Updates from the past 4 days of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment at SU
Brycen Pace | Staff Photographer
Students gathered on the Shaw Quadrangle late Monday morning to set up an encampment demanding divestments from Israel and other actions.
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Day 4 — May 2
8:43 p.m. — Shaw Quadrangle
Julia Boehning – Asst. News Editor
At 6 p.m., around 30 demonstrators sat in a circle at the center of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment for a “Graduate Student teach in,” as listed on its May 2 schedule.
The discussion centered around the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement — a “Palestinian-led movement” aiming to put financial pressure on the government and other institutions in Israel, according to its website.
Speakers broke down the three key demands of the movement: achieving “freedom, justice and equality” for Palestinians living under the Israeli government. After describing the ideologies of BDS, the speakers opened the floor to a group discussion about the movement.
The demonstrators also have continued to reorganize, removing some of their tents and laying a tarp in the center of the encampment.
As of 8 p.m., around 65 tents still stand on the lawn.
4:15 p.m. — Shaw Quadrangle
Kendall Luther – News Editor
Around 3:30 p.m., protesters in the Gaza Solidarity Encampment began participating in its Zine-making workshop.
About 15 protesters gathered in a circle at the center of the encampment to create the zines, or self-published, non-commercial work. The encampment also displays zines in its on-boarding tent, with titles including “Armenia and Artsakh” and “The Siege of The Third Precinct in Minneapolis.”
The signs and tents continue to perimeter the encampment following the protester’s reorganization Wednesday evening.
10:30 a.m. — Shaw Quadrangle
Samantha Olander – Asst. Copy Editor
Approximately 70 tents still stand as the Gaza Solidarity Encampment enters its fourth day. As the day began, several protesters joined a meditation circle around 9:00 a.m. in the center of the encampment. Shortly after, at 10:15 a.m., approximately 30 protesters met in the same spot for one of their daily meetings to discuss “Gaza updates” and “debrief,” according to a schedule hanging in the encampment.
At 3:30 p.m., the encampment will host a Zine-making workshop — a small-circulated, self-published text. There will also be a graduate student teach-in at 6 p.m., according to the schedule.
Day 3 — May 1
8:51 p.m. — Shaw Quadrangle
Dominic Chiappone – Senior Staff Writer
With the third day of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment coming to a close, around 60 protestors have started to reorganize the encampment. Protesters collected all food, water and other supplies and moved them to one central location. There are approximately 70 tents set up on Shaw Quad as of 8 p.m.
Protesters collected all food, water and other supplies and moved them to one central location. Joe Zhao | Asst. Photo Editor
6:37 p.m. — Shaw Quadrangle
Kendall Luther — News Editor
The encampment has begun hosting meetings to educate members about response strategies in the event of police presence.
A member of GSE’s media team told The Daily Orange the meetings are a response to national events, rather than a response to a feeling toward SU within the encampment.
“We’re not doing anything illegal. We’re a very peaceful encampment, so I don’t think we’re preparing for anything because we haven’t been violent,” the media team member said. “But in the scenario that there is police presence, I think it’s just important for education, obviously for the protesters and anybody that’s involved in the encampment.”
At 3 p.m., the encampment hosted an SU alumni and a retired lawyer for its “Organizing 101” event. The event educated attendees about the legal rights of protesters and its legal team, which represents them.
The group has a legal support phone to contact its legal team 24/7, which will reach out to a protester’s personal contacts given at the time of onboarding in case of an arrest. The speakers emphasized the importance of tracking where protests are if arrested and ensuring there is counsel present at arraignments. One of the speakers acknowledged they have limited resources, but are “working to combat it.”
The members of the encampment were told to not speak to police, and the speakers answered questions regarding potential interactions in case of a police presence.
Jenn Jackson, an assistant professor in Political Science, also spoke to members of the encampment around 4:40 p.m. They spoke about the importance of protesters “sticking to (their) narratives” and dealing with potential escalations and deescalations.
“You all have to also position yourself both at the offensive and defensive positions to ensure that people are safe,” Jackson said.
Jackson also discussed NotAgainSU, and the students’ interactions with the university and police. They said they had a “very clear and precise message” about their narrative and demands, and encouraged students to consider following their decision to not attend negotiations until there was “an agreement that there would be a kind of fair discussion of their demands.”
The member of the media team said they haven’t felt threatened in any way, but are taking into account “Syracuse’s history with protesters.” The member specifically mentioned the suspensions during NotAgainSU.
