Student protest university’s ties with Boeing (Avi Holzman | Student Life)

On Thursday afternoon, just over a dozen students participated in a “die-in” outside of the Danforth University Center (DUC) in support of Palestinians and to urge the University to cut ties with Boeing. The students laid down in the DUC courtyard, spreading Palestinian flags over their bodies, holding signs, and chanting.

This protest comes a little more than two weeks after the University held a Boeing recruitment event on campus. At Thursday’s event, organized by the Coaltion of WUSTL Students for Palestine, protestors called for the University to “Divest Palestinian Genocide” and “Block the Bombs.”

In an act meant to highlight the reality of Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip a member of the coalition read the names of her own extended family whose lives have been impacted by the recent conflict. 

One of the event’s organizers, a junior who asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons, hoped that by reading the names of impacted people, students would realize that the statistics they see and read in the news represent real people. 

“We are planning to maintain a presence on campus and be very visible to the student body,” the organizer said. “I hope that we’ll continue to advocate. You know, we can’t just sit idly by as a genocide continues to happen.” 

A different organizer, a senior who requested to remain anonymous citing safety concerns, said, “WashU plays a direct role in arming the genocide by encouraging students to seek jobs at Boeing, making and selling the bombs that fall on Gaza.”

They said that the Coalition wants the “University to cut ties with Boeing” and hopes that more students will join those protesting against University administration. 

“We’re hoping that [students] will join us as we have more public events, going forward.”

Student Life reached out to University Administration for comment and has not heard back at the time of publication.