killed since October 7. At least 16 others have been wounded.

In addition to the boycott call, an antiwar coalition is planning a demonstration not far from the Washington Hilton hotel where the dinner will take place.

The antiwar group Code Pink, part of the coalition, said it planned to “shut down” the dinner to protest “the complicity of the Biden administration in the targeting and killing of Palestinian journalists by the Israeli military”.

Four US state depts raise concerns in internal memo that Israel may be violating international law in Gaza

Some senior US officials have advised Secretary of State Antony Blinken that they do not find “credible or reliable” Israel’s assurances that it is using US-supplied weapons in accordance with international humanitarian law, according to an internal State Department memo reviewed by Reuters.

Under a National Security Memorandum (NSM) issued by President Joe Biden in February, Blinken must report to Congress by May 8 whether he finds credible Israel’s assurances that its use of US weapons does not violate US or international law.

By March 24, at least seven State Department bureaus had sent their contributions to an initial “options memo” to Blinken.

“Some components in the department favoured accepting Israel’s assurances, some favoured rejecting them, and some took no position,” an unnamed US official quoted by Reuters said.

A joint submission from four bureaus raised “serious concern over non-compliance” with international humanitarian law during Israel’s prosecution of the war on Gaza .

The assessment from the four bureaus said Israel’s assurances were “neither credible nor reliable.” It cited eight examples of Israeli military actions that the officials said raise “serious questions” about potential violations of international humanitarian law.

These included repeatedly striking protected sites and civilian infrastructure; “unconscionably high levels of civilian harm to military advantage”; taking little action to investigate violations or to hold to account those responsible for significant civilian harm and “killing humanitarian workers and journalists at an unprecedented rate”.

Protests in Israel constant reminder to the gov’t that it remains very unpopular

Reporting from Tel Aviv, Israel

There were perhaps as many as 30,000 people earlier on, both here outside the Defence Ministry and in front of the Tel Aviv Museum of Modern Art, where the families of the captives gather every night.

These protests are gathering momentum. They have been here since long before October 7. I was here this time last year as people protested against the government and its attempts to change the way judges were appointed to the Supreme Court.

They picked up again in recent months as people called for an end to the war in Gaza and the resignation of the government, particularly [Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu.

Many of the protesters here saying that Netanyahu is deliberately prolonging this war in Gaza, because it saves him from the ultimate reckoning at the ballot box.

The difference this year from last year is that there’s a more mixed crowd because many people have lost faith and Benjamin Netanyahu.

All the polls say that if there’s a new election, then he will almost certainly lose.

Israeli army says it hopes Gaza aid pier ready by early May

The Israeli army has said it hopes a pier to deliver aid to Gaza will be ready by early May, as it pushes ahead with its war on the besieged coastal enclave.

“We will be working with our partners on this endeavour … in the upcoming weeks, hopefully to make it fully functional early May,” Israeli army spokesperson Nadav Shoshani told an online press briefing on Saturday.

Shoshani said, “There will be no American boots on the ground, so once the aid gets to the land, the international organisations are going to be the ones carrying them out.”

Plans for the pier were first announced by US President Joe Biden in early March as Israel continues to hold up aid deliveries by land.

UN agencies have said maritime deliveries alone cannot deliver sufficient aid to ward off the threat of famine and have called on Israel to open up more border crossings for road convoys.

Hamas reviewing Israeli proposal for Gaza ceasefire

Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya has given no details of Israel’s offer, but said it was in response to a Hamas proposal two weeks ago.

Negotiations earlier this month centred on a six-week ceasefire proposal and the release of 40 captives in exchange for freeing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

A separate Hamas statement said leaders from three main factions active in Gaza discussed attempts to end the war. It didn’t mention the Israeli proposal.

The statements came hours after an Egyptian delegation wrapped up a visit to Israel.

Egypt has cautioned that an offensive into Rafah could have “catastrophic consequences” on the humanitarian situation in Gaza as well as on regional peace and security.

