Eastern Mennonite University students, faculty and staff will gather on campus at Thomas Plaza at 11 a.m. today to urge the EMU administration to issue a public statement in support of an immediate cease fire in Gaza.
The group is also urging EMU to follow through on past commitments the administration had made on Dec. 6, including divestment from businesses that profit from the military occupation of Palestine.
This follows past student-led initiatives and petitions asking the EMU Board of Trustees to call for a ceasefire and act according to the institutional values of peace and justice.
“EMU has a longstanding relationship with Palestine, having sent their students on interculturals there for years,” said Iris Anderson, student government co-president and a student who traveled to Palestine and Israel last summer with the EMU intercultural group. “It is disheartening to know that despite this close relationship and extreme violence being committed against Palestinians, EMU has still not made a statement calling for a cease fire. We gather as an opportunity for the EMU community to grieve with one another and sit in remembrance of those who have been killed.”
After the demonstration on Monday, students will ring a bell on campus for the number of people who have been killed in Palestine and Israel since Oct. 7. The bell will ring every four seconds for the more than 33,000 people who have been killed. The bell ringing will be split between Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday culminating in a final demonstration on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
The Wednesday demonstration will be held the same day as a student-led demonstration at EMU’s sister school, Goshen College in Goshen, Ind., where they will also be demanding their administration call for an immediate ceasefire.
“With the ringing of the bell, we hope to break the silence of our university which has so far refused to publicly support a ceasefire,” said Aidan Yoder, one of the student organizers of the action. “How can it be that our own Harrisonburg City Council has issued unanimous support of a cease fire in Gaza, yet a university that prides itself on its commitment to peacebuilding and the development of global leaders dedicated to peace and justice has not?”
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Crystal Graham