“The university could have handled that situation much, much better,” they said. “I feel like that’s just a general concern as it goes on, because we plan on staying here until there’s change.”
The member said the encampment is calling for an amnesty policy by SU towards the protesters because they are “exercising (their) rights as students with the university and citizens.”
1:42 p.m. — Ernie Davis Hall
Richard Perrins — Senior Staff Writer
About 100 pro-Israel demonstrators gathered outside Ernie Davis Hall Wednesday around noon in response to the encampment on the quad.
Organizers said the group should remain peaceful and not interact with protesters at the encampment. Shortly after 12 p.m., the group walked down Waverly Avenue then up to the Hall of Languages, waving signs that read “Protect Jewish Students,” “Never Again Means Now” and “Bring Them Home,” as well as Israeli flags.
The group settled on the opposite side of the quad to the encampment, joining hands in a circle before singing, dancing and chanting “Am Yisrael Chai” and other songs. The group dispersed at about 12:45 p.m., but Mendy Rapoport, a rabbi with Chabad House Jewish Student Center, stayed behind with members of the group to perform the Shema prayer.
Shortly after noon Wednesday, roughly 100 pro-Israel demonstrators gathered outside Ernie Davis Hall and walked down Waverly Ave., up to the Hall of Languages and ended at the Shaw Quad. Meghan Hendricks | Senior Staff Photographer
1:13 p.m.
Kendall Luther — News Editor
The graduate student organizer who previously made antisemitic tweets is no longer in the Gaza Solidarity Encampment, an organizer told The Daily Orange.
“The encampment collective have discussed the harmful antisemitic remarks tweeted by a former organizer in 2012,” according to an Instagram post from SU’s Palestine Solidarity Collective and Students for Justice in Palestine and Black at Syracuse University. “In conversation with this student, we made the decision that they step down from organizing … and leave the encampment.”
The organizer, who identified as Jewish, said that over half of the people in the encampment are Jewish. They encouraged people who are having concerns about the encampment to “talk to any of the many Jewish people that are here.”
9:30 a.m. — Shaw Quadrangle
Ahna Fleming — Asst. News Editor
As the Gaza Solidarity Encampment at SU enters its third day, more than 50 tents are set up on the quad. Protestors will participate in a group meditation shortly and will hold workshops throughout the morning, they said. There is currently no sign of DPS or SPD in the area.
The encampment has also been preparing for counter-protests.
Day 2 — April 30
9:34 p.m. — Shaw Quadrangle
Kyle Chouinard — Managing Editor
Around 70 people within Syracuse University’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment gathered in a circle to take part in an “untraditional” Havdalah, a Jewish ceremony marking the end of specific high holidays and Shabbat, at around 7:40 p.m.
Led by Olivia, a graduate student at SUNY ESF who identified as an Ashkenazi Jew, and Jess, an SU faculty member who called themself as an “Ashkenazi Jew of heritage,” the event marked the end of Passover. Neither Olivia nor Jess gave their last names while speaking to the group.
“Passover is a story of liberation from a place we call ‘Mitzrayim,’ which means ‘the narrow place,’” Jess said. “The narrow place is Gaza. The narrow place is the hearts of people oppressing others. We all have narrow places within ourselves, and so the story of Passover is really diving into the unknown and going to that place of the wide expanse.”
The ceremony included a blessing over wine — which represented the fruit of the Earth — and the organizers passing around bags of cedar and lavender. The organizers also lit a Havdalah candle which was carried around the circle by an attendee.
To start the event, Olivia and Jess led the group in a “zipper song,” which is when a lyric is repeated with one word being replaced each time.
“We are not afraid. We are not afraid. We will fight for liberation ‘cause we know why we were made,” the group sang, replacing “fight” with a series of different words such as “build” and “camp.”
9:18 p.m.
Kendall Luther — News Editor
The Palestine Solidarity Collective at SU “unequivocally denounces” the past remarks made by one of the “graduate students at the SU encampment,” according to a Tuesday evening Instagram post.
PSC called the student’s comments “anti-Jewish,” and wrote that the comments do not “reflect the spirit or opinions of those at the encampment protesting in solidarity for a free Palestine.” PSC wrote that it is “proud” to have Jewish students in the encampment.
