Hundreds of demonstrators decrying Israel’s military attacks in Gaza took to St. Louis University’s campus on Wednesday night.
“I'm distraught at the level of loss and disregard for human life,” said Ahlam Jaber, a PhD student at SLU. “But to be a student during this time is so powerful.”
The protest, which included marching, chanting, speeches, drumming and prayer, went off largely without incident — a marked contrast to what happened over the weekend at Washington University when more than 100 people were arrested, 23 of them students.
Protests over Gaza took on an added focus recently at colleges and universities around the country. Some universities have taken a harder line against the demonstrations, like Washington University.
St. Louis University officials took a different approach on Wednesday. The police presence was fairly light, and demonstrators could move about campus without any resistance from law enforcement. Police shut down part of Grand Avenue while students sat in the street listening to speeches.
“As we did in October 2014, we intend to meet peace with peace, permitting our students to engage in advocacy while ensuring that the work of the institution continues,” said St. Louis University President Fred Pestello, referring to how the school handled protests over the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson in 2014.
Pestello also said in his statement: “We recognize that there are members of our community who have felt anxious or fearful because of the very presence of these protests.”
In addition to calling on university leaders to push for a cease-fire, organizers want the school to disclose its endowment funds and to cut ties with weapons manufacturers like Boeing.
“This is insanely important for this to happen at SLU, especially since our institution currently has ties to Boeing,” said Nadia Abusoud, a third-year student.
Students and faculty said it was important for students to converge on Wednesday after what occurred at Washington University, as well as at Columbia University in New York and UCLA.
“It seems to me this, it would be egregious of us not to,” said Joya Uraizee, an English professor at SLU.
While private institutions have more leeway to restrict who can come on campus or what can happen there, Reema Syed, a faculty member at Washington University’s School of Medicine and SLU alumnus, said students are an integral part of the university and deserve to be heard.
“Yes, it is private property. But the students belong on that property. And the students are part of that property,” Syed said. “They need to be able to be comfortable to speak up for what they think is right.”
See photos from St. Louis Public Radio photojournalist Eric Lee below.
