By Bell Piccirillo
Students for Justice in Palestine rallied inside and outside the C4C to protest the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil and the broader suppression of Palestinian activism. To protect protesters from potential retaliation, photos were edited to conceal their identities. (Bell Piccirillo/Radio 1190)
A student-led protest erupted last Friday, March 14 at 12 p.m. as demonstrators demanded the university take action following the arrest and threat of impending deportation of Mahmoud Khalil. Led by the campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), student activists gathered at the Regent Center before marching to the fourth floor of the Center for Community (C4C), where CU’s Student Affairs office is located.
Khalil, a Palestinian activist and a central figure in Columbia University’s Gaza war protests, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on the evening of March 8 at 8:30 p.m.. ICE officers arrested Khalil in the lobby of his Columbia University housing, an action that student activists have condemned as a direct attack on campus activism and free speech. The arrest, which took place in front of his eight-month pregnant wife, has sparked demonstrations nationwide, including at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Protesters arrived carrying an array of signs, flags and banners calling for CU Boulder to take a stand against Khalil’s arrest and against the repression of pro-Palestine activism. Slogans on signs included “Abolish ICE,” “Que Viva Palestina” and “Education not Deportation.” A few protestors waved Palestinian flags, while others carried flags stating “Despair is not an Option.”
A significant portion of protesters wore face coverings, including headscarves, sunglasses and masks out of fear of federal surveillance and retaliation. Throughout the demonstration, the crowd chanted in unison, their voices echoing through the top of the Center for Communities stairwells. Chants included: “Disclose, divest! We will not stop, we will not rest” and “Donald Trump, you can’t hide! We charge you with genocide!” among others, all supporting the cause of palestinian liberation.
Protesters hold a large flag reading “Despair is not an Option” outside the Student Affairs office within the C4C. (Bell Piccirillo/Radio 1190)
The gathering outside the Regents Office and on the fourth floor of the C4C was no spontaneous act. The Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) organization sought to pressure CU Boulder to adopt more active measures for the protection of students.
According to a list of demands posted on the SJP instagram page, the protest called for CU Boulder to declare itself a sanctuary campus and refuse to cooperate with ICE or any other immigration-based law enforcement agencies. The list also called on the University to drop all disciplinary cases against students involved in Palestine-related protests. SJP pointed to two students who were banned from campus for alleged conduct violations during a protest in October, which they criticized as an attack on free speech.
The demands further urged CU Boulder to publicly denounce Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest as “inherently unconstitutional and wrong”; to withhold information about student protesters from federal law enforcement; and to divest from Israeli companies, weapons manufacturers and corporations profiting from the Israeli occupation.
The demonstration remained peaceful throughout but grew tense at approximately 1:21 p.m. when CU Boulder’s Director of the University Memorial Center, Montez Butts, warned protesters that CUPD action could be taken if they did not disperse. Immediately following this, one of the protest leaders addressed the crowd: “As you just heard, our presence here, our voices, and our refusal to accept silence as an answer – it is a sign that they feel the pressure, and our job now is to turn it up.”
Students hold large signs reading “QueViva Palestina” and “Abolish ICE” in the C4C. (Bell Piccirillo/Radio 1190)
The protesters then marched down the dining hall stairwells, chanting loudly and waving their flags and banners as they made their way to the C4C parking lot entrance. After lingering for a moment and concluding the final messages, the protest slowly dispersed.
“It was extremely frustrating when talking to student engagement Response Team, we just wanted one meeting today, and we were trying to either get a meeting with [the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and the Dean of Students] and we wanted to talk to either of them about our demands and have that be the way that we conclude our protest,” an anonymous student activist said. “But instead, they would rather resort to threatening to send police in and get people arrested, instead of really engaging in that diplomacy.”
University policies, detailed on its Free Expression webpage, highlight the university’s commitment to upholding the First Amendment while balancing campus operations. The policy allows for enforcement actions if protests disrupt academic activities or violate regulations. It explicitly prohibits “conduct or speech cross[ing] the line into discrimination, harassment, threats to public safety, or limitations on others’ right to access educational facilities” as well as any form of encampment. In occupying part of a school facility, SJP took a calculated risk.
SJP protest marshal holds a Palestinian flag at the entrance of the fourth floor of the C4C. (Bell Piccirillo/Radio 1190)
“They adopt the language of revolution. They say, Let’s decolonize, right? They love saying that and they love to have a good land acknowledgement, right? But when it comes to times of
action, they stand with the fascists every single time. And this isn’t a new thing,” one anonymous protester said.
As uncertainty rises across the nation, one thing is clear: student activists, inspired by movements like those at Columbia University, are resolute in their commitment. Following the protest, SJP secured a meeting with the Student Affairs office to discuss their demands on March 17. The results of that meeting will likely be announced in the coming days. However, protesters were clear that they would continue to make their voices heard.
“I see a world where Palestine is free, where there is land back on Turtle Island, where there is decolonization, where there are reparations, and I see myself living in that world,” the anonymous protester said. “Even if it’s the last breath I take ever, I really do want to live in a free world more than anything, and I’m going to continue to fight because I believe in it.”