Israeli fighter jets target Hezbollah infrastructure: Israeli military

We reported earlier on an exchange of fire between Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and the Israeli military in the north of Israel.

The Israeli military now says that its fighter jets struck Hezbollah infrastructure in the areas of Markaba and Srebbine in southern Lebanon.

Al Jazeera’s correspondent, Zeina Khodr, reports that the strike in Srebbine destroyed a house and that 14 civilians were injured, two of them seriously.

Husam Zomlot, Jeremy Corbyn lead pro-Palestine protest in London

The official account of the Palestinian Mission to the UK has posted a picture of Husam Zomlot, Palestine’s ambassador to the UK, leading a protest in London.

Also pictured is Jeremy Corbyn , the former leader of the UK Labour Party and vocal critic of Israel’s war on Gaza.

#HappeningNow : Ambassador @hzomlot leading the massive protest in London to demand an end to the Israeli genocide in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/oHPECFV7fC — Palestine in the UK (@PalMissionUK) April 27, 2024

Injuries after Israel bombs town in southern Lebanon

According to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency, nine were injured in an Israeli raid on the town of Srebbine in the south of the country.

The Israeli raid targeted a house in the southern Lebanese town of Srebbine. NNA said one person was injured critically and that among the wounded were two Syrian citizens.

Police say they will not interfere in peaceful protests at George Washington University

It’s noisy at the moment. Several organisers have been speaking at a news conference, making clear their intent not to vacate this area.

At the moment, there are a little more than 100 students encamped in what is called University Square.

Unlike what is happening at other universities like Princeton, this is a public university, so effectively, this is all public space.

University administrators and the police are well aware of this. Administrators did ask the police to come in 24 hours ago and remove tents.

However, Washington, DC police declined to do so. They insisted that the demonstrations were peaceful and that they would not interfere as long as they remained so.

Now, some of the students have told us that the university is using retaliatory methods. It has suspended a number of the students who have been demonstrating. The university identifies them when they leave the square behind me and go into one of the adjoining buildings to use a bathroom, for example, and as they would need to log in to the system. They have then been identified by that login.

However, the students insist they will remain here. The police maintain that their job is to stand here and observe and take no action while these demonstrations remain peaceful.

Blinken set to travel to Saudi Arabia to discuss Gaza, regional security

The US State Department says that the secretary of state will make the visit on Monday and Tuesday to meet regional partners and discuss efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.

The State Department said in a statement, “[Blinken] will discuss the recent increase in humanitarian assistance being delivered to Gaza and underscore the importance of ensuring that increase is sustained.”

“The Secretary will also emphasize the importance of preventing the conflict from spreading and discuss ongoing efforts to achieve lasting peace and security in the region, including through a pathway to an independent Palestinian state with security guarantees for Israel,” it added.

Israeli foreign minister says deal would defer Rafah operation

Israel’s foreign minister says that a planned incursion into the city of Rafah could be suspended should there be a deal to secure the release of Israeli captives held by Hamas.

“The release of the hostages is the top priority for us,” said Foreign Minister Israel Katz during an interview with Israeli broadcaster Channel 12.

Asked if that included putting off a planned operation that would target Hamas battalions in the city of Rafah, Katz answered, “Yes.”

He went on to say: “If there will be a deal, we will suspend the operation.”

Israel’s allies, the United Nations and major NGOs have urged Israel not to invade the southern Gaza Strip city, in which hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are currently sheltering.

Princeton protestors won’t leave until the university divests from Israel

Reporting from Princeton, New Jersey, United States

This is day three at Princeton University, and these students are walking a fine line.

The university has said that they are not allowed to sleep here, so they have been coming in shifts to continually occupy this space for these past three days.

On Thursday, the first day, when a couple of them put up a tent, police came in and arrested them. So that’s the line they have to walk.

I talked to a history professor and he was saying there was a bit of irony here that this university is instilling values in the students and then punishing them for practising those values.

These students have decided to take their stand on this issue: They’re demanding divestment from the university from anything invested in Israel or in the war on Gaza, and they say they’ll stay here until they get what they asked for.