“It is crucial to emphasize that our protest against the ongoing genocide in Gaza is in no way an endorsement of any act of anti-semitism anywhere, ever,” the statement reads. “We stand firm in our condemnation of all forms of genocide, violence, and hate speech.”
The sentiments “do not align with the beliefs of (their) collective movement, nor is the collective represented by any one ‘leader’ or organizer,” the post states. The collective also expressed gratitude to SU’s Student Association for its “unwavering support” in the passing of its “Resolution in Solidarity with Syracuse University Encampment and Condemnation of Antisemitism.”
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to our cause and will continue to advocate for justice until our demands are met,” the post states.
Protesters prepared for rain during the second day of the encampment. Meghan Hendricks | Senior Staff Photographer
7:09 p.m.
Dominic Chiappone – Senior Staff Writer
Congressman Brandon Williams, who represents Syracuse and the rest of NY-22, wrote in a statement to The Daily Orange that his office has received calls from Jewish students at Syracuse University and “elsewhere” reporting that they feel unsafe due to the encampment.
“I take this seriously. If you allow antisemitism to fester on your campus, you’ve made an enemy of me,” Williams wrote in the statement.
7:05 p.m. — Shaw Quadrangle
Roxanne Boychuk — Asst. Copy Editor
Content warning: This post contains mention of sexual assault.
Following Professor Horace Campbell’s teach-in, Campbell held a Q&A session with the encampment attendees around 4 p.m. where he emphasized the importance of the attendees’ presence.
Some attendees asked about how to enforce long-term de-militarization and overturn capitalism, to which Campbell responded by telling attendees to “boycott, divest and sanction.” Other attendees asked questions concerning their ability to protest while also making sure they are not penalized or sacrificed for future opportunities. Campbell said the people at the encampment are at the “forefront of society” and that they must be the educators for others.
Campbell also used the Black Lives Matter movement, the protests during the Vietnam War and the protests against the Christopher Columbus statue in downtown Syracuse as examples of the “impact” of protests. Although he pointed out that the Columbus statue still stands, he said people must hold the university and city accountable for their actions.
The discussion was interrupted by a person who approached the teach-in and said the attendees are “supporting people who raped people and burned babies in ovens.” They also told the attendees that their financial aid “likely comes from Jews” and that they “shouldn’t count on it for next fall.”
Toward the end of the discussion, Campbell led a chant with the attendees. The encampment chanted, “Free Palestine,” “Boycott, divest and sanctions,” “Long live the Palestinian people,” “Down with fascism,” “Down with fascist ideas” and “Down with fascist practices.”
“If we understand the fragility, we understand that the so-called democracy may not survive with this war and financial fragility, and therefore, we’re here to expand our mobilization organization, and to get out of psychological warfare,” Campbell said.
6:46 p.m. — Shaw Quadrangle
Roxanne Boychuk — Asst. Copy Editor
African American Studies Professor Horace Campbell began leading a “teach-in” for protestors in the encampment around 3 p.m.
Campbell discussed connections in the United States to past and current genocides and fascist movements. He said the encampment is making a demand against an alliance with Israel in times of genocide against the Palestinians.
Throughout the history of the U.S., Campbell said topics surrounding fascism, idealism, eugenics, racism, ethnic cleansing, homophobia and religious fanaticism are systematically tied to the Israel-Hamas war by playing a part in war ideology. He said the only way to practice long-term resistance is to overturn capitalism and mobilize de-militarization.
Campbell also referenced the university’s involvement with Micron Technology, which he said is “not just any chip company,” but a “chip company being organized to organize war against China.”
“They want our community to be totally reorganized, our curriculum to be totally reorganized for warfare, and we should speak about this,” Campbell said.
The teach-in has now entered a Q&A section with the attendees.
5:46 p.m. — Shaw Quadrangle
Samantha Olander — Asst. Copy Editor
Newly-elected President German Nolivos and Executive Vice President Reed Granger denounced an SU graduate student involved in organizing the encampment due to past “antisemitic remarks,” including the “threatening” of Jewish people, according to an email statement from Syracuse University’s Student Association Tuesday evening.
“We do not support this organizer’s participation in the encampment and only support protest efforts as long as they are free from hate,” the statement reads. “Our solidarity with the encampment does not implicate solidarity with the hateful rhetoric of this individual.”
The statement added that the remarks of the individual do not represent the majority of the people in the encampment, especially as “many joined without being aware of this information.” It adds that working with “individuals who spread hateful ideology” works against the goal of negotiations and “distracts” from a peaceful protest.
