On Saturday, Kenyon Students for Justice in Palestine (KSJP) participated in Mount Vernon’s weekly Signs on the Square to peacefully protest Israel’s actions in Gaza, which Amnesty International and a U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry have asserted constitute a genocide. The event also served as a fundraiser for emergency supplies and first aid with the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) and Go Project Hope. KSJP provided transportation from campus as well as protest signs to hold during the demonstration. When asked about pictures of the event, KSJP declined to provide student photos due to rising safety concerns over the privacy of their members.

Every Saturday since November 2016, from 1 to 2 p.m. on Mount Vernon’s Public Square, faculty, students and community members gather to protest on a variety of relevant political topics. They have previously held protests related to the overturning of Roe v. Wade and participated in the April 5. Hands Off! protest against the “billionaire power grab,” according to their website.

KSJP, with the help of Professor of Biology Joan Slonczewski, worked to ensure the safety of all protesters by having students trained in de-escalation present. Approximately 20 students, along with other faculty, staff and Mount Vernon citizens, attended the protest, according to an email from KSJP. Together, they raised roughly $220 to be split between the two organizations, MECA and Go Project Hope.

KSJP noted that the reaction from the community was overwhelmingly positive, with only a few dissenters and no notable agitators. “We had gone over de-escalation techniques before the protest if the situation had called for it, which it luckily didn’t,” the organization wrote in an email to the Collegian. 

After witnessing the passion of Kenyon students and professors, as well as individuals in the Mount Vernon community, KSJP hopes to return to protest at Mount Vernon’s Signs on the Square in the future.