On Monday, Mizzou Students for Justice in Palestine co-hosted an emergency protest and walkout with six other MU student organizations to show solidarity for people in Gaza and other student protestors who have been arrested on their university campuses in the last week. Protesters also called for the UM System to disclose and divest their endowments from Israeli enterprises.

“We are here to protest the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people and to stand in solidarity with our fellow students who have been standing against the genocide. That’s our main goal,” an organizer, kept anonymous for their safety, said. “We are not here to fight with anyone, we are not here to argue with anyone. We are here for one message and one message only and that is to show solidarity with the Palestinian people.”

MSJP, the Pakistani Student Association, the Muslim Student Organization, Mizzou Students of East Africa, Mizzou Young Democratic Socialists of America, COMO Students for Aid and the Afghan Students Association announced the protest on their Instagram accounts on Saturday, April 27, 2024. 

At 11 a.m., students, faculty and community members gathered on Lowry Mall before beginning a march to the Francis Quadrangle, where the group completed a lap and stopped to listen to speeches by protest organizers. Community members wearing yellow safety vests, designated “peacekeepers,” managed the flow of marchers, encouraging people to stay on sidewalks and allowing students and cars to pass.  

Jeff Stack of the Mid Missouri Fellowship of Reconciliation, which sponsored this protest and the weekly protests held on Saturdays, said that his organization works with local law enforcement and provides non-violence training for the peacekeepers. 

Four counter-protestors, holding an Israeli flag, gathered near the pathway across the quad as protesters marched. 

Those participating in the walkout gathered between Gannett Hall and the Geological Sciences building, where Lima Sherzad, a senior and member of MSO, addressed the group. 

“I first want to address those that say these forms of protest don’t do anything, or that they are a nuisance to others,” Sherzad said. “I want to say to those people that we have seen time and time again that student activists have literally changed the world, and it is a shame that students practicing their right of freedom of speech is a nuisance to you, but it doesn’t bother you when 34,000 people have been killed, 77,000 injured in the span of seven months.”

According to Al Jazeera, at least 35,060 have been killed and at least 82,565 have been injured in Gaza and the West Bank since Oct. 7. At least 1,139 people have been killed and at least 8,730 have been injured in Israel since Oct. 7.

Ian De Smet, YDSA co-chair, followed Sherzad’s speech with one of his own. De Smet spoke on behalf of YDSA, saying that he and other members believe that socialism means standing up against oppression in all forms. 

“I’m sure that after seeing the [war] footage we’ve all asked ourselves, ‘Why is this happening? How is this happening?’” De Smet said. “The answer is always the same: through our framework. It’s profit, it’s money and it’s greed. It’s land. It’s exploitation.”

Sadia Moumita also spoke, providing a context for Monday’s protest by acknowledging past MU student protesters. Moumita acknowledged the MU students who protested the Kent State Massacre in 1970, and the students who called for UM System divestment from South African businesses during apartheid – a series of protests that took place from the 1970s until 2015.

“We saw the sacrifices that college students made and we decided we’re not going to forget what those students did for us to have this ability to stand here today, so remember that as you’re walking by [Peace Park],” Moumita said.

Monday’s protestors called on the MU administration to disclose their endowments and permanently divest from Israeli enterprises. 

“President and Chancellor Mun Choi, along with the Board of Curators have chosen to spend the funding of this university to appease Zionist organizations,” Moumita said. “Rather than spending alumni donations to improve educational opportunities for their students, this $2.2 billion endowment uses undisclosed investments to prop up their political interests.” 

Christian Basi of the MU News Bureau said that while the total UM System endowment is $2.2 billion, it is distributed between thousands of investments. Anyone can see a breakdown of the investments by category, but not by individual investment, here. Basi said that the most efficient way for interested parties to request specific information about the UM System’s endowment is to submit a Sunshine Request. 

“I think that the issue is sometimes people are like, ‘Well, we want you to divest from X,’” Basi said, referring to the protesters’ request to divest from companies connected to Israel. “And it’s really tough because they might say, ‘Well, you need to divest from every company that does X.’ Well, a lot of companies do X but they also do A through G as well.”

Basi said that the UM System utilizes an investment management company, similar to a mutual fund, that manages the university’s many investments. He also said that single investments are likely to “have international relationships.”

As the protest wound down, an organizer, kept anonymous for their safety, urged those gathered to keep Palestinians in their thoughts, prayers and actions throughout the summer. Other organizers shared similar sentiments. 

“As students, we learn about history in the hopes that we can make sure it doesn’t repeat itself,” Sherzad said. “But we also need to acknowledge that student activism is an integral part of American history. Change does not come easy. Speaking out against injustices is not easy, yet students show up time and time again and that is where we need to draw our energy and our momentum from.”

Edited by Sam Barrett | [email protected] 

Copy edited by Sterling Sewell | [email protected] 

Edited by Scout Hudson, Sophie Rentschler and Genevieve Smith