Vests, masks, signs, tents, water, marching, painting, suspicion, support. Also police, helicopters, arrests.
This is what a day with pro-Palestinian college protesters looks like.
Since not long after Hamas launched its attack on Israel on October 7, killing more than 1,000 people and taking hundreds of hostages, and Israel retaliated, some Americans have protested U.S. support for Israel. As the war has gone on, claiming more than 34,000 Palestinian lives, according to Gaza health officials, protests have increased. On college campuses around the country, students have set up encampments, demanding their schools end any relationship with Israel or investments in companies that do business in Israel. The protests have been largely peaceful, though in some spots, there have been accusations of antisemitism and clashes with counter-protesters and police.
Many of the protesters are women or LGBTQ+ people, many people of color. Some students have been suspended or arrested for protesting. Many are wary of talking to media or having their faces shown.
The 19th sent photographers to George Washington University in Washington, D.C.; Fordham University in New York; Emory University in Atlanta; and Los Angeles’ Occidental College and University of California, Los Angeles, to capture a day of encampments and protests. Here’s what they saw.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Students from a number of D.C. campuses have set up an encampment near George Washington University. A statue of the country’s first president has been draped in a Palestinian flag and a keffiyeh. Police have been nearby but kept their distance. Students within the encampment on Wednesday were studying for exams, holding teach-ins and praying.
Earlier, some Republican members of Congress showed up at the encampment to criticize the response of D.C. police, accusing them of allowing illegal protests and creating an unsafe environment for Jewish students.
Jennifer James, an associate professor of English and Africana studies at George Washington University, made a visit to the encampment on Wednesday afternoon, where she voiced her support for the students’ right to dissent. James has been teaching at the school for 21 years. “Students are tuned in. They’re aware. They’re smart on these issues and they know how to make their voices heard. I think that’s what people should be taking away from these protests,” James said.
Moataz Salim, 26, a second-year graduate student pursuing a Doctorate of Psychology, stood resolute at the encampment. Having lost more than 150 relatives in Gaza, including close cousins, Salim’s presence at the protest was deeply personal and fueled by a desire for justice and liberation.
“We’re on day 7 now, I’ve been here since minute number one,” Salim remarked. Despite the challenges of maintaining contact with his family in Gaza due to limited internet access, Salim draws strength from their resilience. “They are the most resilient people I’ve met in my life, and we get our strength from them,” he shared.
Speaking through a volunteer interpreter, Bobbi-Angelica Morris, a 24-year-old student from Gallaudet University, shared their perspective on the protests and their deep-rooted beliefs. “I’m an abolitionist, which means that my foundational values are rooted in black feminism,” they explained. “My personal is political. I’m a black American, which is tied with the prison system, mass incarceration. I have family who have experienced repeated incarceration so that’s close to my heart. I’m working daily to resist state violence and interpersonal violence.”
In closing, Morris’s message echoed a call for universal liberation. “Free Palestine, Free Congo, Free Sudan, Free Haiti, Free Puerto Rico, Free West Papua, Free Turtle Island. Free all colonized people. None of us are free until all of us are free.”
ATLANTA
Similarly, in Atlanta, students from other colleges have joined Emory students, many of whom have signs that call out university President Gregory Fenves after more than two dozen people were arrested amid protests last week. On Wednesday, a group of protesters marched through Emory’s campus, with medical students nearby with cold water and an eye wash station in case of tear gas.
Maysam Elghazali, a sophomore at Emory University and a member of Emory Students for Justice in Palestine, led the chants as students marched through campus during a walkout. “I’m out here today because I am devastated and ashamed by Emory University’s funding of genocide and apartheid,” she stated. “There are a lot of students out here today and we have been protesting on this quad since Thursday to resist this administration’s direct funding of genocide.”
David Hunt, a 20-year-old student at Gwinnett Technical College, expressed his commitment to making a difference at a Pro-Palestine rally on the Emory campus in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 1, 2024. “I joined this cause because I want to be a voice for change. Many in my family have stayed silent about their beliefs, but I want to stand up for what I believe in,” he explained.
Despite facing dissent from some family members, Hunt remained resolute in his convictions. “I understand that not everyone in my family agrees with my actions, but I feel a strong sense of duty to help those in need. I’ve studied history and seen the injustices committed by Israel. I’ve witnessed the personal impact of these wrongdoings,” he said
LOS ANGELES
On Wednesday, the UCLA encampment was between a violent attack that came Tuesday night from counter-protesters and arrests that would come early Thursday as police ordered the hundred of people who had gathered on campus to disperse. The scene there was peaceful during the day Wednesday, with students offering food and support to protesters even as a helicopter swirled above.
At Occidental, dozens of tents were set up on the squad, around a central area where organizers gather to discuss what they’re learned and what they are planning to do for the day. They have food, water and coffee set up, and faculty have established a place for students to come for help with papers or finals.
Boots, who chose to remain anonymous, is graduating in 2024 from Occidental College and is part of the security team at the encampment. They’re a poet who got involved in the movement after writing and realizing that they, and what felt like everyone around them, was stuck in a “paralyzed rage.” They felt cynical and needed a way to check their cynicism and get to work. “I think that we read a lot of critical theory at this school, we do a lot of anti-colonialist work and study post- structuralism so I don’t know a lot of people who believe in this kind of facade of progressivism and democracy,” said Boots. “We really need to be here right now.”
Matthew Vickers is a 3rd year at Occidental College majoring in Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs. “We want to join in the national call, for local context, we want to escalate our efforts with administration, but most importantly we are showing solidarity with the People of Palestine and the People of Gaza who are facing genocidal conditions from the Israeli invasion. We want to stand up and call out our complicity here in the United States against converging interests around imperialism,” said Vickers.
NEW YORK
Columbia University has been a focal point for major clashes and arrests, drawing national attention. Following the clearance of the Columbia University and City University of New York (CUNY) encampments by police on Tuesday night, students congregated at Fordham University. Despite a heavy police presence, students and community members arrived with trays of sandwiches and water bottles, sharing them among the protesters.
Students also set up support stations near 1 Police Plaza in Chinatown to assist the students detained after last night’s arrests. At these stations, some people gather to share food, while others seek medical attention for wounds inflicted by police rubber bullets.
Warren, a 23-year-old graduate student at Columbia University, has been deeply involved in the movement for a cease-fire and against the genocide in Gaza, participating in actions throughout the city. Reflecting on the student movement’s escalation nationwide and the administration’s response with police brutality, Warren emphasized the importance of protecting students’ right to protest. However, they noted that the movement’s focus should remain on supporting Gaza and highlighting the genocide, rather than shifting attention solely to student protests, police brutality, or the politics of free speech.
Warren’s involvement in researching the criminal legal system and abolition of policing and the prison system has had a profound impact on their outlook. “The more I learn about it, the more disheartened I get about the carceral state, how much surveillance there is and how much these systems are tied into our education, healthcare, and housing.” they explained.
Despite the challenges, Warren finds inspiration in the widespread nature of these movements and the organizational efforts of students. “It’s really inspiring to see how these movements have spread throughout the country and how students organize,” they said.