On April 17, 2024, students at Columbia University created an encampment on university grounds to protest the continued investing in companies that do business with Israel, in light of the events that have happened since Oct. 7, 2023. Soon after, other universities and colleges around the country have set up encampments, urging their school to divest from companies supporting Israel and denounce the actions of the Israeli government.
The organization Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), are the main organizers of these encampments. The City High chapter, City Students for Palestine, saw these encampments and decided to set up a temporary encampment in solidarity with the schools across the country.
Seniors Penelope Wilmoth, Kalea Seaton and Vivian Shields organized the solidarity encampment, with around 30 other students showing up. Other students and families showed support by providing food, water and chalk.
“This is not in protest of City High,” said Seaton. “They have been very supportive. This is about showing solidarity with the other encampments and bringing awareness.”
The City High encampment was joined by West students Jinann Abudagga ’25 and Shahd Suleiman ’26, who have both organized walk outs and protests at West High.
Abudagga gave a speech, noting the importance of solidarity and advocating for the liberation of the Gaza Strip. She called on her own history in Gaza and her background in protest organization.
The University of Iowa chapter of SJP organized a similar ‘solidarity encampment’ for the same day. ICCSD students walked down to join the university encampment around 3:15.
At the university demonstration, food, water and sign making materials were all provided, with speaker Dr. Lisa Heineman leading a conversational circle. This demonstration was not limited to students, with people of all ages showing up from many different communities.
One of the key points made by the circle was the importance of language, with the media liaison for SJP addressing the issue as well. “I urge people to not call it the ‘Israel-Hamas war’,” the liaison said. “It is a genocide of Palestinians.”
