As University of Washington police pried a protesting studentâs clasped hands apart and dragged them from their nine-hour-long sit-in in the Office of the Vice Provost, the surrounding pro-Palestinian student activists held onto each other tight, screaming âSPD, KKK, IDF, youâre all the same.â
After hours of sit-in, cops pry pro Palestine protesters out of the office of the vice provost in Gerberding Hall, UW Seattle https://t.co/RhoYj8L2bM
â Hannah Krieg (@hannahkrieg) December 8, 2023
By 9:30 pm Thursday, UWPD had âremovedâ 36 protesters one by one from their occupation in Gerberding Hall, which houses University President Ana Mari Cauceâs office. Even as the last protester emerged from the building, greeted by a heavy Seattle Police Department presence, the protester did not cower. She stood on the steps of Gerberding, wrapped in her keffiyeh, and yelled âFree, free Palestine⌠Within our lifetime!âÂ
Student activists at the University of Washington are not afraid to stand up for Palestinian liberationâor if they are, they canât afford to show it.Â
VIDEO: Footage of the final protester exiting the building. pic.twitter.com/O2AgfRCqSz
â The Daily of the University of Washington (@thedaily) December 8, 2023
Throughout the two-month escalation of Israelâs reign of terror on Palestine, pro-Palestine advocates have faced doxxing, harassment, stalking, blacklisting, and state condemnation. Last month, a white man shot three Palestinian college students in Vermont in an alleged hate crime that left one student paralyzed from the chest down.Â
But with support for the Palestinian cause growing in recent weeks, recent UW graduate and Students United for Palestinian Equality and Return (SUPER UW) Jonah Silverstein said advocates feel less and less afraid of Zionists' usual tactics of suppression.Â
And so, on the steps of Gerberding Hall Thursday morning, a student wrapped in a keffiyeh told more than 100 student protesters that they needed to escalate. Israelâs bombardment has leveled more than half the homes in Gaza, displaced 1.8 million residents, and killed at least 17,000 Palestinians, which exceeds the carnage of the Nakba, or the âcatastrophe,â in 1948. So far, marches and vigils, however moving, have not stopped Israelâs genocide, nor have they pressured UW to meet the student's demands: Divest from Israel, cut ties with Boeing, and stop suppressing pro-Palestinian sentiment from students and faculty.Â
The speaker said, â[Our] power is useless if we only ever operate within the bounds of the university and the state allows us to operate.â
The organizers laid out the risks of their sit-in. With the stated intention to stay in Gerberding until the cops kicked them out, the organizers said participants could face arrest.Â
About 100 students joined SUPER UW and United Front for Palestinian Liberation in hunkering down in the Office of the Vice Provost. The protesters left a clear mark: hanging flags, sticking Post-its on the walls, even leaving notes in desks for a personal reminder that âwhile youâre working, bombs are dropping.âÂ
Throughout the action, Cauceâs Chief of Staff Margaret Shepherd and UWPD Police Chief Craig Wilson tried various tactics to break up the anti-genocide action.Â
Protesters are met by @amcauce chief of staff who says she'll take a message, but the president is not available. She says police will enforce fire code. The students, after a pause, resumed chanting and chief of staff went in her office pic.twitter.com/VE3Fxj4Z7R
â Hannah Krieg (@hannahkrieg) December 7, 2023
For her âgood copâ part, Shepherd offered them a meeting with Cauce the following day if they left, calling it their âopportunity for an audience.â Organizers asked for a phone call that day. Later that afternoon, Shepherd said Cauce would call them if they left the building first. Not wanting to give up their post without any real concessions from the University, the students decided to stay put.Â
For his âbad copâ part, Wilson and another officer attempted to remove and threatened to confiscate flags. One organizer said, âWe have plenty of flags, weâll just keep putting them back up.â âAnd weâll just keep taking them down,â Wilson responded.Â
A cop tries to take down their demands, organizers easily stop him, and put it back up. "UWPD, KKK, IDF, You're all the same!" They chant pic.twitter.com/e6dmfkZG5T
â Hannah Krieg (@hannahkrieg) December 7, 2023
Most boldly, Wilson lifted a student while they sat in an office chair in an attempt to remove them. Students told The Stranger that Wilson has made a lot of enemies with student organizers, but they are not surprised. UWPD exists to crush student activism, one organizer said, noting the department originated in response to anti-war protesters during the Vietnam War.Â
FORCIBLE REMOVAL: UWPD Chief Craig Wilson just tried to remove this protesters from their chair. They stuck it out for about 7 minutes. They did stand up eventually... to celebrate when the cop left. pic.twitter.com/8TEvInNQTK
â Hannah Krieg (@hannahkrieg) December 7, 2023
While Wilsonâs effort to remove the student failed, Shepard told the protestors that UWPD would âenforce fire codeâ and start citing participants for trespassing at 5:15 pm. Video from participants shows cops dragging protesters away from the action. Participants claim that the cops took their pictures one by one before escorting them out of the building. UW did not respond to my request for comment.
Advocating against US-backed genocide can have real consequences as Silverstein told The Stranger before the sit-in Thursday. But the harassment, fear of doxxing, and threat of police have less âimpactâ on advocates in recent weeks, he said. Â
Knowing they could be arrested for their action, participants told The Stranger, they âdonât careâ if their whole face shows up on front page news. Organizers told The Stranger they still proudly put their affiliations with pro-Palestine groups on their job applications. One protester introduced himself to Chief Wilson by his full name, shook his hand, and immediately went back to yelling âShame on you, shame on you,â inches from his face.Â
âThey're grasping at straws to try and minimize our movement, to doubt our integrity,â Silverstein said. âBut we know that we're strong when we're together, and that we're going to keep fighting no matter what gets thrown at us.â