At least 150 people called on USC to divest from Israel, chanting at the center of campus in the midst of the career fair.
The protests lasted over three hours on Thursday. It was the first major demonstration since the encampments that took place during the Spring semester.
Demonstrators wore keffiyehs and other face coverings while repeating chants similar to those made during last year’s on-campus protests that led the university to take disciplinary action against a number of students. Many demonstrators also had signs or banners with the words “Free Palestine” and “USC Funds Genocide” painted on them.
The walkout turned into a sit-in, where demonstrators spread out and sat down around Tommy Trojan and Traveler to occupy more space. DPS then moved protestors closer to the fountain and formed a wall in an effort to clear space for a fire lane.
“I think it’s really unfortunate because it feels like, over the last year, we’ve kind of forgotten how to talk to one another,” said Max Rubenstein, a sophomore studying international relations who was not part of the demonstration. “I have seen people who refuse to understand where the other side might be coming from.”
More than an hour after the demonstration began, the walkout began moving through Trousdale Parkway toward the main entrance to campus where a final speech was given, crossing through USC’s all-major career fair. A vigil was held at this entrance last Friday to memorialize the Palestinian lives lost since October 7.
“I wasn’t expecting it, but I don’t think it’s uncommon to be on college campuses and to witness students standing up for what they believe in,” said Morgan Wybrecht, who was representing Guidepoint at the career fair.
The walkout was part of the National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) national day of action and was advertised on social media by USC’s SJP chapter in collaboration with USC Graduate Students for Palestine, Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP), Divest From Death and Student Coalition Against Labor Exploitation (SCALE).
The USC SJP posted on Instagram on Wednesday stating that the goal of the demonstration was to, “let the admin know that they can never intimidate their students into being silent about USC’s complicity in genocide and join the student movement across the world demanding divestment, liberation, and return.”
Recent calls of university divestment stem from Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS), a Palestinian led movement for freedom, justice, and equality which began in 2005. According to the BDS movement website, divestment refers to the withdrawal of, “investments from the State of Israel and all Israeli and international companies that sustain Israeli apartheid.”
In preparation for the protest, USC Department of Public Safety (DPS) fenced off Tommy Trojan and placed more than 10 officers around the area to prevent the violation of university policy. An officer car was also parked in the quad to block off the statue.
“There’s an exceptional amount of police presence to kind of intimidate students,” a media liaison for USC SJP said. The student requested anonymity out of fear of academic retaliation. “[It’s] absolutely not going to work, and yeah, we just continue to fight for divestment.”
Officers were seen recording and taking photos of protesters.
“[It’s] only for events of this nature,” DPS Assistant Chief David Carlisle said. “It’s wise to have a video recording, and I think it’s a benefit from administrators to show how peaceful they were.”
Demonstrators said they viewed the police activity as infringing on their free speech by preventing the use of megaphones and attempting to control the crowd to clear space for students.
“I feel like we’ve actually gone backwards,” the USC SJP media liaison said. “There’s been quite a bit of an attack on free speech, and I think that’s a big thing that we’re pushing back on.”
This was USC SJP’s first demonstration and the largest protest of any organization of the new school year, following the encampments and protests in Alumni Park last year. And, as with the encampment, students were not the only ones in attendance with professors and community members coming to support.
“[It’s] very inspiring [...] when you have so many youth and students coming out and refusing to go with the lies and risking their careers,” said John Parker, a coordinator for the Harriet Tubman Center of Social Justice.
