A university-wide walkout in support of Palestine turned into a large-scale protest Thursday, as hundreds of students gathered to demand an end to Israel’s siege on Gaza.
“Today’s walkout at USC was centered around expressing solidarity with the innocent lives lost in Gaza and the challenging conditions endured by Palestinians over the last 75 years, especially considering the urgent need for a ceasefire as a basic necessity for the Palestinian people,” said Faiz Ahmed, a junior studying computational neuroscience. “With the thousands of children who have tragically perished in the past few weeks, my decision to participate was driven by a desire to challenge the narrative that deems Palestinians as expendable.”
The walkout was organized by the USC Student Coalition Against Labor Exploitation (SCALE), USC Graduates for Palestine and Trojans for Palestine. The groups encouraged students and faculty to walk out of class at 1:15 p.m. and gather at Tommy Trojan, where four rows of paper containing the names of Palestinian civilians who had been killed were on display. Students then marched to the South Hoover and Jefferson entrance.
“I walked out to show my solidarity with my friends and family in Gaza, Jerusalem and the West Bank, and I walked out to also show my solidarity with all victims of war — Palestinians and Israelis alike,” said Nora, a student who participated in the walk-out. “A lot of my friends who live under Israeli sovereignty in cities like Jerusalem and Haifa are being arrested and targeted by the Israeli government for speaking out on social media and being vocal, despite them being Israeli citizens.”
Nora said it was her “responsibility to use this freedom to represent my friends and family in a country where they are suppressed of basic human rights.”
Participants carried signs, one reading “Be on the right side of history,” chanted the slogan, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and gave passionate speeches calling for a ceasefire and action from the university.
“I think the university has handled it terribly. They’ve been complicit in the acts of genocide, and have even supported it,” junior communications major Jalen Short said. “That’s what we’re here for. Hopefully the university will see something, hear our voices, hear how many people we brought out today — and know that we’re not going to stop.”
Masks and keffiyehs were “highly encouraged” to prevent spread of illness and to protect demonstrators’ identities from “state surveillance,” according to a post made by Trojans for Palestine on Instagram.
The protest was also part of the nationwide “Shut it Down for Palestine” Day, led by the Palestinian Youth Movement.
In a post shared to the organization’s Instagram, the group designated Nov. 9 as the day for “movements, trade unions, youth, students, media, healthcare workers, and all members of society,” to “take direct action through walk-outs, sit-ins, speak-outs, and all forms of protest.”
A list of demands, shared to the Trojans for Palestine Instagram account, included an immediate end to Israel’s siege on Gaza and the occupation; the stopping of U.S. aid to Israel; the protection of Palestinian, Southwest Asian and North African, Muslim, Arab and pro-Palestinian students and individuals on campus by USC; the termination of USC’s relations with Israel and all complicit companies; and the reallocation of any monies saved into supporting community needs such as housing, food insecurity and healthcare.