Pro-Palestine protesters shut down OSU trustees meeting, demand divestment from Israel
More than two dozen Ohio State students, alums and community members shut down Ohio State University Board of Trustee's Finance & Investment Committee meeting Thursday morning, calling on trustees to divest from corporations they say support Israeli and fossil fuel companies.
"Ohio State is investing millions of dollars into death and destruction," said Akithma Ferdinandez, a third-year Ohio State student studying social environmental engineering. "University leaders have blood on their hands. They are profiting off of their genocide."
Organizers and demonstrators were with Ohio Youth for Climate Justice, the Palestinian Justice Movement, Students for Justice in Palestine's OSU and Moritz College of Law chapters, the Columbus chapter of Party for Socialism and Liberation, Rising Tide Columbus, and the Democratic Socialists of America's Columbus chapter.
The protest at Ohio State follows similar protests held at Columbus City Council in recent weeks since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. A group about 150 protestors filled council chambers Monday demanding that councilmembers call for a ceasefire in Gaza and break U.S. ties with Israel.
More: Pro-Palestine protesters pack Columbus council again, demand call for Israeli ceasefire
The trustees meeting protest was initially billed as a "silent demonstration in support of Palestine," according to a press release from Ohio Youth for Climate Justice.
Protesters gathered at the Longaberger Alumni House just before the committee meeting commenced at 10 a.m. and silently filed into the room where trustees were meeting. Some demonstrators wore keffiyehs and carried banners reading, "Divest from Death" and "Ceasefire Now."
About 15 minutes into the meeting, as Senior Vice President for Advancement Michael Eicher was discussing the university's recent fundraising campaign, students interrupted the meeting, calling on trustees to divest.
Trustee Tom Mitevski told the group they were interrupting the meeting and asked them to leave. Instead, protesters began chanting, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free."
The board was called into recess, and trustees and executive cabinet members filed out of the room as protesters chanted, "OSU you can't hide, you're committing genocide."
Senior Vice President of Administration & Planning Jay Kasey tried talking to the group as they chanted, saying, "You're talking to yourselves."
Ohio State spokesman Ben Johnson said the university has been "reaching out to and supporting all members of our university community in these deeply troubling times."
"We recognize the war is affecting a wide range of individuals and groups across the university and community, and we will continue to focus on actions that enhance the safety and well-being of our students, faculty and staff," Johnson said."
"Ohio State utilizes a diversified investment strategy to grow the resources available to support our academic mission, such as student scholarships, faculty positions and educational resources," he added. "The university follows all applicable laws regarding investments, including state laws specifically addressing this issue. Ohio State’s endowment is not funded with tuition or fees."
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The demonstrators continued to chant in the meeting room and in the lobby, their voices echoing through the nearly empty rooms. Several minutes into their demonstration, an Ohio State police officer told students they had five minutes to leave the premises or be arrested.
Some students discussed the risks of being arrested, Dalal Shalash, an Ohio State history and political science major, said to the crowd, "If you're scared of getting arrested, know there are people in Gaza who are scared of not waking up tomorrow."
The group continued to chant as they filed out of the building, moving their protest outside to the front steps for about an hour. No students were arrested.
Trustees resumed their meeting and went directly into executive session.
Sheridan Hendrix is a higher education reporter for The Columbus Dispatch. Sign up for Extra Credit, her education newsletter, here.
shendrix@dispatch.com
@sheridan1201
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Pro-Palestinian protesters shut down Ohio State trustees meeting