SA encouraged SU in the statement to “engage in open dialogue” with peaceful protesters. They also reiterated that their priority is the safety of all students and denounced hate of any kind including “antisemitism, anti-Arab, and anti-Muslim speech and/or actions” on campus or in the community, according to the statement.
“We stand by the words passed by our organization’s elected representatives that call for peaceful protests, open dialogue, and support for students that assert their rights to free speech,” the statement reads.
5:21 p.m.— Shaw Quadrangle
Ahna Fleming — Asst. News Editor
Syracuse University’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment invited Yaffa S.A., executive director of the Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity, to speak to an audience of more than 100 people seated on the steps of Hendricks Chapel at 1 p.m. Tuesday.
Yaffa said SU’s campus is “not only benefiting off of this genocide, but is a key stakeholder in it,” and applauded the SU Gaza Solidarity Encampment’s efforts to “get this university to divest.”
They told The Daily Orange they would “love for students to grasp” the fact that none of them can control “the conditions that are actually making all of this happen.”
“What we get to do is, we show up, we disrupt, we do all of these things, what happens is beyond us, but we still show up,” they said. “The right thing to do is show up for people experiencing genocide … it’s just the right thing to do.”
They said the encampment is “beautiful” and that they’d like to remind people to “claim the joy,” because they often see people get “very devastated” when things don’t work out.
If the encampment doesn’t last, they said, it’s not a failure or “the end of the world” and encouraged student protestors to look to the next “right thing to do, again and again and again, because the world is not going to be fixed today.”
“I want us to move away from this concept of ‘Organizing is miserable and we all have to hate each other and, like, live in misery.’ I’m like, no, I just see colorful joy,” Yaffa said, looking at the encampment.
SU’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment pictured on the second day of protests. Joe Zhao | Asst. Photo Editor
4:07 p.m. — Shaw Quadrangle
Samantha Olander — Asst. Copy Editor
Syracuse Hillel released a statement on their Instagram Tuesday morning, writing that the organization is “closely monitoring” the encampment and Student Association’s resolution on it.
“Syracuse Hillel stands with our Jewish students,” the statement reads. “The safety and security of our students is our top priority – first and always.”
The statement says that the current encampment, which began over 29 hours ago, reflects a trend both on campus and nationally of building “divisiveness, rather than dialogue,” referencing slogans such as “From the River to the Sea” and “It’s Not Complicated, It’s Genocide.”
Regarding SA’s “Resolution in Solidarity” passed Monday night, the statement says several Jewish students spoke during the meeting about feeling distressed, unsafe and frustrated in response to the encampment. The statement adds that claiming “antisemitism has no place at this encampment,” feels “meaningless” to Jewish students on campus who feel intimidated.
“Jewish students have the right to live and learn in a safe environment,” the statement reads. “No student should feel as though they must hide their full identity – including their connection to Israel – to experience our campus environment, nor should their basic safety ever be jeopardized.”
The statement also includes separate messages of support to students, as well as requests for continued support from Hillel’s partners at Syracuse University and their supporters.
1:24 p.m.
Kendall Luther — News Editor
Content Warning: This story contains mentions of antisemitic language.
A group of Syracuse University parents have released a public letter “denouncing a Hitler praising organizer” of the encampment.
The letter claims Aziza Zahran, a leader of ‘Cuse Ceasefire Coalition, has “publicly espoused hateful and violent sentiments on her social media.” The letter alleges Zahran has tweeted under the account @IsisLayla2, and references three tweets from November 2012: one calling for “death to Israel death to Jews,” one stating “Hitler was a great man” and another that states “I wish Hitler would have finished what he started.”
Zahran addressed the protestors at the encampment on Monday evening, and was involved in a November 2023 protest on campus.
The letter calls for “immediate action” from the university to address “these incidents of hate speech.”
“It is utterly unacceptable for someone with such extremist and bigoted views to be on Syracuse University’s campus, and even more so to be leading a protest on campus grounds,” the letter states.
11 a.m. — Shaw Quadrangle
Ahna Fleming – Asst. News Editor
Roughly 24 hours after the Gaza Solidarity Encampment began, about 40 tents remain on the quad. Protestors have made numerous signs, and have a tent for food and water. There is currently no sign of DPS or SPD in the area.
Student protestors are currently studying before their lunch break.
