Today On Campus: Students for Justice and Peace in Palestine Hold Freedom Of Press Sit- In
Kenna Attaway“No more bombs, no more lives”, a chant that echoed from Plunkett Park this afternoon at the University of Central Oklahoma.
The Students for Justice and Peace in Palestine, a new advocacy group on campus, held their Freedom of the Press: Sit-in today at Plunkett Park on UCO’s campus.
The SJP has 300 chapters across the United States and has existed since 1993.
Soha Jawaid, a lead member for the UCO SJP, said that the goal for the SJP is “to grow the BDS movement, which is the boycott, divest, and sanction movement.”
“We are not a club, we are part of a national movement for Palestinian liberation.”
Jawaid claimed that “a lot of our universities are investing in a lot of weapon manufacturing companies and surveillance companies that are facilitating the occupation and the genocide of Palestinians.
“We want our university to divest from these companies and reinvest in our students’ education.”
This week is “For Gaza We Rise Week”; many SJP chapters across the country are having different events and teach-ins to mark the two years since the war between Israel and Palestine started.
The UCO SJP has held three events this week so far, with today’s event being for the 200-plus journalists who have been killed since this war started two years ago.
There were white flags placed in the park lawn, 200 represented journalists killed, 469 represented children killed, and the other 200 represented students who have been killed in the current Israel war against Palestine.
Said Jawaid, “The SJP knows that the end to the genocide is a small step till Palestinians get full liberation.”
Today, the UCO SJP also launched its divestment campaign for UCO specifically. At this time, The Vista has received documents regarding the findings of this divestment campaign, which will be written about as this story develops.
As of today, Israel and Palestine have agreed to a ceasefire, with hostages on both sides to be hopefully released on Monday or Tuesday, according to President Donald Trump.