“Gazans Starve – USA sends bombs, what kind of nation are we?” read a sign that stood on the Quad on Wednesday.
URI Students for Palestine organized the protest, standing around poster boards with the names and faces of Palestinians killed in Gaza to spread awareness of the ongoing humanitarian crisis. They further urged the university to divest from companies that support the Israeli Defense Forces.
The “All Out All Day Gathering for Palestine” was held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and included personal speeches from Palestinian, Muslim and Jewish students at URI, according to the URI Students for Palestine Instagram page @uristudentsforpalestine.
The university hosts weapon manufacturers such as Lockheed Martin and RTX (Formerly Raytheon Technologies) at student career fairs , according to student senate vice president and Muslim Student Association President Sanah Feroz. These companies directly support Israel’s military efforts in Gaza, according to the RTX and Lockheed Martin websites. Feroz believes this makes the university complicit in the humanitarian crisis in the region.
“[The university] is ingrained in this,” said first-generation Syrian-American Sandra Deeb ’22. “It’s important to spread awareness about it in the URI community.”
The URI Students for Palestine also want President Marc Parlange to condemn the violence against the civilians of Gaza, according to Riley Peterman, a first-year student and protestor.
“I think the topic of Israel palestine is a conflict of humanity and that’s why it’s important that Marc Parlange makes a statement,” Peterman said.
Some pro-Israel counterprotestors were present on the Quad around 11 a.m., including one person who held up an Israeli flag next to the protest. Students in support of Israel also debated with the pro-Palestine protesters and Feroz said no violent interactions occurred.
“For the most part it has been really respectful and I will say that’s something I was not expecting but I deeply appreciated,” second-year student Cameron Silvers said.
Silvers believes that Israel has a right to defend itself and the policies the Israeli government has created to protect its citizens.
Feroz believes that there is low investment for political engagement across campus, especially for these international issues.
“I feel that [students’ low political investment] is because of the general atmosphere we’ve cultivated at URI where we don’t really go out there and advocate for things,” Feroz said.
Feroz wants faculty and staff to discuss the war in Gaza in the classroom and be straightforward about the violence that Palestinians face.
“Outside of the Multicultural Center we rarely see humanitarian issues discussed in classrooms and other spaces on campus,” Feroz said.
With more faculty and courses talking about the war in Gaza, Feroz hopes students will follow the conflict more closely.
“I understand being nervous but at this point and in this space you are safe and you should have no hesitancy to speak about human rights,” Feroz said. “Because at the end of the day you still have a home to go to, family to speak to and a warm bed that welcomes you – a lot of Palestinians don’t have that.”