University of Missouri students and Columbia community members marched across campus to protest the Trump administration’s support for the Israeli government in the Israel-Hamas war
More than 100 University of Missouri students and Columbia community members gathered in Speakers Circle on March 11 for a walkout to protest President Donald Trump’s administration’s proposal for control over Gaza and recent executive orders targeting pro-Palestine activism on college campuses.
The walkout, “Gaza Is Not For Sale,” was organized by Mizzou Students for Justice in Palestine and the Mizzou Young Democratic Socialists of America.
“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we’ll do a job with it too, we’ll own it,” Trump said in a February press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In February, the U.S. Department of State approved a nearly $3 billion arms sale to Israel, which bypassed congressional review. The department said the situation was an emergency, requiring the sale to continue without congressional approval.
On Jan. 29, Trump issued an expansion on an executive order to “curb or combat anti-Semitism.” This order has already been used to target pro-Palestinian activists on college campuses, including Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil, whose green card was revoked due to his participation in pro-Palestinian protests last year.
“Our demands, or our goals, or our message has been consistent, we want a permanent ceasefire, an actual one, not one that Israel continuously violates,” MSJP President Isleen Atallah said. “We want the end to the genocide, the Israeli occupation and the Zionist entity removing its claws from the land of Palestine and off of the Palestinian people.”
The event began in Speakers Circle with a performance where members from MSJP and MYDSA played out fictional interactions between students and administration at a fictionalized university in Missouri. The performance included a depiction of a “president” and “chancellor” character – played by Atallah – using manufactured evidence provided by a Republican-leaning student organization to reason removing a Palestinian student organization from a homecoming parade.
“I had a history in theater and specifically street performance from my time living in Palestine, and it just seemed like such an idea that’s up my alley,” Atallah said.
According to Atallah, the intent of the performance was to criticize the behavior of the administration towards MSJP and other groups and address the frustrations of student activists through art.
Earlier this year, the Mizzou College Republicans shared a statement in response to a falsified post that was edited to make it appear as though MSJP was defending Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who drove a rented truck into a crowd of people in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, killing 15 people.
The statement sparked an investigation into the incident by the MU administration, which confirmed the post was fabricated. MUCR’s statement has since been removed.
On Oct. 16, 2024, Mun Choi, chancellor of MU and president of the UM System, sent an email to the president of MSJP stating that the organization would be denied a space in the university’s annual homecoming parade. The email cited other “disturbances” around the country allegedly caused by members of other SJP organizations, counter-demonstrators and members of the public as a safety concern and the reasoning for the exclusion.
“The goal was to call out the injustices that the university administration has done to not only MSJP but other identity-based organizations, like the Legion of Black Collegians,” MYDSA Co-Chair Jack Russell said. “Ideally, I’d love to see the university listen and act on what we’re saying. We say that the university has shut out, has lied, has been terrible to MSJP and LBC as a result of political pressure.”
Following the performance, the protestors marched from Speakers Circle to the roundabout bordering Peace Park, where Russell and Atallah gave final speeches.
Peacekeeper Jeff Stack, who helps direct the crowd and maintain group safety, marches alongside protesters during a walkout led by Mizzou Students for Justice in Palestine and the MU chapter of Young Democratic Socialists of America on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at Jesse Hall in Columbia, Mo. Protesters walked from Speakers Circle to Peace Park while chanting. (Maverick Dillon/Maneater)
Interim Dean of Students Dr. Michelle Froese observed the protest from a distance to determine if the demonstration remained within MU’s guidelines. The email informing MSJP that it would not be granted a position in the parade instructed the organization to contact Froese to arrange another location on the day of the parade where MSJP could share its perspectives.
“Every student has the right to exercise their First Amendment right to free speech,” Froese said. “We’re here just to make sure that it’s within [the university’s] guidelines and it goes safely and successfully.”
Edited by Eric Hughes | ehughes@themaneater.comCopy edited by Natalie Kientzy | nkientzy@themaneater.comEdited by Emilia Hansen | ehansen@themaneater.comEdited by Annie Goodykoontz | agoodykoontz@themaneater.com