On Tuesday, Oct. 8, a group of students held a vigil and call to action for Palestine and Lebanon. This was to bring more awareness to the conflict rising in the Middle East and to the suffering of innocents.
For nearly a year, war has been raging through Gaza, Beirut, Sana and farther. The number of lives lost is almost countless.
The students met in front of the library and displayed posters and flags. They discussed the current events happening in the Middle East. They read poetry and personal accounts of the conflict as well as voicing their own opinions, views and concerns.
Not all the attendees knew about the vigil ahead of time but it garnered attention very quickly. Many students saw what the speakers were doing while walking past and decided to stay to listen to what was said.
A non-traditional student who wished to remain anonymous described their feelings about the incidents going on in Palestine and Lebanon, saying, “I feel it’s a very complicated situation and there’s a lot of heated debate about it. I’m not a fan of war either, or violence so it’s a very, I think a delicate topic and I would rather not go into a World War III.”
While many of the students at the vigil were there in support, a few students attended to express their disagreement and opposition.
Samantha Fisher, a sophomore, said, “These people are supporting terrorists and I’m angry with them for supporting terrorists.”
Fisher said, “I know what Hamas does. They kill innocent people, and Israel tries to avoid doing that. They warned the civilians to leave, but they didn’t leave. So, the only reason civilians are dead is because Hamas either would have prevented them from leaving, or they were silently supporting Hamas, or thought that Hamas was in the right.”
Sierra Rode can be reached at [email protected].