Photos by Maria Ramirez and Antonella Rescigno.
Approximately 30 protesters gathered in the University of Mississippi Quad to demonstrate their support for Palestine on Thursday, which attracted hundreds of onlookers – some of which taunted in opposition with American flags and “USA” chants.
Jana Abuirshaid, a sophomore public health and Arabic major –– and participant in the protest –– said she recognized protests at other universities, such as Columbia University, the University of Southern California and the University of California at Los Angeles, in reaction to the Israel-Hamas war.
The protesters wanted to send a message of solidarity.
“I want people to know that we are here,” Abuirshaid said. “There are people that support Palestine, and there are people that are against the genocide. (Our message is that) even if it feels like you’re the only one you’re not isolated.”
Abuirshaid talked about the group’s expectations in terms of campus reactions.
“We were a little bit worried, but we knew that we were exercising our right to free speech, and honestly we knew that there might be risks,” Abuirshaid said. “But our intention was not to bring a riot or to have an escalation with the police. Our intention was to have our message brought.”
University Police Department officers were stationed in front of the protesters, who were surrounded by metal gates. Numerous additional officers were on standby, according to UPD.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves on campus Thursday to give the welcome address at the Aerospace and Defence Alliance Symposium. On Thursday morning, Reeves acknowledged the scheduled protests via his X page.
“I am aware of today’s scheduled protests on the campus of Ole Miss,” Reeves said. “… We will offer a unified response with one mission: Peaceful protests are allowed and protected –– no matter how outrageous those protesters’ views may seem to some of us. … Law and order will be maintained.”
The Daily Mississippian reached out Reeves’ office to determine whether he was on campus while the protest was going on Thursday afternoon and was told his schedule was not being given out for safety reasons.
Videos taken by The Daily Mississippian show many of the counter-protesters chanting, “We Want Trump,” “Boo” and singing the Star-Spangled Banner. At approximately 1:15 p.m., the protesters were escorted out of the Quad after water bottles were thrown at them and to the School of Applied Sciences. Many in the crowd at the Quad followed the protesters. By approximately 2 p.m., much of the crowd had dispersed.
Benjamin Clark, a freshman public policy major who was among the crowd at the Quad, questioned the effectiveness of holding a protest at the university.
“I believe that a group of 30 kids on a very publicly understood conservative campus are not going to do much for an almost 100-year-old policy belief system that has been built into the country surrounding Israel, especially the United States,” Clark said.
Clark also said that, although the pro-Palestine protesters were largely outnumbered by the opposition, the protest did bring attention to the issue.
“What (the protesters) are doing is bringing publicity to the issue, which, as we see, there’s probably thousands of people on this campus right now going to watch this protest,” Clark said. “It’s successful as a publicity stunt –– there’s thousands of kids out here. Is this gonna be the end all be all for us to pull out of Israel? No, but they’re getting their publicity.”
Breck Saenger, a freshman finance major, could be seen holding an American flag during the protests, though he said he did not participate in any chants.
“I love America. And I just love my country. And I didn’t agree with what was going on,” Saenger said.
Many people showed up because this is an unprecedented event at the university, Saenger said.
“This has never happened before at the campus of the University of Mississippi,” Saenger said.
Freshman Dani Jackson, a theater arts major, agreed the event was unprecedented, but questioned why there was a large response.
“I genuinely do not know why this is a reaction,” Jackson said. “I’m pretty sure most of the people don’t know what’s going on with the whole conflict, but they just want to have attention drawn onto them. It’s just really interesting, because I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
Others supported the protesters.
Junior Xavier Black, an international studies major, said that aligning with the movement means being on the right side of history.
“Unfortunately, as we see, we’re in Mississippi and there’s a lot of dissension towards this kind of movement,” Black said. “But as we’ve seen throughout history, time and time again, the student movement is never wrong. Time and time again, anytime there’s a student protest, and you’re against it, you’re on the wrong side of history. So I would like to be on the right side.”
Junior Natalie Gumm, was also in support.
“I personally think it’s a great thing to see. There’s been protests across America and universities to get them to divest in the war in Gaza and the genocide in Gaza. I think it’s a really great thing and I wish more people would come out and support this.”
Some, like UM freshman general business major Griffin Curtis, saw the value of both sides of the argument having the opportunity to exercise their right to free speech.
“I’m glad that both people are getting their sides out. I came here as a neutral observer to see what was going on,” Curtis said. “I feel like if (the pro-Palestine protesters) had a little bit more people, they wouldn’t be getting bombarded (the way they are).”
Curtis also said he is more focused on issues closer to home.
“As an American, I’m focused on what’s going on in my country right now, and I try not to get into other conflicts,” Curtis said.
Before moving to the Quad, protesters assembled outside the Union ballroom, where the Aerospace and Defence Alliance Symposium was held. Organizers of the silent protest entered the Union at approximately 11:30 a.m. holding signs that read “Let Gaza Live” and “Stop The Genocide.”
The Daily Mississippian was directed to a student spokesperson for the group and given the following statement.
“More than 200 days into a genocide, the fact that the University of Mississippi has not condemned it or divested from any of its partners who are profiting off of this genocide is unacceptable,” the spokesperson said. “We are following university policies in our protests by being silent indoors. And we hope to get our point across and that the university will follow our demands of disclosing their investments, divesting from partners involved in the genocide against Palestinians and declaring by openly condemning the genocide in Gaza.”
Marshall Ervin, a junior accounting major, was adjacent to the smaller protest.
“(The protesters) don’t really know what they’re talking about,” Ervin said. “I’m a firm believer that the United States should not be involved in (the Israel-Hamas war) whatsoever, and I think that these protests shouldn’t even be a thing.”
Chancellor Glenn Boyce sent the following statement to students, faculty and staff at 5:55 p.m. Thursday:
“As a public institution, the University of Mississippi is committed to supporting the rights of our students, faculty and employees to express their views in a respectful manner and to assemble peacefully as enshrined in the First Amendment. While today’s demonstration was passionate and several protesters and counter-protesters received warnings from law enforcement over their actions, there were no arrests, no injuries were reported and the demonstration dispersed without incident.
I recognize these are challenging times and today’s demonstration was highly emotional. Protests can provoke hurtful language, and some statements were made at today’s event that were offensive and unacceptable. If you need help processing today’s event, please seek assistance from campus resources and support services, including the University Counseling Center and UMatter: Student Support & Advocacy.
I appreciate our campus staff who prepared for and are responsible for supporting the rights of our people and keeping our community safe. They enabled university operations and events to proceed as scheduled while managing and adapting to a fluid and challenging situation.”
Noah Walters, Raeagan Settle and Kharley Redmon contributed reporting.
