ATHENS, Ohio — A student-organized protest for Gaza on the Ohio University campus last week drew at least 200 participants, who briefly occupied a university building before marching to the College Green.
The protest, organized by the Ohio University chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (aka Bobcats for Palestine), was one of dozens of college campus demonstrations occurring across the country. The protest began shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday evening at Bicentennial Park by Walter Hall, and concluded around 6:15 p.m. at Cutler Hall.
The group is only around three months old, said Deika Ahmed, an OU senior studying marketing who serves as OUSJP’s media contact.
Demonstrators at last week’s protest called for a ceasefire in the War on Gaza, an end to Palestinian genocide and for Ohio University to disclose and divest its investments in Israel. That would require state lawmakers to repeal Ohio Revised Code 9.76, which prohibits universities from divesting any portions of their investment portfolios in Israel.
“We think [ORC 9.76] goes against our First Amendment rights,” OUSJP member Sophie Grubbs said in an email. “At this time, we do not have any more information about OU’s investments. We are going to research this during the summer!”
Ahmed said the university’s contract with Coca-Cola is one example of its investment in Israel. The company has become a target of a pro-Palestinian boycotting because it operates a facility in Israel.
Unlike many campus demonstrations elsewhere this spring, OU’s protest had no major or overt police presence, allowing the marchers to disperse peacefully.
The university “connected in advance with its organizers to help ensure everyone involved could safely exercise their right to express their views while remaining aware that such activities should neither infringe on the rights of others nor disrupt University activities and operations,” OU spokesperson Daniel Pittman said in an email.
The protest culminated in a revolving occupation of Baker University Center. For several minutes demonstrators chanted, held signs and played instruments as they rode up all four floors of escalators, rode back down, exited the building and circled back around.
Eventually, the demonstrators headed north on Court Street, entered through the Alumni Gateway on College Green and wrapped up outside of Cutler Hall.
Although OUSJP organized the protest, community members of all ages participated in the demonstration. Organizers said that present were two medics and “security personnel,” who helped demonstrators cross streets safely and watch the demonstration’s perimeters.
Demonstrators held signs, wore keffiyehs, beat drums, and passed out water and snacks. Chants included “Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest,” “Free, free Palestine,” and “OU, Divest.”
The protest also featured speakers both before and after the walk. At least two speakers were Jewish and spoke about their support for Palestine and personal relationships with Zionism.
One speaker was Davey McNelly, who spoke before the walk through Baker. McNelly co-founded Athens’ Jewish Voices for Peace 5 years ago.
“As a Jewish person who grew up in southeastern Ohio, it’s sometimes rough – you can feel like you’re on your own here – but I do want to say, it’s definitely not anti-Semitic to call out Israel, to call out an apartheid state,” McNelly said. “These are our Jewish beliefs – that you stand up for what’s right.”
Two counterprotesters drove past demonstrators while waving an Israeli flag from their vehicle. The duo later stood on the fourth floor of Baker and stood silently as protestors left the building to walk up Court Street.
Local activists have held several antiwar protests since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack in Israel, which launched a counteroffensive that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians — most of them women and children.
They also have taken their cause to local governments: In February, against the advice of its law director, Athens City Council passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict. The village of Chauncey will decide this week whether to pass its own ceasefire resolution.
Scenes of OUSJP’s May 1 protest.
Video by Abigael Miles.