At 1 p.m., Mx. Yaffa, a “queer, trans, displaced Palestinian writer and executive director of the Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity,” will speak at the encampment, according to an Instagram story posted by Students for Justice in Palestine.
9:27 a.m. — Shaw Quadrangle
Ahna Fleming – Asst. News Editor
Faculty for Justice Palestine SU released a statement Tuesday morning in support of the “brave students and academic workers” who set up the Gaza Solidarity Encampment.
In the statement, FJP-SU called on university administration to do four things: “Respect students’ rights to exercise free speech, and protest against genocidal violence; Desist from deploying campus and city police, and endangering students’ safety; Engage in conversations with students and abstain from disciplinary measures; Provide a transparent, prompt, and non-repressive response to student demands.”
Syracuse University’s Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities recognizes students’ right to protest and “express themselves freely on any subject,” according to the statement.
The encampment repeats “important traditions” of student protest, building on 20 years of nationwide student movements organized around the “Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions,” according to the FJP-SU statement.
“The courage of students across the country teaches and leads us. They demand that we keep our eyes on Gaza, on the West Bank, on Palestine,” the statement read.
Day 1 — April 29
11:39 p.m. — Shaw Quadrangle
Roxanne Boychuk — Asst. Copy Editor
Protestors in SU’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment have released a statement on the “racist character” of Senior Vice President and Chief Student Experience Officer Allen Groves’ campus-wide email sent Monday night.
The email stated that while Syracuse University is committed to free expression, the university will not tolerate threatening speech or conduct. The university administration asked that a sign be taken down for speech they deemed threatening, and the protestors took it down.
In response, the protesters wrote that the statement Groves released and the sign being taken down is a practice of racism against Arabs. The statement wrote that the sign said “intifada,” which they said translates to “uprising.” They also said this misunderstanding of language should issue an additional statement of clarification and an apology from SU.
“Administrators who engage in such misrepresentation of Arabic words need to learn to overcome their political biases, unlearn the propaganda they were exposed to, and work on reducing their racist biases,” the encampment wrote in the statement. “The university, as an institution, should help them do so and prevent them from bringing their personal biases into their work.”
A speaker said the protestors “will not leave until their demands are met.” Meghan Hendricks | Senior Staff Photographer
9:24 p.m.
Kendall Luther — News Editor
Syracuse University’s Student Association has, with one abstention, unanimously passed its “Resolution in Solidarity with Syracuse University Encampment and Condemnation of Antisemitism” at its Monday meeting.
“College campuses have historically been places for activism and driving forth important social and political change,” the resolution states. “This includes Syracuse University, and we believe that, to protect our student body rights, we must support and advocate for free speech rights to be upheld on campuses everywhere, including our own.”
The resolution calls for students enrolled in universities to have permission to openly “express discontent” when “they do not approve of how their tuition is being used.” The resolution also condemns and denounces “hate of any kind,” which includes “antisemitism, anti-Arab, anti-Muslim speech” on campus.
7:08 p.m.
Stephanie Wright — Senior Staff Writer
Allen Groves, Syracuse University’s senior vice president and chief student experience officer, wrote in a campus-wide email Monday night that administrators have spoken with encampment participants about protest guidelines.
Groves said that while SU is committed to free expression and supports students’ right to protest and assemble, it does not tolerate harassment or threats. Administrators identified one sign at the encampment that they deemed “harassing.” It was removed at an administrator’s request, Groves wrote.
“The right to protest does not supersede the rights of community members or our obligation to fulfill our academic mission,” Groves wrote. “Many members of our community maintain deeply held positions on the complex conflict in the Middle East that are often hard to reconcile. What our community does agree upon is that we treat everyone with respect, dignity and grace.”
6:33 p.m. — Shaw Quadrangle
Samantha Olander – Asst. Copy Editor
More than 100 people are now gathered with 20 tents set up on SU’s Shaw Quad. Syracuse University administrators Associate Vice President and Dean of Students Sheriah Dixon and Assistant Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Staff Development Kyle Dailey have spoken to organizers outside of Hendricks Chapel.
Organizers have been handing out a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment Statement” calling for “community help” as Chief of DPS Craig Stone has asked them to move their encampment, the statement reads. It also outlines six of their demands from the university, including support for a ceasefire, ethical investments, ethical collaboration and honorings, protection of student rights, protection of academic freedom and “addressing DPS racism” and requesting a “transparent, prompt and non-repressive response.”
