At SBU, students and faculty accused the administration of blocking pro-Palestine speech through police force and organizational restrictions. School officials denied this.
Pro-Palestine student groups across the U.S. have not been supported by university administrations. Instead, these groups have been faced with Islamophobia, censorship and blatant, violent hate crimes on their own campuses.
On Tuesday, March 26, a pro-Palestine demonstration led by organizers of the Stony Brook University’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine ended with the arrest of nine protesters in Stony Brook University’s Administration Building.
Stony Brook’s slogan, “far beyond,” encourages students, faculty, alumni and staff to show their pride. However, if the home of the Seawolves wants to truly go far beyond, it needs to solve the administration issues that continue to haunt its students.
While police officers and administration workers watched the protest from the second floor, protestors congregated around the spiral staircase and the dinosaur skeleton that decorates the lobby. The main lobby was illuminated by the sunlight that penetrated through the glass ceiling. As the group shared their stories, they drew solidarity from their collective struggle.
After putting our thumbs up our asses for the past week, the administration has come to the following conclusion:
Fuck you.
Hundreds of students crowded around the fountain to voice their concerns and chant, “Send us home, pay us back” and “Coronavirus in the air, administration doesn’t care.”
Sarah Azzara’s time was precious, but she was genial nonetheless. She laughed as she held up a large folder thick with students’ work, work that would take her hours to correct. Her new office, where she plans to meet with…