Pro-Palestinian protesters call for 'solidarity and action' with UWEC at rally
EAU CLAIRE — On Friday morning, students marched through the UW-Eau Claire lower campus while chanting, “Resistance is justified when people are occupied. Disclose, divest. We will not stop, we will not rest.”
An estimate of more than 50 people, including students and community members, attended the rally.
Even across the state of Wisconsin, more and more college students are speaking out against the Israel-Hamas war. The Associated Press reported that an estimated 2,200 pro-Palestinian protesters have been arrested across U.S. campuses.
However, the students in Eau Claire wanted to keep things peaceful and safe.
“We wanted to prioritize the safety of our students as number one,” said Lily Jones. “Just because we know that police have been getting brutal with students who are breaking a rule, that is no reason to throw them to the ground, to hit them, to beat them. These students are going home with bloodied faces, broken bones. ... We wanted to aim to have our students be very, very safe.”
So, what were the students asking for?
Other than raising general awareness in regard to the incidents happening with Palestinians in and around Israel, Patrick Hill said they also want UW-Eau Claire to boycott and divest from any organizations or businesses that have come out in support of Israel during the divide.
“Because they are directly complicit with the violence that is occurring in Palestine,” he said.
With more and more people speaking out against what the protesters described as “genocide,” Jones said the truth is getting out there as more people protest the issue. But in that effort, many are dying, she said.
Hill said their protest against the war is a criticism of the Israel’s actions, as many held signs on Friday that asked for a ceasefire and hope for peace. In speaking out and bringing awareness to the issue, Jones said they are getting their story out regarding a war that’s recently relatively little attention.
But alongside that, the students also are sending a message of disapproval to the university administration.
“I think it is important about bringing awareness, but I think another one of the important goals is a message to administration that says we will not stand for them supporting companies that are complicit in genocide,” said Hill. “We want to send a strong message to our administration that what they are doing is unacceptable and they need to be transparent and avoid being complicit.”
Additionally, the protesters said they would like to see a statement condemning violence against protesters from their administration.
