Pro-Palestine students will protest Tuesday at 5 p.m. in front of Denny Chimes, following another major pro-Palestine protest that occurred at the University in May.
Independent student organizers, along with some who are members of the UA Leftist Collective, intend to raise awareness and show support for Palestine through the demonstration.
The organizers have since created an Instagram account, Bama Students for Palestine, to disseminate information about pro-Palestine demonstrations and other events.
In May, the Leftist Collective helped lead a demonstration in support of Palestine that drew hundreds of protesters and counterprotesters, but over the summer, a smaller focus group splintered off.
“We did a reading group over the summer to learn more about the history stuff. And then once we started school back, we decided that we wanted to create a group that was specifically for Palestine,” said Lucy Diaz-Drake, a sophomore psychology major who organizes educational pro-Palestine events.
Ethan Henry, a senior studying economics, said that the protest’s message of peace has not changed.
“We are not protesting in support of violence against civilians regardless of who it’s committed by,” Henry said. “We are protesting against violence against civilians, regardless of who it’s committed by.”
Henry added that the student organizers strongly condemn antisemitism.
Bama Students for Palestine hopes to spread awareness about the war in Gaza, inform students of the University’s connections to the pro-Israel financial giant Lockheed Martin and coordinate events with Palestinian support groups on other campuses.
“One of our demands is to end partnership with Lockheed Martin, because they’re a defense company that sends weapons to Israel. They have recruitment events on campus in Hewson hall, which we’re asking the school to rename because it’s named after Marilyn Hewson, who is a former Lockheed Martin CEO,” Diaz-Drake said.
The protest will feature four or more student speakers, whom Henry declined to name out of concern for negative pushback. They’re hoping for a large turnout, because at Get on Board Day the group gained dozens of new members and experienced support from UA’s student population.
“Holding a protest next to Denny Chimes has an incredibly symbolic meaning as far as what the students of this university stand for and believe in,” Henry said.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated for accuracy. The original story stated that Student Life had approved plans for the protest. However, Student Life met with a leader of the protest and referred them to the Facilities and Grounds department,
