St. Kate's SJP holds Die-In for Palestine
By Mia Timlin and Ella Tracy
For the safety of student organizers, speakers will remain unnamed.
On Monday, Oct. 7, at 4 p.m., students gathered for a “Walk Out and Die-In for Disclosure” in the Derham Hall Lobby, coordinated by St. Kate’s Students for Justice in Palestine organization. The protest was part of a national walkout that recognized the day as the one-year mark of the genocide currently taking place in Palestine. Attendees were asked to walk out of class at 4 and meet at Derham Hall with signs and masks.
The die-in (a sit-in style protest in which participants lay down to convey the message of appearing dead) was acknowledged at the Oct. 8 Student Senate meeting, with one senator taking part of the free speech portion of the meeting to say, “I wanted to acknowledge that yesterday was the first anniversary of the genocide in Gaza. I feel like—we had a protest, a sit-in, yesterday in Derham Hall, and it was a really nice experience, just really nice being in shared grief with the rest of, you know, SJP and other students and faculty.”
Below are some excerpts from student SJP organizers that spoke at Monday’s sit-in.
Student organizer 1: “We are focusing our pressures on the Board of Trustees… Today marks 1 year since Israel’s escalation of the ongoing genocide of the Palestinians. We are here to hold St. Catherine University accountable for their involvement and responsibility at this violent time in history. This genocide isn’t something that started on Oct. 7. It started in 1948, but I hope many of you know that by now. We are at the point in the genocide against Palestine where inaction, ignorance and uncertainty are frankly unacceptable. The violence is undeniable and unavoidable, as you’ll hear others speak about today.
“You may think we’re here today to put pressure on the administration specifically, but after a long, and frankly disrespectful, micro-aggressive process of follow-up and meetings, of admin both old and new, we’ve been told to point our pressure toward the Board of Trustees. They have expressed that they do not have any investments [in] Israel—to their knowledge—but they are unwilling to prove it because their list of investments is proprietary. That is frankly not a good enough reason. So today we ask that the board of trustees release this list of investments.
“[We ask once more] for the simple disclosure of the list of investments that could end this entire process of back and forth protest that you despise so much that you’ve gone as far as to make a policy against demonstration. Do not forget about the people of Palestine this time. We are here on Oct. 7 to ask our university to do its part and not be complicit in this genocide. But I fear as we go through these processes we lose the plot and we forget the people we’ve come here to fight for and to honor. Today and every day, do not let a single death in Palestine become another number. Do not for a second desensitize yourself. Do not for a second not allow yourself to feel with and fight with the people of Palestine. We will not forget human life and we will bear witness. Glory to the martyrs.”
Student organizer #2: “It’s been a year of genocide, but years of ethnic cleansing. It’s been a year of genocide, but years since Palestinians haven’t been able to visit home. It’s been a year of genocide, but years of stripping away our identity as Palestinian people. It’s been a year of genocide.
“But Gaza had to witness this for 364 days. It’s been a year of genocide, but Gaza had to witness this for 364 days too. For 200 days, for 100 days, for 50 days, for 30 days, for a day. It’s been a year of genocide.
“But Gaza and Palestine have seen much more than 365 days.
“Its been a year of genocide, but unfortunately I must tell you it’s also been decades of genocide. No amount of days or years will justify the atrocities committed by Israel. Tell me, how many days will it take for others to care? How many days will it take for us to do our part? How many days will it take for you not to feel uncomfortable when I speak about my identity? How many days, how many weeks, how many months, how many years?
“Palestinian students and students who support Palestine deserve to have a voice on this campus and deserve to express themselves just like any other student. They deserve to be heard too. We don’t want pity and we don’t want apologies because they most definitely are not sincere. I would like us to use our voices. Realize the power you hold in your mind, soul and body and ask yourself today, ‘What can I do to stop this genocide?’
“Because if the least we can do is speak, then we will speak. Speak with conviction. Speak in your own way through writing, poetry, music, chants, phone calls, and then read. A beautiful thing and skill we take for granted: gaining knowledge through reading that no one can take away from you, to the point where the power you hold in your mind and words is a threat to those who lack empathy and knowledge.
“Today marks a year of genocide, and I want us to take a moment to remember these loses of innocent men, women and children.
“There are almost no children left in Gaza, but the souls that are still alive, I can assure you, want anything but silence from us. We called it a day of action for a reason, so thank you for being here today and for taking a step of action toward a free Palestine.”
Student organizer #3: “The last year has been the deadliest in history [for] the Palestinian people. I think it’s important to say some numbers. These are just some of the things destroyed by the state of Israel in the past year in Gaza.
Two museums
Three churches
80% of schools
12 universities
Dozens of mosques
Dozens of cemeteries
13 libraries
80% of healthcare centers and 19 hospitals
Over one-third of all tree-covered farm land
40 thousand human beings, and that’s a conservative measure
Thousands of people are unrecoverable beneath the rubble.
The Wheel found more extensive records of damaged or destroyed properties, institutions and communities within Palestine, we’ve linked some resources below.
https://librarianswithpalestine.org/gaza-report-2024/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67983018
https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/gaza-geospatial-data-shows-intensifying-damage-to-cropland/en#:~:text=As%20of%201%20September%202024,694%20ha)%20in%20February%202024.
“This morning, our president Dr. Evans sent out a message of strength and sympathy to the community of St. Kate’s, related to what she, and essentially all media, is calling the ‘Israel-Hamas war.’ I’m not sure if she’s aware, but there is actually a word for when a group commits the following acts with the intent to destroy in whole or in part a national or ethnic group. That word is genocide. I was slightly surprised and a little encouraged by Dr. Evan’s message, even with the fact that St. Kate’s has never shown any solidarity or support for the Palestinian people, but these feelings were overshadowed by the disrespect when people can’t even muster the courage to speak the truth about what is going on. This being a genocide is not a statement or opinion; it is a fact. We as Americans are complicit.”
