In wake of the war sparked by the Hamas terrorist attack against Israel, the Biden Administration outlined plans to address antisemitism and islamophobia on college campuses. On USC’s campus, some groups like Hillel are acting in solidarity and show support through the symbolism of balloons.
With balloons of blue and white, over two hundred photos of those kidnapped and held hostage in Gaza are displayed on the ground, a balloon attached to each.
A USC student, Andrew Turquie, hopes for the safe return of the hostages.
Andrew Turquie: We put up fliers to represent the 239 hostages held by Hamas in the West on Gaza. We’re doing it to bring awareness and also to say that we want them to be brought home and to bring awareness on campus that Jewish students have a voice, and we are suffering as well, and that it isn’t a zero-sum gain. One people are suffering doesn’t mean the other aren’t suffering who want to bring awareness to that.
Describing the peaceful display as a student expression of concern, the USC director of the Global Jewish Student Center, Rabbi Dov Wagner, thinks there is something important to take away.
Dov Wagner: I think being focusing on the positives that you can do. Of course, there’s different sides of the issue and innocent lives are being hurt and lost on both sides. And that’s a tragedy, all of them. But I think the focus has to be too-- don’t just rip somebody else down. Look for a way to express your empathy, your humanity and your concern and look for something positive that you can do as a result. To spread more light, to spread more goodness in the world.
Turquie acknowledges that for many Trojans, this has been a very trying time.
Turquie: I mean, it affects people a lot. And we were setting these up. Some guy comes, ‘Hey, I know that kid from camp, can I put this balloon down?’ So, you might not realize when you say things, but people are listening, and people are hurting.
For other USC students like, Virat Agrawal, the mixing of the entities involved is causing more harm than good.
Virat Agrawal: I think people who are trying to mix what Hamas did and what the Palestinian causes is they are demeaning the Palestinian cause by doing this. Hamas is not doing anything good for the Palestinian people.
Due to antisemitic incidents at colleges like Cornell University, the Biden Administration released a plan that will affect law enforcement security, discrimination complaints and cybersecurity.
USC President Carol Folt says in part that Jewish, Israeli, Palestinian and Arab communities have expressed concerns and fears.
Folt said in her statement, “USC publicly and unequivocally denounces antisemitism, islamophobia, racism, and xenophobia.”
This follows three previous USC statements made from Folt, starting from October 8th about USC’s stance on the war and its impact on the Trojan family.
For Annenberg News Media, this is Spartacus Smith.