Like a thunderous clap, the grounds of US college campuses have been marked by the drumming footsteps of students calling out against the atrocities taking place in Gaza.
Sleeping within tents, taking over administrative buildings, and shouting out their demands through megaphones, college students have become the biggest advocates of the Palestinian cause.
Knowing the effort they are putting in, we wanted to take the time to celebrate a select few who are pushing to change the current injustice.
The Valedictorian Asna Tabassum
Among the ways that students are speaking up against the atrocities is through the most powerful tool out there, social media. One such student is Asna Tabassum, a University of South California student who used social media to speak up for Palestine. It did come with a cost though.
A month ago, pro-Israel groups condemned her ongoing support and her selection as valedictorian to the point that college administrators canceled the speech she was supposed to give during the school-wide graduation ceremony.
Fast-forward to some days ago, and it was like nothing happened as Tabassum took to the graduation stage. At that moment, she was met with a standing ovation at the university’s student recognition awards ceremony. It was a win for her and a win for Palestine.
Hind’s Hall Student Demonstrators
To truly make a statement, you need to get people’s attention. One group of students who did just that was from Columbia University. They knew they had to up the ante and maybe even break some laws. That is when they decided to take over an academic building called Hamilton’s Hall, which has been the site of many takeovers and protests.
Once they got inside, they were ready to make a major statement. Standing at the balcony of the hall, they slowly unfurled a banner that read “Hind’s Hall”. The building was unofficially renamed Hind’s Hall in honor of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed by Israeli tanks.
The moment did not stop there. That very name, “Hind’s Hall,” became the title of Macklemore’s latest song, which became an inspirational pro-Palestine anthem.
Aditi Rao Getting Barred
Hundreds of students banged on buckets and chanted outside of Clio Hall of Princeton University on April 30th. Among the students was Aditi Rao, a graduate student in the Classics department. In the past, sit-ins were treated differently and recognized as a moment of open dialogue.
Yet, when it came to the Clio Hall sit-in and many similar pro-Palestine sit ins across college campuses, they were deemed shameful and problematic.
The result: universities made hasty arrests and barred students from campus. Aditi Rao was one such student who after taking part in the Clio sit-in got arrested along with 12 other students.
His efforts are never in vain, as each sit-in acts as a wake-up call for the world, the faculty, and the university itself.
Noor: The Post-Jail GWU Singer
When facing adversity, you wouldn’t think that a person could push further, but in the case of pro-Palestine students, that seems to be the case.
Meet Noor (she declined to give her last name), a George Washington University student who, just an hour and a half after being released from jail, stood in front of a mic and belted out a song, one that she sang with other protestors as she was getting arrested.
The song was powerful with lyrics like “I came back to the jailhouse, and I took down my dignity, and took back my humanity”, a song that she sang in the beat of the crowd’s supportive clap.
After her song, she spoke up about how, no matter what, students are determined to continue protesting against the Israeli war on Gaza and in support of Palestine.
These are just a few examples of some of the students and the honorable efforts they are putting in to call out against the atrocities and the injustice taking place in Palestine.