Students protesting outside of Master’s Hall. (Photo William Oehler/The Gettysburgian)
By Ella Prieto, Managing Editor
On Thursday, a Free Palestine protest took place outside of Masters Hall from roughly 4 to 5 p.m. Posters were put up before the event and called it an “Urgent Call to Action: Solidarity with Palestine.” The poster explained that it was to show “solidarity with other American universities” as well as to call “for a free Palestine and an end to the Israeli genocide.” It also specified that the protest was peaceful.
The demonstration contained more than 100 individuals, mostly students. There were snacks and water for people, along with posters to hold. People took turns speaking into a megaphone, encouraging the crowd to yell chants such as “Free – Free – Palestine.”
Chalk was also available for people to write on the sidewalk. A multitude of messages were written, including “Stop Funding Genocide”, “Disclose + Divest” and “There Can Be No Peace Without Liberation.”
Those a part of the Pro-Palestine protest wished to remain anonymous. One individual explained why, stating, “A lot of organizers for free Palestine movements in other universities and colleges are explicitly telling participants to not speak to media so they don’t get incorrectly quoted or taken out of context.”
Another person elaborated, saying, “[This] is exasperated by the bill that was just passed trying to make any speech against Israel count as Antisemitic speech.” They clarified the bill is H.R.6090 – Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023.
An organizer for the protest spoke on why it was put together, saying, “I think that as university students, especially at Gettysburg College, [where] the College talks so much about trying to create responsible citizens, I think that includes being responsive to the things that are happening around us… I just don’t really know how it’s possible for us to stand by and see what’s happening, how many thousands have died, and not question our role in that. If we have the ability to change something, no matter how small, we should do it, because we really to help the people that are suffering right now, wherever they are.”
Students protesting outside of Masters Hall. (Photo William Oehler/The Gettysburgian)
One student, who wished for it to be clarified that she was Jewish, stated: “I’m here because I was inspired by a lot of other students across the nation to seek transparency in my college’s endowment.”
This was referencing the plethora of protests happening across the nation, most notably at Columbia University, where students have built encampments to demand that their college or university divest from Israel.
Many students, such as Parker Cohen ’26, detailed why they felt the protest was significant.
“This is important to me because as a member of the Jewish community, I’ve seen a bunch of the people that I’ve thought cared about victims of genocide around the world become the perpetrators of the exact same thing that they were once trying to defend against,” said Cohen. “I don’t believe in the existence of an ethnic state nor the apartheid regime that currently exists, and I’m here to show my solidarity for the people of Palestine that have been a victim of this since 1947.”
Several students gathered near the Free Palestine protest to show support for Israel. Charlie Henry ’26 was a member of this group and described why he was there.
Pro-Israel individuals outside of the Free Palestine protest. (Photo William Oehler/The Gettysburgian)
“I came today to show my support for the hostages who were kidnapped from Israel on October 7. I think that the attacks by Hamas are unequivocally wrong,” said Henry. “And I think that demonstrations like this fail to achieve their long-term goal in that I think that for a long-term peace to be established, we need two sides that are both willing to come to the table and I don’t think that that will ever happen as long as Hamas, a terrorist group that wishes for the total destruction of Israel… that any real peace can be established that is good for the world, good for democracy.”
Some of the Free Palestine protestors were put off by the Pro-Israel protestors, with one student stating, “I think it’s worth noting, there are more Jewish kids on the Free Palestine side and more kids who speak Hebrew on the Free Palestine side than there are on the Pro-Israel side. It’s not Pro Jew to be Pro Israel—it’s Pro U.S. extremism and imperialism.”
Many gathered around the two protests to observe what was happening. Donovan Villegas ’25 shared his opinion on the two protests.
“I really don’t have that strong of a stance on it one way or the other. I think it’s admirable that people are protesting things like starvation and war in general, but at the same time, I think it’s a complex conflict that goes back for a very long time. I am definitely not an expert to come to a conclusion or say one way or the other which side is right,” Villegas said. “As far as the protests across the U.S., I think everybody has a right to protest and I think a protest like this is perfectly fine and even admirable. But I also just think the majority of people, at least on this campus, don’t really care enough to take action one way or the other.”
At approximately 4:35 p.m., the protest moved inside Masters Hall where a faculty meeting was taking place. Gettysburg College President Bob Iuliano, who was presiding over the meeting at the time, welcomed the protestors and allowed them to speak into a microphone.
