Editor’s note: Fatima Abraham and Hannah Hussein have provided their written permission to be named in this article.
Hi, My name is Syd Kellogg and I am the president of Peace Action Le Moyne. Peace Action is a non-profit grassroots peace organization that fosters student-led activism on campus and hosts informed discussions to lead to more productive actions taking place. The reason that I mention this is because now, in October of 2024, it has been 1 full year of the genocide in Palestine, and there is about as much conversation taking place on Le Moyne campus this year, as there was in years prior.
While I commend many students and faculty members for speaking out and for mentioning Palestine during their lectures, more critical work is required if a resolution is to be seen. I would like to change the conversations, or lack thereof, taking place surrounding Palestine, and I use this letter to center the voices of those suffering most, Palestinians.
This letter focuses on two students in particular, and their experiences as Palestinian American students at Le Moyne College. Though these accounts took place this past school year, they are still relevant to how Palestinians feel and how Palestinians are treated by their peers and professors.
My friends Fatima Abraham, and Hannah Hussein, two Palestinian American students, are left disappointed by the lack of response from the larger community about the genocide. In addition, the two feel that Le Moyne admin and faculty should use their platform as educators, to educate students more and bring awareness about the situation in Palestine. If more people are educated and aware of the situation, then it’ll be easier to have informed discussions and actions take place.
Fatima says that her mental health has declined, and it impacted her academics due to the escalations of violence by Israel after Oct. 7th. She recalls being haunted and depressed by images and news updates about the genocide, and that any reminder of the situation, such as images of dead and injured Palestinians, only made her mental health worse. And even now, it still weighs heavy on her mind. Eventually her grades dropped because she wasn’t going to class or completing her assignments and she was forced to seek accommodations from her professors.
Some of Fatima’s professors were understanding and extended due dates by a few days, while others held high expectations and considered the genocide to be an excuse to slack off. One professor in particular told her that she “just needs to get over it” to motivate her to complete her assignments. These relationships between students and professors impact a students’ college, and life experience, and hearing the lack of sympathy or empathy from her professors further crushed Fatima’s mental health and made her feel as though no one cared.
Another friend, Hannah, told me about her professor patronizing her in class when she told him that she was participating in a walkout for Palestine. The professor made her explain to the entire class her “political statement” and why she was walking out. Hannah then went on to explain what a walkout was, why she was participating, and asked if her fellow students wanted to join her. Before letting Hannah leave, the professor said to her, “I can see you from the window, I’ll be watching to see if you guys are going off and partying.” Hannah now felt uncomfortable being in the classroom, and that only got worse when the professor added special bonus questions about Palestine to an exam. One of the questions asked students to identify the “terrorist group” that attacked on Oct 7th, and allowed students to write “Palestine” as an acceptable answer if they didn’t know or couldn’t remember. Equating the entire Palestinian population with a “terrorist” group.
It is because of incidents like these that make the walkout very important, especially on campus where it is accessible to students. The walkout for Palestine occurred on campus to demonstrate the unwavering support the Le Moyne community has for Palestine. It was hoped that the walkout would lead to action from administration and some kind of response addressing the genocide. Actions such as; open dialogue with the community about the genocide, an updated press release in the dolphin digest newsletter that acknowledges the genocide and the role Israel plays, and lastly, steps taken by the college to divest from corporations and institutions that support or are complicit in the genocide.
No such actions took place but after the walkout there was the creation of a Le Moyne Students for Justice in Palestine chapter. The club garnered quick support from students. The club stands to educate on the history, culture, and social and political struggles of Palestinians, and is crucial for building solidarity for the Palestinian struggle.
I reached out to the Le Moyne College Spokesman Joseph Della Posta to see if the administration wanted to comment on the story. Jim Hannan, provost and vice president for academic affairs responded, stating, “First, I’d like to apologize for the responses by faculty to those students who are struggling with the ongoing situation. This is clearly not the position of the administration… Second, regarding students taking a stance on the politics of this situation and gathering for a peaceful protest, this is part of the ethos of a Jesuit education.”
Hannan also quoted president Linda Lemura’s statement on the situation, reaffirming the Jesuit commitment to education as a “means of reconciling differences and resolving conflict.” Clubs like Peace Action Le Moyne (PALM) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), who organized the walkout, will continue to use education and political organizing as a means to resolve this conflict. Any students wishing to get involved in campus action can join these initiatives, as well as educate\ing yourself and spreading awareness about what is going on.
The Dolphin welcomes all students to submit their opinions in the form of a letter to the editor. If you are interested in doing so, please reach out to Editor-in-Chief Carly Nicolai at [email protected], or The Dolphin’s official email, [email protected].
