Three Palestinian Students Shot
Over this past weekend, three Palestinian students — Hisham Arwartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tasheen Ahmed — were shot in Burlington, Vermont, just three short hours from St. Lawrence University. The assailants targeted them for wearing Kufiyas, symbolic of Palestinian solidarity. These students were singled out not for any reason but simply for their mere existence, highlighting the distressing reality faced by many Palestinian, Arab and Middle Eastern students who feel unsafe — both on their college campuses and in wider society.
To foster a sense of security among its students, especially given the proximity of this incident to our campus, students feel that the SLU administration needs to issue a statement that strongly condemns racially motivated hate crimes like this recent shooting.
The SLU administration’s silence thus far is one failure among many by colleges and universities across the nation in recent months. At MIT, several students were suspended for partaking in a pro-Palestinian protest. The protest was organized by a group called the Coalition Against Apartheid, which is dedicated to educating students and faculty about colonial developments in an effort to support anti-colonial movements.
Twenty students at Brown were arrested at a sit-in protest, although their charges were later dismissed. In emails distributed to the Brown University community, the students expressed their desire for Brown President Christina Paxson to endorse their proposal aimed at ensuring that the university’s endowment funds are not invested in specific companies. The group orchestrating the sit-in identified as BrownU Jews for Ceasefire Now, believes that Paxson’s collaboration would signify Brown’s commitment to playing a role in promoting both an immediate ceasefire and enduring peace.
George Washington University also suspended pro-Palestine student groups, and Brandeis permanently banned Students for Justice in Palestine alongside Columbia University in New York. These developments represent an unprecedented division on college campuses.
Now more than ever, students feel that the SLU community should support their fellow classmates. “If SLU expects to teach its students anything about social justice, it needs to ensure that there are equitable and safe spaces accessible to all students when organizing for social issues and human rights,” says Karni Keushgerian ’25. “SLU’s failure to address a Palestinian genocide and the hate crime in Burlington is proof that their emails and performative support do nothing but beat around the bush,” she continued.
One of the young men who was shot over this past weekend may never be able to walk again. Hisham Arwartani is only 20-years-old but will likely be confined to a wheelchair for the next several months, if not the rest of his life, just for advocating for the basic human rights of Palestinian people.
Several students who are members of the Dub have independently addressed the need for a safe space by launching COARSE, a feminist anthology project featuring concise yet powerful publications. According to the Dub’s Instagram page, COARSE was designed “to provide students at SLU with an opportunity to publicly express their ideas on gender, race, class and inequality from a feminist perspective.” COARSE is one way in which the Dub extends sympathy and solidarity to individuals impacted by Israel’s occupation of Palestine, drawing on historical instances that underscore the ongoing support of the feminist movement for Palestinian people. Many students are glad that the Dub has taken the necessary steps to express solidarity, but believe that their efforts highlight the school’s inaction.
On Monday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m. in Hepburn 21, the Government Department is hosting a panel discussion to assess the international relations of the Israel-Hamas war. Faculty believe this to be an important step in addressing the current state of global affairs, but students are upset; according to Keushgerian, they see the event as “proof that SLU does not advocate against genocide but rather transforms the realities of oppressed people into opportunities for ‘growth’ and ‘education.’” Keushgerian adds that “Palestinians do not care about the politics of international relations when it comes to their homeland.”
What students care about is that the school publicly recognize the racism inherent across not just the United States but the rest of the world. The school’s recognition may just make them feel safer on their own campus. “How can one be proud of an institution that is simply not designed to protect students like Hisham, Kinnan and Tasheen?” Keushgerian asks. “How can one feel belonging to an institution that refuses to see the students that need to be seen the most?”
Before we depart for the Holidays, I would encourage students to check in on their friends, faculty members, and anyone who may be suffering as a result of systemic racial oppression –Jewish and Palestinian and attend the discussion this coming week, if they are interested.