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Massive faculty and staff walkouts recently occurred across several universities in solidarity with students advocating for Palestine. From one end of the country to the other, faculty are showing support to their students who are calling for action about the ongoing humanitarian crisis happening in Palestine.
At universities such as Columbia, Stanford, NYU, UCLA and many other colleges across the US, faculty and staff members have joined together with student activists by walking out of their classrooms to stand in solidarity.
These organized walkouts have gathered significant attention both on and off campus, with social media platforms flooding with posts of solidarity and support. Students and faculty members have shared images and videos of the walkouts using hashtags such as #StandWithPalestine and #Solidarity to raise awareness about the crisis happening in Palestine.
Faculty walked out holding signs saying, “Faculty for justice for Palestine”, “We stand with our students”, “Walk out for Gaza”, and “Hands off our students” clearly stating their support to the student protestors. Faculty at New York University and Columbia University formed a human chain to protect pro-Gaza students at the entrance of the encampment. These human chains were also formed to again police to prevent the removal of the protest encampments.
UCLA faculty held the latest faculty walkout to show support to their student protestors as they ask for their university to stop investing in companies that are financially supporting Israel. The encampment at UCLA has been going on for 5 days as students state they have no plans to leave.
Unfortunately during some walkouts, police got physically violent with faculty as they tried to pull their arms apart to try to take down all tents organized by student protesters. Northwestern University Faculty shouted, “You will not touch our students!” as police tried to physically pull the human chain apart.
History Professor at Columbia University, Christopher Brown, gave a speech during the organized walkout calling out the university for calling the NYPD to arrest pro-Plastinian protests.
The faculty led walkouts serve as a reminder of the power of collective action to demand for change. Educators are showing support by making speeches, organizing events, and advocating for policy reforms. The solidarity displayed by faculty members highlights the significance of academic communities in advocating for social justice and addressing global crises.
