Bama Students for Palestine, a student-run group in solidarity with Palestine, hosted an arts and crafts fundraiser in ten Hoor Hall on Friday to raise money for Palestinian families. By charging a $5 entry fee and accepting additional donations, the group raised $475 following the event, as of the time of publication.
The families were found through Operation Olive Branch, and those appearing far from reaching their donation goals were contacted via Instagram.
Omorose Emwanta, incoming treasurer of Bama Students for Palestine and a sophomore majoring in neuroscience, said the organization is raising money for two Palestinian families, in addition to funding a vigil.
“Fortunately, since this venue is a lot cheaper than the one we wanted to do, we’ve already raised the money for the vigil,” she said. “So all the money from here is going straight to those families.”
Emwanta said that an additional part of the group is requesting a name change for Hewson Hall.
Named after Marillyn Hewson, a UA alum who served as CEO of Lockheed Martin from 2013 to 2020, Hewson Hall is a lecture hall established for the Culverhouse College of Business.
“I think the bigger issue is with Lockheed Martin, and I think a lot of people will get hung up on the fact that we think we’re more upset about the name of all than anything else,” said Aidan Johnston-Walsh, a senior majoring in physics and French. “But the bigger problem is what the name means and what it stands for.”
Lockheed Martin is the biggest defense contractor in the world by revenue. Requests to remove the name of its CEO from the building stem from the company’s involvement in arming Israel in the Israeli-Gaza conflict.
“I think it’s a movement in good faith,” said Daniel Hearne, a junior majoring in political science and history. “I obviously don’t think there’s a real chance of it succeeding, but you know it’s a good move.”
Bama Students for Palestine will host an additional arts and crafts fundraiser at the Student Center plaza on Monday at 10 a.m. with the Leftist Collective.
“I know that there are certain people that may not feel as if they are welcome, because this space is quite political, but we accept everyone,” Emwanta said. “At the core, we just want to raise money for these families, even if you feel like this may not be an organization for you because you might not align with this politically.”
