Response to vandalism disappointing
Issue date: 11/21/08 Section: Opinion
To the Editor:
As you may have noticed, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), an official Case Western Reserve University student group, placed around 100 signs on campus Sunday evening on KSL Oval, Mather Quad, and the Binary Walkway. These signs consisted of factual statistics, each of which was cited. Our sources included the Associated Press, BBC, the United Nations, the Geneva Convention, B'Tselem (an Israeli human rights group), and others. Permission was obtained to place them around KSL Oval for the entire week of Nov. 17 via the Online Facility Reservation Request form; the other two venues were not listed, so it was assumed permission was not required. These signs (and locations) were modeled after Domestic Violence Awareness Week, sponsored by Alpha Chi Omega.
It was later found out from the Office of Student Affairs that the Binary Walkway indeed does not have a policy for signs. A faculty member complained, and the office of the president decided to remove our signs from the Binary Walkway on the evening of Nov. 17, the supposed reason being our organization name was not listed.
When the administration was asked if we could replace the signs with our organization name listed, our request was denied - a disgusting and deliberate act of racism. On Monday, a student was spotted on Mather Quad smashing a sign with his book bag. On Wednesday, someone was spotted stuffing the Mather Quad signs into a trash can. Wednesday evening, CWRU police removed our signs from the KSL Oval - even though we had permission and our organization name was listed on each KSL sign. Read Uri Strauss's letter on Zionism and the insecurity they possess regarding their political position. Strauss is a law student, one of our most active SJP members, and an Israeli.
As a student at Case Western Reserve University for over three years, I feel like Arab (more specifically, Palestinian) and Muslim students are neglected and receive no support from the administration. It has become the status quo in America, where words like Arab and Palestinian are synonymous with terrorists, suicide-bombers, and "jihadists."
As you may have noticed, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), an official Case Western Reserve University student group, placed around 100 signs on campus Sunday evening on KSL Oval, Mather Quad, and the Binary Walkway. These signs consisted of factual statistics, each of which was cited. Our sources included the Associated Press, BBC, the United Nations, the Geneva Convention, B'Tselem (an Israeli human rights group), and others. Permission was obtained to place them around KSL Oval for the entire week of Nov. 17 via the Online Facility Reservation Request form; the other two venues were not listed, so it was assumed permission was not required. These signs (and locations) were modeled after Domestic Violence Awareness Week, sponsored by Alpha Chi Omega.
It was later found out from the Office of Student Affairs that the Binary Walkway indeed does not have a policy for signs. A faculty member complained, and the office of the president decided to remove our signs from the Binary Walkway on the evening of Nov. 17, the supposed reason being our organization name was not listed.
When the administration was asked if we could replace the signs with our organization name listed, our request was denied - a disgusting and deliberate act of racism. On Monday, a student was spotted on Mather Quad smashing a sign with his book bag. On Wednesday, someone was spotted stuffing the Mather Quad signs into a trash can. Wednesday evening, CWRU police removed our signs from the KSL Oval - even though we had permission and our organization name was listed on each KSL sign. Read Uri Strauss's letter on Zionism and the insecurity they possess regarding their political position. Strauss is a law student, one of our most active SJP members, and an Israeli.
As a student at Case Western Reserve University for over three years, I feel like Arab (more specifically, Palestinian) and Muslim students are neglected and receive no support from the administration. It has become the status quo in America, where words like Arab and Palestinian are synonymous with terrorists, suicide-bombers, and "jihadists."
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Zizwe Tchiguka
posted 11/25/08 @ 9:41 AM EST
hello,
This is typical of the struggle to heighten awareness on the college campuses across amerikkka and the world. Racism still abounds despite the election of Obama, or anyone else. (Continued…)
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