CU Boulder students protest in support of Palestinians

May 1—University of Colorado Boulder students with Students for Justice in Palestine lay beneath the archways of the University Memorial Center just before noon on Wednesday as part of a "die in" to reflect the Palestinian deaths in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

While silent, some closed their eyes. while others held signs calling for the university's divestment in the ongoing conflict.

"We're here to demonstrate the will and the opinions of the students and also we're here to demand divestment from the university and disclosure," 18-year-old CU Boulder student Mari Rosenfeld said.

CU Boulder law student Davy Jia, who like Rosenfeld was a marshal for the demonstration, said the goal for the day was to raise awareness and get more people involved.

"So our goal, along with the issues of genocide in Gaza, our goal is to first and foremost get the university to divest from military-industrial contractors," Jia said.

Jia said such contractors include companies that create and sell weapons and other military technology. Jia said the companies recruit engineers, lawyers and other occupations from universities like CU Boulder that may not be "making bombs and killing anyone" directly but are still contributing to it.

"When we come to a consensus, I think we have a lot of power to pressure the university to divest and break its business relationships and recruiting relationships with these military industrial contractors," Jia said.

Jia wants to encourage students not to take those jobs and wants CU Boulder not to allow those companies to host recruiting events on campus.

"We're all humans, and there is a moral component here, that's something we need to consider in asking where our tuition money is going and where are our classmates going and what are they going to be doing," Jia said.

A statement from CU Boulder says divestment of CU's financial assets falls under the purview of CU system leadership and the University of Colorado Board of Regents.

"We encourage our students, faculty and others who are passionate about this issue to explore the details, engage constructively and continue to connect with the Board of Regents and leadership of the CU system," according to the statement.

Administrators at the CU system level did not comment on the calls for divestment.

"As we balance efforts to ensure students, faculty, staff and community members have the ability to participate in education and business operations without disruption, we are dedicated to protecting free speech and protests that align with our policies," a CU system spokesperson Jeff Howard said in an email.

Rosenfeld and Jia were joined by approximately 50 other students who backed the call for divestment as they rose from their "die in," chanted and then marched to Norlin Library.

"From the sea to the river, Palestine will live forever," chanted protestors as nearby counter-protesters chanted back while waving Israeli flags.

"We needed to come out and say something, because there aren't many of us," 24-year-old counter-protester and President of Students in Support of Israel Dave Philips said in reference to the Jewish community. "They like to paint us like villains."

The pro-Palestinian demonstration is not the first hosted by the group in recent months, with vigils and protests being held in November and October. However, the protest is the first at the school since the rise of university protests across the nation which have led to mass arrests.

Rosenfeld said the protest, which lasted a couple hours, was scheduled for Wednesday in observation of May Day, commonly known as International Workers Day.

"This is more of a rallying call," Rosenfeld said. "We always prepare for the worst and briefed all members to be prepared and we briefed the crowd. We have marshals to mediate in all cases and we have a plan for all scenarios."

While campus police stood nearby with administrators, no demonstrators were contacted or arrested.

"They are breaking the law, of course they have the right to protest but camping is illegal," counter-protester Tal Rabani said in reference to other student protests in the country. "Being disruptive here, (CU Boulder students) are violating campus policy. CU says they're allowed to protest but not allowed to be disruptive to classes and I think they should be held accountable for their actions."

In terms of future demonstrations, Rosenfeld said, "we keep our plans close to our chest."