LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Tuesday afternoon, a group with UNLV Students for Justice in Palestine had a meeting with President Whitfield and other UNLV administrators, demanding the university to disclose and divest any ties to companies that fund weapons manufacturing, and also asking UNLV to release a statement protecting pro-Palestinian students from defamation.
While that meeting was happening inside, a group gathered outside on campus to show their support for the students in that meeting and for Palestinian liberation.
This rally, as well as a “Stop Antisemitism” rally on campus Monday, both remained peaceful.
Students say they hope that peace continues, despite the escalations happening on some other college campuses around the country.
During the meeting with UNLV administrators Tuesday, the student group says UNLV administrators were receptive and agreed to release a statement protecting free speech for all students.
UNLV sent FOX5 the following statement Tuesday evening: “On Tuesday, students and members of the community at large came to the Maryland Parkway campus to exercise their First Amendment right of free speech and assembly, expressing their views on the war in Israel and Gaza in a civil manner. President Whitfield and UNLV administrators continue to meet with student leaders and faculty representing all views on this emotional issue, including today. UNLV will continue that ongoing dialogue with faculty and student groups to get their input and hear their specific concerns. Finally, UNLV soundly rejects antisemitism and Islamophobia.”
The students say they have another meeting scheduled next month.
The UNLV Jewish Faculty and Staff Affinity Group also shared a statement about Monday’s rally on campus: “Yesterday, a coalition of community and student groups held an event on behalf of students to honor the memory of the 6 million lost in the Holocaust as part of the Yom HaShoah commemoration, to honor the 133 hostages now held for 208 days by Hamas in violation of international and civil law and all sense of decency, and to celebrate the value of Jewish students on our campus. Clergy led prayers, students-led songs calling for peace, speakers talked about the hostages and the history of the Holocaust, and the national anthems of the United States of America and the State of Israel were sung.
Most importantly, there were no masks or obscured identities, there was no hostility voiced towards other groups on campus or anywhere, there was no disruption of academic activities, no deliberate provocations and no raised voices. There was contemplation, celebration of life and an uplifting experience for the campus. We as Jewish Faculty and Staff are so proud of the student leaders who spoke, sang, and prayed; they have shown such courage, such resiliency and such hope and optimism in the face of a deeply difficult time. They show us that the future will belong not to those who shout and disrupt and call for elimination of others but those who care, who think who are willing to learn and who act based on respect for themselves and others.”
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