Student protest erupts at Palestine vigil

A vigil for Palestinians caused protests from students on Veteran’s Day.

On Tuesday, Nov. 11, Students for Justice in Palestine organized a memorial and evening vigil on Dietler Commons to honor Palestinians who have been killed over the course of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The student organization secured the required permits and permissions to place small white flags across the lawn as a visual memorial. The accompanying vigil was scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. and drew students, faculty and community members. The event featured several speakers, including SJP Steering Committee member Sophia Rehman, who addressed the crowd to mourn and commemorate the lives lost. Dr. Nida’a Abu Jbara, a psychology professor from Tulsa Community College, also spoke, offering reflections on the human toll of the conflict.

Throughout the afternoon, before the vigil officially began, individual protesters began appearing around the memorial site. According to student eyewitnesses Jules Yang and Marie-Gabrielle Soho, two individuals carrying an American flag were seen marching around Dietler Commons as early as 2 p.m. Around this same time, eyewitness Heba Saleh reports that protesters stuck an American flag into the ground where the memorial was, but this flag was removed from the memorial before the start of the vigil. Saleh also attests that at least one of the protesters at this time reported not being a TU student.

Each of the white flags at the memorial represents 1,000 lives lost. Photo by Adrian Warwick.

During the vigil itself, a loosely associated group of approximately five protesters gathered near the event. Around 6 p.m., a man dressed in a USA-themed suit and holding a large American flag positioned himself behind the speakers on the steps of McFarlin Library. He repeatedly waved his flag and periodically shouted “God bless the USA” while speakers addressed the crowd. His presence appeared to draw additional protesters who formed near him. When approached by The Collegian, the man and the other protesters declined to comment.

At approximately 6:15 p.m., the main protester with the flag was escorted away from the vigil area to a nearby sidewalk by campus security. On this sidewalk, he continued waving his flag and playing loud music, according to student attendee Heba Saleh.

University administration commented on the protesters’ removal stating, “a few students came out Tuesday night in protest of a vigil that had received authorization from the university. The protesters had not requested use of the space and were offered an alternative location to express their views. Administrators continue to support students’ free speech rights in accordance with university policies.”

The group of protesters appeared only loosely affiliated with one another and engaged in multiple discussions and arguments with vigil participants throughout the evening. The primary protester expressed frustration to attendees about the vigil taking place on Veterans Day, stating objections to honoring anyone other than veterans on that date.
As the vigil concluded and SJP members began collecting the white flags from Dietler Commons around 6:50 p.m., two protesters ran across the field blasting music and waving an American flag while chanting “USA.” Their connection to the earlier protesters remains unclear as they left the area before The Collegian could request comment.

In response to the protests, SJP representative Adrian Warwick told The Collegian, “we completely respect those who want to honor our veterans. We encourage them to book a space and organize their own vigil as we did. Simply put, disrupting an organized vigil that is honoring the dead by waving flags and blasting music over our guests on our reserved space, rather than honoring service with an independent event, is what is truly disrespectful to our veterans.”

Following the events, an American flag remained planted in the ground on Dietler Commons. It remained there through the next day.