Dozens of students from the University of Texas at Dallas occupied the campus’ administration building Tuesday evening to protest the ongoing conflict in the Middle East between Israel, Hamas, and the innocent citizens of Gaza who have been killed in the middle of it all, organizers told WFAA.
The students sat in the hallway leading to the campus president’s office. Pizza was brought, and several students could be seen working on homework as campus police hovered around them late Tuesday evening. WFAA reached out to UTD for comment but has not yet heard back.
The students began with an outdoor protest outside the building but then occupied its interior after the dean of students attempted to speak with the group to ‘shut down their action’ per a press release. From WFAA’s own observation, the sit-in was peaceful and far from what’s happening on other college campuses across the nation regarding the topic.
Still, the group of students were demanding the following from the university per a press release:
1. A public statement condemning the violence and supporting Palestinian rights.
2. A commitment to divest from companies that profit from the occupation of Palestine.
3. The creation of a task force to address Islamophobia and anti-Semitism on campus.
A spokesperson for the group told WFAA that they had never started a ‘sit-in’ before and that they were planning to stay in the building as long as they could.
There are also demonstrations spreading on college campuses across the country. Columbia University canceled in-person classes and police arrested dozens of students at New York University and Yale as tensions over Israel’s war with Hamas continue to grow. Jewish students at Columbia University feel some protests have veered from pro-Palestinian to antisemitic. House Speaker Mike Johnson will travel to New York on Wednesday to visit with some of the Jewish students. He’s expected to hold a press conference on campus.
