After the conclusion of several speeches, a large group of protesters began to march towards the exit of the EMU. The Walkout for Palestine protest began inside the Erb Memorial Union and expanded onto the grounds of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Ore., on Feb. 21, 2024. (Eric Becker/Emerald)
On Feb. 21, UO’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine organized a joint “Walk-Out for Palestine” demonstration, alongside Portland State University Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights. The protests were in opposition to both universities’ alleged financial complicity in ongoing Israeli strikes on Palestinian civilians.
“As students of educational institutions such as the University of Oregon, we must drive the boycott, divest, sanctions [BDS] movement from campus to campus,” SJP coordinator Salem Khoury said.
UO students walked out of classes and joined SJP in a “die-in” inside the EMU, with participants lying down and blocking walkways for people passing by. The intent was to visually represent the large number of Palestinians killed during the Israel-Hamas war, numbering over 29,000 as of Feb. 20 according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
SJP projected the names of infants who have died in the war, that never reached the age of one year old. SJP also dropped banners from the staircases and railings of the EMU. Some banners read, “Eyes on Rafah. This is genocide,” “29,000 dead. How many more?,” “End Israeli apartheid,” and “Free Palestine.”
Demonstrators marched to Johnson Hall before ending their protest at the EMU Amphitheater.
SJP has continually called on UO to divest from popular companies including Subway, Amazon, Starbucks, Sabra Hummus and HP Inc, which SJP says have financial relations with the Israeli government.
“We will continue the fight for divestment from any corporation intent on supporting this genocide of Palestinians,” Khoury said.
The “walk-out” event is one of SJP’s weekly demonstrations leading up to the Mar. 11 UO Board of Trustees meeting, in which SJP has planned a “sit-in” protest.
Protesters lie on the ground of the EMU behind a yellow line placed by UO staff in an attempt to keep a pathway clear. The Walkout for Palestine protest began inside the Erb Memorial Union and expanded onto the grounds of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Ore., on Feb. 21, 2024. (Eric Becker/Emerald)
