On Friday, May 3rd, Dean students gathered outside of Dean Hall to protest the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Students also gathered to protest alleged associations that Dean College may possibly have with organizations that might be profiting from the war in Gaza.
Photo Courtesy: Jacob Murtagh
The protest called for Dean College to disclose any alleged affiliations that it might have with any organizations who may have ties to Israel or any organizations profiting in the ongoing war. The organizer for the event, Andrew Hastings, stated; “…we should encourage Dean to disclose their investments…the Franklin Police Department has a partnership with the school, and they have a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security, their counter-terrorism program, which we’re seeing being carried out on college campuses across the country.”
Protest Signs, Photo Courtesty: Jacob Murtagh
The protest also had student guest speakers who talked about stories of victims and families that are being affected and spread awareness to organizations that are helping those who are currently being affected by the war.
Dean students and some staff voiced their support for the protest on campus, as well as the ongoing conflict going on in Palestine. One senior among the protest, Kinnon MacEachern, said: “I hope it gets more people to get more active among protesting. We are a small college, and I hope people get more active among the issue, protest about the issue, and spread to other departments and protest from other parts from the school as well.”
When a student who was observing the protest was asked their thoughts, they responded saying: “I’m glad they’re standing up for what they believe in, both sides have their issues and can’t control it, but you can’t stop students from doing what they’re passionate about. It’s a very peaceful protest from what I’m seeing. I think it’s good.”
Students Protesting, Photo Courtesy: Tom Szot
There were a few students who were somewhat critical of the protest, with one student saying: “I’m glad to see support for such a powerful movement, but I’m worried that it's become more of a trend at this point, and that some people don’t know what they’re fighting for.” Another statement said by an anonymous student was: “Believe what you want to believe, but there’s no need to show off…I bet the majority of those people don’t know the provinces of Palestine, let alone even set foot there. This college has more Jewish and Arabic people than Palestinian people too.”
There were no official counterprotests during this demonstration.
Hastings was asked for a statement regarding the protest at Dean, and its purpose. He responded with this:
"First and foremost: all universities and colleges must disclose and divest from all Israeli organizations which violate international law. Based on evidence shown at the International Court of Justice, it is plausible that Israel's actions in Gaza amount to genocide. Israel is starving Palestinians, killing civilians, and bombing university professors and buildings. Seventy percent of homes in Gaza have been destroyed. Hamas' actions on October 7th were terrorism, and I condemn Hamas. I also condemn the violent Zionist leaders, like Netanyahu, who continue to commit war crimes and violate human rights. Lastly, students have a right to call out the violence of the Israeli government, and they should. Condemning Israel's crimes is not antisemitism. Professor Omer Bartov, a leading scholar on genocide at Brown University, says the following:
'Antisemitism, as myself and many others have said, is a vile sentiment. It's an old sentiment. It has been used for bloodshed, for violence, and for genocide. And no one should condone it, and obviously none of us would ever condone it. But it has also become a tool to silence speech about Israel. And that, too, has quite a history. And the current Israeli government – or, rather, the numerous governments under Benjamin Netanyahu have been pushing this agenda of arguing that any criticism of Israeli policies, not least of Israeli occupation policies – this precedes, of course, events in Gaza – is antisemitic.'
Remember, at the core, what these student protests are ultimately about: Divestment from Israel."
One anonymous professor said the following about the protest: “I think it is great that Dean students are getting involved and that people have opinions. Free speech is important, and I am glad that students are taking this opportunity to exercise that.”
Signs and Chalk, Photo Courtesy: Jacob Murtagh