The nation’s attention has been tuned to college campuses as masses of students gather, occupy, and call for a ceasefire in Gaza. And graduates from Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School have been among those observing and participating in these protests, using their voices for advocacy while also navigating the violence that has manifested, from mass arrests to anti-Semitic rhetoric.
The protests have taken place from Berkeley to Columbia, and an epicenter has been not far from the Island, in Boston.
Sophia Kokoszka, graduate of Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School last year, Oak Bluffs resident, and now a freshman at Northeastern University, experienced it firsthand.
“It started out as calm,” she said of a protest she joined at Northeastern University’s campus on April 26. The sun was out, and students were outside sitting on the green, working on slogans and signs that would be part of their protest. They read, “Disclose, Divest, Denounce,” “Ceasefire,” and most prominently, “Free Palestine.”
Kokoszka said a number of students circled around a small encampment that students had created on campus, signs in hand. But despite its peaceful beginnings, as the protests persisted, the day passed, and their numbers grew, a few supervising police officers eventually became a swarm of police officers. By the morning, they were zip-tying protesters before taking them to the station for booking.
“Even though the protests were relatively peaceful, there was a lot of intimidation,” Kokoszka said, speaking to the administration and law enforcement responses.
It has been widely reported that roughly 100 students were arrested at the Northeastern protest.
“I want to use my voice to remind others that there are real people and suffering behind those numbers, and we cannot let anyone forget that. Those that have the power to use their voices and resources must act, because this is not a matter of religion or politics, it’s a matter of humanity,” she told The Times.
The protests at Northeastern are just one of many around the country where students have called for — among other pleas — a ceasefire in Gaza. The Times spoke to several Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School graduates about what they witnessed, and how they were involved.
Ava Dunbar McGee, graduate of MVRHS (’23) and resident of Oak Bluffs, observed protests consisting of thousands of student protesters. That’s with civic protest organizations such as DC Schools in Solidarity for Palestine, and DMV Dissenters, and with American University’s location near the epicenter of democratic expression in Washington.
Despite overwhelming response in support of Palestine at these protests, McGee says she has observed that American University remains a divided campus.
“The climate in general is very divided. My school also has a particularly strong Jewish community. I do have some cultural Jewish background, and a lot of us have been feeling very divided about what to think,” she said.
Despite many protests being labeled “peaceful,” McGee says that she has felt growing anti-Semitism on campus, along with the intensifying protests. She cited spray-painted swastikas on dorm room doors, and the usage of anti-Semetic rhetoric when verbalizing opinions on the matter.
Despite this, McGee continues to show her support through social media for the Palestinian cause.
“I am very proud of my Jewish identity, and everything that we’ve overcome, and our Jewish community. But at the same time, I am disgusted by the actions that the Israeli government is taking out on the people in Gaza,” she said.
Engagement at the University of Pennsylvania has been similarly rampant — from the building of encampments to protests, vigils, and walkouts. Isa Merriam, MVRHS graduate (’23) and a resident of Vineyard Haven, has observed extremely high tensions on campus. She believes it’s due to the diverse makeup of University of Pennsylvania’s student population.
“The issues land much closer to home for people,” she said. “It’s not a community made up of people from the U.S. […] it’s much different because it’s like, ‘I’m from this area,’ or ‘All my family lives in Israel.’ I also think that these international communities feel a sort of kinship with the people of Gaza, coming from an area that has also experienced war and turmoil.”
She cited extremes on both opposing forces on campus, between those who support Israel and those who support Palestine: “There is this very deep personal connection to it on both sides, which would also explain why some people have very strong responses to certain activism on both sides.” she said. “It is not justified to express certain hate speech or rhetoric. But I do understand that the reason that that might be occurring is because it’s a very intimate issue for a lot of students.”
Vivian Peake, MVRHS graduate (’23) and a Vineyard Haven resident, has attended a number of the large, student-led protests supporting Palestinian freedom at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She said that protests are observed regularly, and have amassed thousands of students from Boston schools.
“The protests are unavoidable,” she said. “There were posters blanketing every surface with pictures of kidnapped Israelis, and writing in chalk everywhere saying ‘Free Palestine.’”
Only two hours away from Boston in Northampton, roughly 50 students began the encampment at Smith College’s College Hall on April 27. After 13 days, the sit-in became what Mount Holyoke News reports is the largest and longest in the school’s history.
“We have been putting out multiple petitions and statements, and they’ve been getting rejected. That’s why we’re still at it,” said Madeleine Benggtson, MVRHS graduate (’23) of Oak Bluffs. Students at Smith are calling for the divestment of the college’s funds from governmental organizations contributing to the creation of weaponry used in the current conflict.
“We’re paying so much tuition to these schools, and it’s not fair for them to be using their loads of money to aid this war, which many of us are not in support of,” Benggtson said.
As of earlier this week, the Guardian estimates that more than 40 colleges and universities are holding protests in support of Palestine.
“I went to my first protest yesterday,” G.G. DeBlase, MVRHS graduate (’23), a West Tisbury resident and student at Skidmore College, told The Times on Friday.
“It’s an issue so far away, so people can say, ‘Oh, it’s not making a difference, what’s one tiny liberal arts college going to do anyway?’ But I think it matters that we, as a whole, align with this issue because America is so involved in this issue,” she said. “The environment at the protest felt very safe and peaceful, and it felt great to be there in solidarity with the people of Gaza.”
In terms of future protests, G.G. said, “I will be there if there are more.”
