UC San Diego Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) held a protest at Matthew’s Quad on March 6 at 3:00 p.m. demanding divestment of student funds. The protest was advertised by SJP as “the biggest protest in UCSD history.” Later that night, Associated Students of UCSD (ASUCSD) passed the Association-Wide Boycott and Divestment resolution.
The protest held an estimated 2,500 UCSD students, faculty and staff, and other community members who showed their support for Palestine and called for UCSD to divest funds. This protest came into light as the student governments at UC Davis, UC Riverside, UCLA, and UC Santa Cruz all recently passed bills that divest student government funds from Israel.
To protect their identity, SJP members and other speakers wrapped their faces with keffiyeh scarves and wore sunglasses.
One of the SJP speakers that remained anonymous said at the beginning of the protest, “It’s not passing a bill, it’s about standing on the right side of history,” referring to the push for UCSD to divest from Israel.
Third year, Amna, had this to say about UCSD’s lack of divesting in Israel: “UCSD being the last UC to divest is honestly extremely disappointing. Our history as a UC has always been rooted in protest and anti-war protest.”
Second year, Hannah, also added her thoughts on UCSD divesting with, “I think UCSD funding genocide toward Palestinians is very inhumane for the Palestinians who are on this campus.”
Two Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanola de Aztlan (MEChA) members spoke in solidarity with Palestine and demanded the University to “No longer let our tuition fund genocide.” Both ended their speeches saying, “Palestina libre!”
Following the speeches was a prayer for all lives lost in Palestine. Green prayer rugs were laid out for those who wanted to participate in the prayer. Along with it, protestors surrounded and “built a wall” to protect those in prayer.
Counter-protestors supporting Israel also attended the protest, draped in the Israel flag and holding megaphones. The signs they held read, “Apartheid? Really!?”
One of the pro-Israel supporters, Alina, who agreed to be interviewed for the Triton had this to say about the Palestine-Israel conflict:
“What Hamas did was atrocious and it doesn’t help to get a two-state solution.” In addition, Alina expressed her dislike of the phrase “to the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” — a common phrase recited at previous pro-Palestine rallies. As Alina puts it, “[The phrase] destroys Israel.”
Additionally, when it came to investing in Israel, Alina’s response was, “Why should we divest from Israel? I mean Israel is just a democratic country doing really well… There’s no reason.”
The protest moved from Matthew’s Quad to the front of Geisel Library. It marched up towards Sun God Lawn, and then for a moment in front of Sixth. There, protestors hung a large sign reading, “This is not war. This is genocide, apartheid, colonization, ethnic cleansing. Free Palestine from 75 years of occupation.”
The protest then looped back to Geisel where the protest concluded with more speeches from SJP members calling for a ceasefire and for the University to divest.
The Associated Press (AP) cited from Palestinian witnesses and Gaza’s Health Ministry that, as of February 29, the death toll of Palestinians has reached over 30,000 and 70,000 being wounded. In addition to this, the entire population of Gaza faces “crisis levels of food insecurity,” according to AP News citing the United Nations.
Second year, Merley shared her thoughts on the ongoing tragedies in Gaza. “We should call it what it is: It’s a genocide. People are dying and people are being starved to death. What is happening is inhumane.” Also on February 29, the Al-Rashid humanitarian aid incident, also named the “Flour Massacre,” occurred in Gaza. Israeli troops opened fire on Palestinians that were in line for food from aid trucks, according to AP News. Israel’s chief military spokesperson, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, claimed they “fired warning shots toward the crowd because they felt endangered.” Over 100 people were killed. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan have accused Israel of targeting the Palestinians.
Later after the protest, ASUCSD voted in favor of an Association-Wide Boycott and Divestment from “corporations profiting from violent conflict in Israel and Palestine.” The resolution informs that no ASUCSD funds will invest in any of the corporations on the Policy on Ethical Spending (PES) list such as Burger King, Starbucks, Hewlett-Packard (HP), Chevron, and many more. Associated Students will be establishing the Special Committee on Human-Rights Advisory (SCOHRA) as a special committee of the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion to set guidelines and policies on divesting student funds. Additionally, SCOHRA will also provide cases of violation of the PES.
In response to ASUCSD approving the resolution, UC San Diego released a statement on March 7 saying that divesting funds from Israel “does not align with the position of UC San Diego.” Furthermore, they stated, “We stand firm in our conviction that a boycott of this sort poses a direct and serious threat to the academic freedom of our students and faculty.”
Cydney Macon is the News Editor for The Triton.