Nicole:
Double major in Human Services and Social Justice and Psychology
Q: Can you describe what actions you have taken or seen taken relation to the nation-wide pro-Palestine protests taking place on college campuses?
A: I helped set up the encampment, and I was there for about 30 hours. When they were threatening people I had to move outside the encampment because I would lose my housing. It’s day 10 and I’ve been there all 10 days, either inside or on the outskirts.
Q: The goal of protesters throughout the nation has been to encourage their schools’ and the government to divest any financial support that is being given to Israel. Do these goals align with your personal reasons for joining the protests?
A: These values do align with why I joined. The four demands of GWU’s encampment are one, to disclose where GWU invest’s their money; two, to divest from Isreal; three, to protect pro-palestinian speech on campus; and four, to drop any charges on pro-palestinian demonstrators. I don’t think there is any change that can happen in America without the disruption of normal processes.
Q: What inspired you to take action? Were there any factors at Liberty that influenced you in finding your voice?
A: I chose GWU because it is a very politically active school. I learned about the genocide in Palestine a couple years ago, but I wasn’t very involved until this year on October 7th when we saw the continued atrocities. As for factors at Liberty, I was part of the Patriot press, Junior State of America, and Students for change. Being able to voice my opinions and write about different viewpoints definitely made me look at activism.
Q: What were the results of your actions on a personal level? What about the results of protests on a national or international level?
A: On our campus we haven’t made progress with the administration mainly because they won’t meet with any of the students. More personally, this experience has changed the way I view everything. The first time I got back to my dorm after running around trying to help people in their dorms and in the encampment, it was so surreal. That opened my eyes to the idea that whatever I was experiencing, it is 1000 times worse for the people in Gaza, and even on a more specific level, for the homeless people up the street. This is history being made, and I’m hopeful for the movement as a whole.
Q: There is significant historical precedent for university student involvement in large-scale protests, most notably beginning with the Vietnam war. What is so powerful about the voices of young people?
A: Change comes from getting angry and wanting something to change. Older people tend to think “oh, that is just the way it is”, but young people and college students especially have the mindset that this doesn’t have to be the way it is.
Q: More than 1,600 students have been arrested across 30 college campuses. Police have removed encampments on many of those campuses. Many schools have canceled classes and graduation events out of concern for safety. You personally were faced with the threat of losing your campus housing. How should these protests be handled by the authorities and by universities? Where is the line between peaceful activism and unwarranted destruction?
A: A lot of the policing they are bringing in are riot police, who are highly militarized. I don’t think those policing forces belong on any college campus. Administration should be listening to their students. On a lot of campuses, like Columbia, everything is largely peaceful until the police show up. A lot of the issues can be solved by communications with administration. GWU tried to call the police on us, but they declined to make any arrests because DC has such a history of protests that the police have a really strict policy on making mass arrests.
Q: Have you been scared for your own safety or future at any point?
A: I was part of the group at deployment setting up the camp, so I was prepared to be arrested. In DC they have a rule called Totals to Forfeit, where once you get processed you can give them $50 and you can leave and it doesn’t show up on your record. We all had bail money and were prepared for that, but the thing that was the most scary and stressful was when they were talking about suspension and losing housing because a lot of people had to make the hard decision of whether to jeopardize their future at the school.
Q: Is there anything else you want people to know about these protests as a whole?
A: The biggest thing is if you are able to visit an encampment you should. UW has an encampment and they are relatively safe during the day, and it is a really nice community to see.
Jacob:
Q: Can you describe what actions you have seen in relation to the nation-wide pro-Palestine protests taking place on college campuses?
A: Here at Stanford we had a pro-Palestine sit-in in our main campus area for about 120 days following October 7. Right across a path, there was something called the blue and white tent, which was a pro-Israel tent. I’ve talked to people from the sit-in and the blue and white tent.
Q: Many have been quick to label the protesters as anti-semitic. As a Jewish person do you interpret the actions of protesters in this way? Have you been treated differently on campus because you are Jewish?
A: I personally have not been treated differently at all. I think peaceful protest and even civil disobedience are both ways that change has been achieved, and those are both ways that change will continue to be achieved in this country. As the issue has become more polarized, I think it’s ignorant to completely ignore the fact that as this issue becomes more polarized, anti-semitism along with Islama-phobia rises.
Q: Do you have a clear perspective on the issue or are you simply trying to gather information from either side?
A: Everything happening on college campuses around America should not change people’s perspective on what’s happening in the Middle East. I support Palestinian liberation. That has been my view and that continues to be my view, but I really think that so many people in America ignore the nuance of the issue. My biggest view on the issue is that I am irritated that the state of discourse in our country makes it super difficult to have any type of productive conversation.
Q: Despite huge national protests, only two US cities have divested from Israel. Do you believe that the protests taking place are effective?
A: Violence towards another person is never a good thing, but these student groups around the country aren’t trying to follow the rules, they are trying to break them. While protests in general are effective ways to make change, this issue is very complex, which makes protests less effective. Debates like pro-choice or pro-life are more binary. You don’t have to be a doctor to have sympathy. This is so much different.
Q: More than 1,600 students have been arrested across 30 college campuses. Police have removed encampments on many of those campuses. Many schools have canceled classes and graduation events out of concern for safety. How should these protests be handled by the authorities and by universities? Where is the line between peaceful activism and unwarranted destruction?
A: From people I’ve talked to here that are part of the pro-Palestine sit-in, the goal is for them to be seen and to be heard. When the police come and take away an encampment, there is going to be an uproar. I’m not saying that is what the protesters want, but in some ways it helps them achieve their goals and get more national recognition. There’s a line between peaceful protesting that’s constitutionally allowed and civil disobedience, and I think the protestors are okay with both of those things. Once you cross the line to civil disobedience, that’s when police can rightfully get involved.
Q: Have you seen it impact other people’s educational experience? Have people for example opted to go to protests instead of going to classes?
A: For 120 straight days people were in White Plaza, so obviously that takes away from the amount of time you’re spending on your education. That was their choice that they were making, which everyone should respect.
Math and data science
