Hundreds of Bowdoin College students rallied on the Brunswick campus Saturday to call on the school's Board of Trustees to disclose and divest from Israeli and from financial interests tied to what they say is continued genocide in Gaza.
On Thursday and Friday nights, Students for Justice in Palestine camped out in the student union in honor of 19-year-old Shaban al-Dalou, a Palestinian software student who was killed during an Israeli airstrike on civilian tents in the Al-Aqsa Hospital Displacement camp.
Organizer Olivia Kenney said the encampment is a step forward in the ongoing student movement in support of Palestine.
"As students and people of the US, we do not allow the cause of Palestine to die. We do not allow ourselves to be silenced by the new administration and we channel our fear into action," Kenney said.
Maine Coalition for Palestine member Abby Fuller said colleges and universities have a responsibility to educate students to become responsible citizens.
"The students in the encampment are demonstrating responsible citizenship by standing up for justice and putting their own futures and well beings on the line," Fuller said.
More than 1300 students have voted for the Bowdoin Solidarity Referendum that asked for the college to stop investing in arms manufacturing and defense funds.
Instead, students said, Bowdoin has created an Ad Hoc Committee on the issue that has so far failed to produce meaningful change.
In a statement Friday, Bowdoin said the demonstration on campus is in clear violation of its policies, and students participating could face disciplinary action.
