TEHRAN - University students throughout the United States are currently in their second week of protests on college campuses, demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and divestment from Israeli institutions supporting the regime's actions in the besieged enclave.
Reports indicate that numerous American students have so far been arrested during confrontations with police, who have used chemical irritants and tasers against peaceful protesters.
Among tens of schools, The City University of New York has emerged as a hub for student activism advocating for peace in Gaza, following in the footsteps of Columbia University. At one of its colleges, The City College of New York, students gained attention on social media after preventing officers from forcefully arresting a fellow protester during a Gaza Solidarity Encampment at the North Campus Quad. The Tehran Times interviewed two key organizers of the protests, Hadeeqa and Sara, who requested to be identified only by their first names out of fear of reprisal.
The transcript of the interview is as follows:
1. Please provide us with some background information on the students protesting for Palestinian rights, including their age range and religious and racial diversity.
The students participating in the protests at City College New York represent a diverse range of backgrounds and affiliations. They hail from various colleges within the City University of New York (CUNY), the largest public, urban university in the United States with over 500,000 students across 25 campuses. City College is one of these member colleges. Additionally, students from Columbia University and other institutions are present in solidarity. CUNY faculty members have also joined the protests, providing support and guidance while allowing the undergraduate students to lead the movement.
The protesters range in age from 18 to 80 and are joined by allies and community members. CUNY's student body is highly diverse, with students originating from countries deeply affected by US imperialism in the Global South, particularly those in the Muslim world. However, students from Asia, Latin America, South Asia, and Arab countries are also represented. Many students are motivated by their religious beliefs, including Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. But lots of secular students have also felt compelled to speak out against settler colonial violence and imperialism. Palestine has united us across religious, political, racial, and ethnic lines, including Arab, Jewish, White, Black, Latino, South Asian, and more.
2. How have administrators responded to your protests so far?
The university has responded to the protests by deploying campus public safety officers, who have been confrontational in their interactions with the students. During the first evening of the protests, an officer antagonized a student, leading to a group of students pushing the officer off campus. This incident, captured on video, has gone viral and highlights that the university does not prioritize the students’ well-being. We can only rely on ourselves for our safety.
In addition, the university has closed down buildings in response to the encampment, restricting access even to CUNY students at CCNY. This action has exacerbated hygiene issues and infringes on the students' rights since their tuition fees fund the campus.
All of this shows how intertwined the Zionist project is with our university, a public university that is supposed to be accountable to the people, and supposed to stand with the people. Or university administration is fighting tooth and nail to defend its more than $8.5 million dollar investments in companies supporting the Zionist state's genocide, and to appease its Zionist donors, politicians and trustees. It shows how protests against Zionist aggression, and the suppression of it, is fundamental to the board of trustees and the leadership of the college.
3. Has there been any police intervention?
Police have formed a cordon around the protest and sent drones and helicopters overhead. The police and the Zionist state are connected, their power is two sides of the same coin, and we are not afraid as long as the brave and valiant Palestinian people continue to resist the violence of the Zionists, by any means necessary. Palestinians have the right to resist their colonial subjugation, and we have the sacred right to do so alongside them on this stolen land in America.
4. What are your demands from the university?
The students have five demands:
- Divestment from companies complicit in the Zionist imperialist genocide, including those involved in weapons, technology, surveillance, and construction. Full financial transparency regarding CUNY's investments is required.
- Boycott of all academic trips to Israel, including Birthright, Fulbright, and perspective trips. Cancellation of all forms of cooperation with Israeli academic institutions, such as events, activities, agreements, and research collaborations.
- Solidarity with the Palestinian people, including the affirmation of their right to national liberation and the right of return. Protection of CUNY students and workers who speak out against the genocide in Gaza and support Palestinian liberation. Reinstatement of professors who have been dismissed for expressing solidarity with Palestine.
- Demilitarization of CUNY and Harlem, including the removal of Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) and the New York Police Department (NYPD) from all CUNY campuses. Cessation of collaboration, training, and recruitment by imperialist institutions such as the CIA, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Tactical Operations Training Center (TOTC). Removal of all symbols of US imperialism from campuses and renaming the Colin Powell Building as the Shakur-Morales Building.
- A people's CUNY that is fully funded, tuition-free, and independent from Zionist and imperialist private donors. Restoration of tuition-free status, protection of the PSC (CUNY workers' union), and adoption of a fair contract.
5. Has the university tried to address your concerns and demands so far through negotiations?
Negotiations with the university administration have commenced but have been conducted in bad faith. Despite presenting our concerns, we have not been granted a meeting with Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez. Our request to use tents for shelter in inclement weather has been denied.
Furthermore, a young Muslim student was unjustifiably arrested and charged with felony graffiti on the first day of our encampment. This charge carries a potential four-year prison sentence. We demand the immediate dismissal of these charges against the student. We cannot engage in negotiations while our administration treats us with such disrespect.
6. Do you think students could eventually manage to influence White House policies?
Definitely. Students are the future of this country, and most major social changes in US history have begun on college campuses. The tides are turning against the Zionist state, and our refusal to cooperate in this genocide points to this. If student protests are being responded to with the violent force of the state, it is because they know this, and they are afraid of us. The thing that scares them most of all is that we are not afraid. We know we stand for a just cause, and Palestine matters more to us than anything. We will not lose.