“We, members of the Syracuse University community, are mobilizing today in solidarity with the tens of thousands of Palestinians massacred by Israel’s ongoing ethnonationalist genocidal war in Gaza,” the statement reads. “We urge Syracuse University to take immediate and concrete actions that reflect our ethical commitments and responsibilities.”
3:24 p.m.
Kyle Chouinard – Managing Editor
In a comment to The Daily Orange, the executive committee of SU’s American Association of University Professors chapter wrote that it supports the rights of students to peacefully protest on SU’s campus and condemned the “violent responses” to similar protests across the country.
“We are particularly impressed the protestors at SU have placed protecting academic freedom at the core of their demands, as the AAUP believes this vital principle, so central to University life, is under attack both at SU and across the nation,” the executive committee wrote.
3 p.m.
Kyle Chouinard – Managing Editor
Syracuse’s chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace released a statement of solidarity with protestors at Syracuse University’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment this afternoon. In the Instagram post, which was cross-posted with the newly established SU Students for Justice in Palestine, JVP wrote that “students are organizing to end university complicity and investment in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
“History has shown us time and time again to follow the lead of young people. It was young people who spoke out clearly against the brutal war on Vietnam and pressured their universities to divest from South African apartheid,” the group wrote. “Once again, it is time to follow the lead of young people who are calling for an end to genocide.”
Since protesters began gathering on the quad, more than 100 people have gathered and set up 20 tents. Lars Jendruschewitz | Asst. Photo Editor
2:19 p.m.
Dominic Chiappone – Senior Staff Writer
Student Association confirms to The Daily Orange that a bill will be introduced at Monday’s SA meeting “addressing and showing support for the students at the encampment.”
1:49 p.m.
Stephanie Wright — Senior Staff Writer
In a Monday afternoon post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Williams responded to a question from CNY Central journalist Conor Wight about his stance on free speech expressions in academic settings, specifically regarding Williams’ previous comments on protections of student and faculty First Amendment rights.
Advocating for the murder of a race of people is not free speech. It’s hate speech.
Terrorism isn’t covered under the first amendment.
NOTE: “Freedom of expression, however, ceases at the point when its exercise infringes on the rights of either participants or… https://t.co/ev3AKmu7YT
— Rep. Brandon Williams (@RepWilliams) April 29, 2024
1:13 p.m. – Shaw Quadrangle
Anish Vasudevan – Editor-in-Chief
As of 1:00 p.m., 19 tents have been set up on the quad with new tents set up closer to the center of the quad. There are currently no signs of DPS or SPD activity in the area.
12:30 p.m.
Stephanie Wright – Senior Staff Writer
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, shortly after noon, Representative Brandon Williams said, “I don’t care what your demands are. Get the hell out of our community and never come back,” in response to the Syracuse University Gaza Solidarity Encampment that formed on the Shaw Quad. He called those his demands and said “the clock is ticking.” Williams, a Republican and U.S. Navy veteran, represents the 22nd district of New York in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Community members participating in a Gaza Solidarity Encampment located on SU’s Shaw Quad have expressed several demands for Syracuse University. Joe Zhao | Asst. Photo Editor
12:02 p.m. – Shaw Quadrangle
Kyle Chouinard – Managing Editor
In a statement sent to The Daily Orange, the Gaza Solidarity Encampment has made seven demands for Syracuse University.
These demands include disclosing funds that go to Israel, divesting from companies which “support, fund, or arm the genocide in Gaza” and disclosing and canceling all collaborations with Israeli institutions. The group is also demanding that SU end study abroad in Israel, provide amnesty to protestors, ban “student organizations fundraising to support genocide” and “stop blocking” the formation of a local Students for Justice in Palestine chapter.
“We will conduct ourselves peacefully, orderly, and within our legal rights. We refuse to make space for Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, anti-Blackness, colonialism, and all forms of imperialist oppression,” the group wrote in the statement.
11 a.m. – Shaw Quadrangle
Anish Vasudevan – Editor-in-Chief
Several dozen community members began setting up tents and occupying a portion of the Shaw Quadrangle at approximately 10:40 a.m.
The encampment is comprised of Syracuse University and SUNY ESF students, faculty, staff and alumni who are launching their own Gaza Solidarity Encampment and a chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, according to a statement from the group.
“We establish this encampment in protest of Syracuse’s complicity in the genocide and slaughter of millions in Palestine,” the statement reads.
Published on April 29, 2024 at 11:37 am
