On Wednesday October 9, President and Chancellor Renu Khator delivered her State of the University address at the Moores School of Music auditorium.
Meanwhile, the students, alumni and faculty of Students for Justice in Palestine HTX held a protest and conference outside the auditorium.
During the protest, attendees flew flags in support of Palestine, held up signs saying “UH, divest from death,” along with chanting words like, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
The organization’s main goal is to campaign towards the student and faculty to put a stop to the University’s silence on the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
“We feel that it is important to voice our concerns once again with Renu about divestment, which we have passed with the Student Government Association multiple times, and she has refused to address,” said SJP member and biology senior Fatima Mohammed.
SJP states that there is a genocide plaguing the people of Palestine, and the fact that UH, Khator specifically, has not spoken publicly about it, has put SJP on their current path towards divestment.
“It is not acceptable to act as if the University business goes on in a normal, ordinary way when 10s of 1000s of people are being systematically murdered by a settler colonial war machine,” said UH history professor David McNally.
In the address, Khator spoke on the University’s accomplishments and the future UH holds in store.Â
“It is not enough to think of what we could do, the question is what we must do,” Khator said. “Because we are the University of Houston, and being in Houston, we can do things that others can’t.”
She also talked about the new buildings coming to campus, along with the new ranking by Forbes putting UH at no. 46 in the nation.
After the address concluded, all the attendees held a conference to discuss their issues and conflicts with Khator, her speech and the University.
SJP used the address to bring awareness to the use of UH’s money.
“Right now, the University invests in companies like Lockhead Martin that make weapons that, again, are being sold, not just to Israel to use on Palestinians, but also to Saudi Arabia to be used on Yemen,” said SJP member and senior political science Reyna Valdez.
Aside from Lockhead Martin, UH also does business with other arms manufacturers like Boeing and General Dynamics.
The message is carried by not only SJP, but their new group Graduate Students for Justice in Palestine, to bring in more people to share their voices.
“We come in with a message of solidarity with you and with the newly formed GSJP,” said McNally. “It was a constant reminder throughout the event that there are faculty who will not play this game and will not pretend that it is business as usual.”Â
McNally insists that in a genocide, everyone has a moral obligation to speak out, to join and extend solidarity and support.
Last week was especially important for not only SJP, but Palestinians all around the world as it marked the one year anniversary of the bombings in Palestine.
To commemorate their tragedy, SJP has been holding their Week of Rage, doing demonstrations across campus.Â
“October 7, to us, marks the first day of the genocide where 200,000 people have died until now. That’s the most recent estimate,” said engineering sophomore Jason Maldonado. “We’re going to do everything we can possibly do to raise attention and to get the University to divest.”
For the members of SJP, they are not protesting or demonstrating blindly.
Their goals for the organization on campus is to bring total divestment, letting both their peers and Khator herself know.
“We want total divestment, just like we did in the 80s, from apartheid in South Africa,” Mohammed said. “We would like to demand a Socially Responsible Investment policy to be included within the endowment fund to ensure that we no longer have to fight for morals and ethics.” Â
SRI is an investing strategy that aims to generate both social change and financial returns for an investor.Â
Aside from demonstrations and protests, there are other ways of outreach that SJP practices to get people in the know and to support their cause.
“Right now we’re holding a fundraiser for Middle Eastern Children’s Alliance Mecca,” Mohammed said. “They raise money to send directly to North Gaza, which is under siege right now.”
This cause is near and dear for these students and faculty, not just another club or organization to join.
Since the attacks, there have been many students affected, and this includes Maldonado.
“My Grandma’s street got bombed last week, and then my Grandpa’s grave got bombed the day after,” Maldonado said. “My Grandma, uncle and my whole family’s lives are on the line. I can’t be there and do anything, I’ve donated all the money I have.”
The efforts of SJP remain constant and frequent throughout the University and beyond.
Among the students and faculty involved, they are proud, but their eyes are still on Khator until they see their demands met.
“This action that we took was a symbolic demonstration inside, in solidarity with your action outside,” McNally said. “We look forward to continuing to support the work that you’re doing in every possible way we can free Palestine.”Â