“One hundred thousand dead, Donald Trump, your hands are red!” echoed throughout the streets of Morgantown on March 27 as MSA WVU students protested the war in Gaza.
The protest was organized by the Muslim Student Association. Protesters gathered outside the Mountainlair, demanding an end to the War in Gaza and the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian, Columbia University student activist that was arrested by I.C.E on March 8, from I.C.E custody.
The protesters used chants that were critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President of the United States Donald Trump, and former President of the United States Joe Biden, alleging that the men were responsible for committing war crimes in Gaza.
While the protestors were outside of the Mountainlair, several cars drove by the protestors and honked their car horns in support of the protest.
The Protest organizer, WVU Muslim Association President Omar Sabbagh reiterated in his address to protestors that the Muslim Student Association was devoted to ensuring that the protest remained peaceful.
WVU MSA protestors marched from the Mountainlair to and from the Monongalia County courthouse. While protestors marched, the crowd used chants to spread the Muslim Student Association’s message. A theme that continued to be prevalent throughout the protest was a demand for justice for what the protestors believed to be war crimes that were committed in the war in Gaza. Protestors were heckled twice while they were marching back from the Monongalia Courthouse to the Mountainair. The first group of hecklers would honk their horns at the protestors and chant “U.S.A!” Another heckler briefly parked their car next to protestors and screamed profanities at protestors while students marched. The protestors did not react to any of the hecklers.
The Columns spoke with an undisclosed WVU professor who attended the protest. The professor expressed his concern about graduate students being arrested by I.C.E agents. “A student at Tufts University, she had simply co-authored an op-ed in the student newspaper calling for Palestinian liberation. That is an assault on the first amendment, which applies to everyone in this country, even people who are here on a student VISA.” The professor expressed the importance of standing with students and supporting the cause. The Columns also spoke with an undisclosed WVU student about the protest. When asked if they feared protesting, the protestor responded with “I had some worry and concern, but no fear.”
I asked the protestor about how WVU has responded to protests on campus. “We’ve seen nothing but support from the university, from the university police officers. They have helped keep us safe,” the protestor said. “They have supported us when we asked to practice our first amendment right. They never tried to stop it, so we’re very appreciative as a community.”
When asked about the risks that he was taking by organizing this protest, WVU MSA president Omar Sabbagh said, “I’m risking so much less than what people in Gaza are risking. “They’re risking their lives. What am I risking here, money? Influence? That’s nothing to me.”
