On Sept. 27, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) held a protest during Community Time to voice continued concerns over Palestine, as well as new concerns over the events in Lebanon, Sudan, and the death of Marcellus Williams, a Black Missourian wrongfully sentenced to the death penalty.
“If you’re not outraged, you’re not listening,” one protester said to a gathering crowd.
The speakers, who rotated several times, pointed to hypocrisy among both national and school figures.
“Kamala Harris made a speech talking about the war in Ukraine, and it was riddled in hypocrisy. She said, a dictator like Putin, who is greedy for land, yet [she] sends money to President Netanyahu to commit the genocide of Palestine,” another speaker said.
A volunteer from the crowd, referenced the connections between Oracle CEO Safra Catz and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. As reported in The Olaf Messenger in 2024, Oracle invested $319 million in an underground cloud center in Jerusalem that hosted military, government, banking, and business data.
“Does that sound like a corporation aligned with inclusivity and compassionate Lutheran values?” the volunteer said to the crowd.
Three days before the protest was held, on Sept. 24, Marcellus Williams was executed for a 1998 murder in a highly contested conviction. Williams’ attorneys had filed several appeals describing new evidence, including alleged bias in jury selection and contamination of the murder weapon prior to trial.
“An innocent Black man was lynched this week. We all saw it, despite the collective understanding that he should not be murdered for a crime he did not f****** commit,” said another speaker.
In total, around 50 people were present at the protest. Some of the speakers pointed out this number, referencing how much larger the crowd size had been at last semester’s Rally for Palestine.
“We keep moving on so quickly, and that is why there’s not that many of us out here,” one speaker said, gesturing to the crowd size.
Student protest leaders shared in an interview with The Olaf Messenger that many of them were on academic probation after the events of last year. They requested their names remain anonymous.
Maya Betti
Maya Betti is a sophomore from Shoreview, Minn. double majoring in English and political science. In her free time, Maya can be found reading memoirs of former NYT journalists, figuring out how to crochet, and watching West Wing. After graduation, she hopes to attend law school or become a political journalist.