Editor's Note: Along with SJP, the Feminists of Color Collective and the Black and Latine Student Union were organizers and participants in this event. A sentence from this article has been edited to read "On Thursday, September 19th, students and faculty marched across campus as part of a protest organized by Hamilton College Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), the Feminists of Color Collective (FCC), and the Black and Latine Student Union, demanding freedom for Palestine from Israeli occupation, and an end to the ongoing genocide. SJP, FCC, and BLSU also demanded of the college to disclose their investments, and to divest from Israel." with the portions added to the original written in bold.
SJP march in front of the library | Anne Petrova '27 for The Monitor
On Thursday, September 19th, students and faculty marched across campus as part of a protest organized by Hamilton College Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), the Feminists of Color Collective (FCC), and the Black and Latine Student Union, demanding freedom for Palestine from Israeli occupation, and an end to the ongoing genocide. SJP, FCC, and BLSU also demanded of the college to disclose their investments, and to divest from Israel. The march began at Kirkland Green and stopped out front of Buttrick Hall, location of the Office of the President, where protestors chanted phrases such as “Disclose, divest. We will not stop, we will not rest.” and beat drums.
The banner which led the march, reading “You think our protest disrupts the peace? WHAT PEACE? There is no peace while bombs fall like rain.” was placed on the lawn of Buttrick Hall, alongside signs with such phrases as “Hamiltonians for Palestine” and “Free Gaza.”
Steven Tepper, President of the College, stepped out of his office to the chants and stood for minutes watching. Tepper later clarified that, in this moment, he was trying to make eye contact with every member of the protest.
Diego Inunza ‘25, holding a Palestinian flag, asked President Tepper his thoughts on the protest, to which he elaborated he was there to listen, and that he empathized with all people suffering. After being further prodded about who he meant by people suffering, he responded “the Palestinians.”
SJP march in front of Buttrick Hall | Anne Petrova '27 for The Monitor
Students for Justice in Palestine dropped bags of paper resembling one-hundred dollar bills around him, imprinted with the face of Benjamin Netanyahu and stained with red paint to resemble blood. As the demonstration dispersed, protestors brought out chalk and began writing messages in support of Palestine, as well as for Hamilton College to disclose and divest on the asphalt out front of Buttrick Hall.
The Monitor reached out to President Tepper for further comment regarding his thoughts on September 19th’s demonstration, to which he responded “I have been very proud of the activism on campus. I find our students are thoughtful; they are invested in education; they are considerate of each other; they are creative in their attempts to bring attention to the causes they care about; and they embrace complexity even as they are often seeking clear policy changes.”
Monitor also reached out to Hamilton College Students for Justice in Palestine for comment on the march and demonstration, along with Tepper’s presence. A representative of the organization responded that “We appreciate President Tepper's presence at the demonstration. We also appreciate that he made a point to come out, engage with us, and hear our demands. We, however, ask that his actions will not stop at hearing. Our demands need to be acted upon rather than simply heard, and we hope that by engaging with our protest, President Tepper will feel moved enough to work with us for divestment from the war machine.”
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