Between salah and shabbat prayers, students at Columbia’s encampment listen to a speaker at sunset. April 19.
"Saturday was a gloriously beautiful spring day in Chicago, and as I wandered into the 'Liberation Zone' which has taken over DePaul University’s quad, a kind lady asked me if I would like some lunch. I declined because I was headed to a BBQ in a couple of hours, but I took her up on some coffee, thanked her, and asked her if she was affiliated with the Vincentian Catholic university. 'No,' she told. 'I’m just Palestinian.' I recognized her from previous visits to that particular Gaza Solidarity Encampment, one of four I have visited over the last few weeks: Columbia University’s (where, as a PhD student at NYU, I once took some classes), Northwestern University’s (where I am on the faculty and am a member of Educators for Justice in Palestine), and the University of Chicago’s (where, like at DePaul, I was there to observe and to offer faculty de-escalation support if needed). The lady had been at DePaul every day, serving free food (often donated by Palestinian restaurants) to hundreds of people. She, like everyone there that day, was extremely welcoming. ..."
Student demonstrators from Columbia University form a human chain in front of Broadway and West 116th Street after five campus buildings were cleared of protesters on April 30, 1968.
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