UWL students participate in Rally for Palestine

LA CROSSE (WKBT)-- UWL students are making their voices heard. On Friday, more than 100 students participated in a Rally for Palestine.

"We've been wanting to do something for a while. we just weren't sure how to go about it," organizer Emily Anderson tells News 8 Now.

Most of the students protesting were showing their support for Palestine and calling for an immediate ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza.

The rally comes just days after protests broke out at UW-Madison. Thirty-four people were arrested during a demonstration. At UWL, police say they've made no arrests from Friday's protest. Anderson says seeing the chaos at other universities has helped keep this one peaceful.

"I have friends at Swarthmore, I have friends at UCLA, I have friends in Madison who have been at all those violent protests before," she explains. "I think just seeing all of that, we're really trying to avoid that."

Students aren't just hoping for a ceasefire in Gaza or the release of hostages.  They also want the university to disclose where alumni foundation investments are going.

"We want to see the UW system to like pull funding from those places that are supporting Israel and funding that," protestor Olivia Roberts says. "We want to try to encourage the UW system to decrease their funding from them."

But not everyone was showing their support for Palestine. Freshman Ryan Kitzan is one of only handful who came to support Israel. He says he felt safe because knows the organizers of the demonstration. He also says his representation is critical.

"I figure if they're going to make their voice heard, I'm going to at least be the one to stand up and offer a contrary view because why they definitely have quite a bit of support over there, they don't speak for all students at UW-La Crosse," Kitzan says. " I think someone should stand up and represent the contrary opinion."

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