Students entering the 5/2 faculty meeting with Pro-Palestine signs. (Photo William Oehler/The Gettysburgian)
One student read a statement that had been crafted by the organizers of the protest, calling for the College to do several acts, prominently to disclose “all investments, expenditures, and endowment funding” and “Divest from any and all companies, contractors, or other organizations with ties to Israel and the Palestinian genocide.” They also cited when the College “Created social responsibility guidelines in relation to South African Apartheid for the endowment managers to follow” and divested $5.4 million from the South African Apartheid following student and faculty divestment efforts.
Student addressing President Iuliano with the protestors’ desires. (Photo William Oehler/The Gettysburgian)
Members of the room applauded following the statement. Iuliano then responded.
“I want to acknowledge the importance of that statement and the obvious and rightful passion our students have as they try to make sense of the world in which we live and the very consequential actions that we see,” Iuliano said. “I welcome the opportunity to continue this conversation at the right time, and so perhaps you can identify a group of people that I can meet with and have this conversation about where we go from here and to understand better the perspective about the requests you’ve made. I will note of course that I want to hear from other members of the community as well, recognizing that we are a heterogenous community and we have people with a wide range of views on the issues that we have raised today. So I very much welcome the opportunity to continue this conversation.
Iuliano also spoke on the College’s commitment to freedom of expression and further supported having a larger conversation with students.
“I also want to underscore the College’s commitment to something you’ve spoken to, which is the importance of freedom of expression and the ability of all members of our community to express points of view, even points of view that we may not all necessarily agree with,” Iuliano said. “It is central to who we are as a college, it is a strong commitment we have reflected in our freedom of expression philosophy and it’s a set of principles that we will uphold at this College. So thank you for your statement, and again, perhaps after this meeting we can have a conversation about how we continue this conversation in a way that lets me fully and better understand what you’ve asked for today.”
The room applauded after Iuliano’s response as well. Two more students spoke after this, one stating statistics about how much money Israel has been given from the United States and calling for this money to stop. The other mentioned how while “universities are businesses,” they have a moral responsibility to stop funding Israel due to its treatment of Palestine.
The faculty meeting then continued. Protestors remained there for around 15 minutes before leaving, chanting, “Disclose, divest, we won’t stop, we won’t rest.” They moved back outside Masters Hall, ultimately dispersing at approximately 5:15 p.m.
May 3, 2024
I think it’s funny the Free Palestine protestors accuse those of us who are pro-Israel of “extremism and imperialism.” My brother, have you looked in a mirror recently? You are literally on the side that cosplays as terrorists.
May 3, 2024
The protests around the country and even at Gettysburg fail to mention October 7th and the slaughter inflicted on Jews in Israel! Not to mention the hostages taken. Hamas has been given every opportunity to surrender and release the hostages! They have refused. It’s not genocide to wipe out terrorists! The Palestinian people could renounce Hamas but they refuse or cannot because they are under the gun. Jordan, Egypt , Lebanon , Syria and Iran have all refused to take Palestinians refugees. Why is that?? Israel has every right to eliminate the threat that hamas is to it’s people. Why no word about the war in Ukraine?? I guess the thousands there that have died are not worth the effort! This is nothing but anti-semitism, anti-Israel, anti-American and Marxist propaganda that should be rejected from the Administration at the college and by the faculty and students! EXPELL these students if they spew hatred and threaten classmates! The school has plenty of applicants to fill those seats next year! Do the right thing here. It’s easy but requires the strength of will and character which seems so lacking among the college elites!
May 6, 2024
“It’s not genocide to wipe out terrorists” is a crazy argument to make as an American. Do you know how many communities around the world view our OWN government as a terrorist organization? Such as the Central American countries whose democratically elected governments were overthrown by fruit companies aided by the U.S. government (at the direction of this college’s main man Eisenhower)? I guess if a people are represented by so-called terrorists, that justifies their entire destruction, if I’m following your argument correctly. Therefore, all of us Americans should be held accountable. Hopefully you realize how crazy that sounds now. Innocent Palestinians do NOT deserve to die because Hamas represents them. And that’s only one of the several ignorant hypocrisies in your comment. Think critically next time.
May 6, 2024
These students are mindless drones who are protesting simply because students at other colleges are too. Anyone who seriously looks at the conflict can see that Israel is properly defending itself from an existential threat. There’s a lot of false self-importance to think that the college’s endowment has any real impact on a foreign war. Not to mention that with the state of the college’s finances, the endowment can really use more Lockheed Martin stock, not less.