About 50 people gathered on a corner of Utah State University’s quad Wednesday, May 1, in a peaceful protest against the killing of civilians and children in Gaza.
Organized by four USU students, the protest is scheduled to continue Thursday and Friday from noon to 6 p.m.
The protest included reading the names of children killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza, educational speakers on the history of conflict in Palestine and a group march around the quad holding signs and Palestinian flags.
Kris Carpenter, one of the organizers, said the protest was planned in less than a week, but the idea has been circulating since the beginning of the year.
“We wanted to do something, but didn’t know how or what, or if we had the numbers,” said Carpenter. “When we saw students protesting around the country, we knew it was time.”
Carpenter said the choice to have the protest during USU’s commencement this week was very intentional.
“People will be here from out of state, and they will be celebrating their graduation, which is a privilege.”
Carpenter juxtaposed the commencement with the destruction of many universities in Gaza.
“We don’t want the attention on us. We want to focus on supporting the Palestinians in our community and on education.”
Carpenter said they want people to know that even in small towns, people care.
“We demand an end to the genocide, and that the United States stop funding it.”
Aziz Abuzayed was the protest’s first speaker. Part of the Palestinian Solidarity Forum of Utah, Abuzayed said he is glad to see people learning and “questioning the narrative.”
The student organizers reached out over Instagram to invite Abuzayed to speak, as he has spoken at many protests in Salt Lake City.
Abuzayed left Gaza in 2021 to pursue a master’s degree from the University of Utah.
“Now, going back isn’t a choice,” said Abuzayed. “You don’t go back to a slaughterhouse.”
Abuzayed said he constantly tries to educate himself, so he can present the truth when he speaks in educational settings such as Wednesday’s protest.
“And I encourage people to question my own narrative,” said Abuzayed. “If you don’t fact check and research, you are easily fooled.”
While addressing the protestors, Abuzayed tried to answer the question, “What do Palestinians want?”
“We want freedom, and to live in dignity.”
Samson Calderón Diltz, another organizer, started the protest by discussing USU’s history as a land-grant university.
According to the National Archives , over 10 million acres provided by the grants used to fund the universities were expropriated from tribal lands of Native communities.
Calderón Diltz referred to the Land Back movement and Free Palestine movements as working together to take back land stolen from its indigenous peoples.
No counter-protestors were present during the demonstration.
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