Pro-Palestinian protest on Hearn Plaza evolves into encampment – Old Gold & Black

Update 2:02 a.m.: A lone protester draws with chalk on the bricks that wrap around Hearn Plaza, drawing a Palestinian flag.  Anti-protesters gathered around the member, joined by two administrators. His attempts were not stopped, but he was advised to cease this activity. 

In conversation, the protester was told that chalk was only allowed on Manchester Plaza. The member obliged and left Hearn Plaza to draw on Manchester Plaza.

Observers attempted to wipe the started chalk drawing away, but administrators asked them not to. Non-participants are now gathering to ask administration questions about the policies around chalk drawings, clarifying the extent to which they are allowed on the lower quad, with concerns of hate speech arising. 

Live updates have concluded for the night and will resume in the morning.

Update 1:15 a.m.: Dean of Students Matt Clifford and Vice President for Campus Life Shea Kidd Brown approached encampment participants to engage in conversation. Supporting staff and faculty joined the students in a closed conversation between administrators and encampment participants. 

Professors, staff and students remain at the encampment, with plans to stay through the night. 

Observers still stand near the steps of Wait Chapel. Both groups have been intermittently joined by administrators, who engage students in conversation.

Update 12:42 a.m.: As of 12:40 a.m., all sprinklers on Hearn Plaza have been shut off.

Update 12 a.m.: Prior to the sprinklers turning on, protestors and observers began to discuss the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Freshman Adam Halstuch is one of the students not participating in the protest that approached protesters to engage in conversation. 

He explained that, while he does not agree with the protesters’ beliefs regarding the war and Wake Forest’s response, he’s “happy to say that it’s different” from protests on other campuses around the country. 

However, Halstuch said that, instead of protesting, change will come from conversation.

“I don’t agree with the protest,” Halstuch said. “I am happy they can do it freely but I think if we engage in conversation, it would be way more productive and would further improve our education as college students here at Wake.” 

At the time of publication, protesters have not participated in an interview regarding their conversations with observers. 

Update 11:57 p.m.: The sprinklers on Hearn Plaza have gone off, spraying protestors with water. The encampment has tried to stop them, covering the nozzles with water bottles and found objects. 

Update 11:24 p.m.: The Old Gold & Black confirms that the 24/7 observation cameras live-streaming from Hearn Plaza are no longer live. 

Update 10:44 p.m.: According to a protest organizer, whom the Old Gold & Black has granted anonymity due to safety concerns, protesters will remain on Hearn Plaza overnight. 

“We are staying overnight for the encampment and have been permitted to by the administration,” the anonymous organizer said. 

Non-participating students are observing the protesters from the wings of Wait Chapel, watching the encampment unfold while discussing the Israel-Hamas war. Some are expressing dissent to the protest. Faculty and police are still present. 

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Pro-Palestinian protesters set up an encampment this evening in front of Wait Chapel, joining dozens of protestors at college campuses across the country. After Dean of Students Matt Clifford and Associate Dean of Student Conduct Jim Settle told the participants that they could not sleep on the quad, faculty members began to negotiate with the administrators on the protestors’ behalf. 

The protest began around 4:30 p.m. with about a dozen students chanting phrases such as “WFU you can’t hide, you’re complicit in genocide” and “not another nickel not another dime, no more money for Israel’s crimes.” By approximately 6:30 p.m., students started to pitch tents and called on faculty observers to stand on the quad. As the protest evolved, four police officers could be seen standing on the outskirts of the protest.

Around 7 p.m., administrators asked students to leave, citing University policy regarding safety concerns. Barry Trachtenberg, director of the Jewish Studies Program, emerged as a negotiator and urged Clifford and Settle to allow the students to stay the night.

The protest began earlier in the day while Wake Forest administrators, students and faculty gathered inside Wait Chapel to listen to the annual reading of the names of enslaved people who worked for the University or were sold in the 19th century to raise money for Wake Forest’s endowment. Outside, the protestors formed a semi-circle in the grass in front of the chapel, chanting and listening to four speakers. They held signs with messages such as “stop funding genocide” and “Wake still stands on exploitation.”

“What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now,” participants chanted to open the protest.

Organized and led by the managers of the Instagram account @freepalestinewfu, the protest — advertised as an “emergency rally” — called for Wake Forest to divest from Israel-backed companies. According to organizers, it was held at the same time as the Commencement of the Enslaved to illustrate the intersection between racism towards Black people and the violence against Palestinians in Gaza. 

Campuses across the country have become flashpoints for advocacy surrounding the ongoing war. A little over an hour from Wake Forest’s campus, more than 500 students, faculty and Chapel Hill community members marched across UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus in support of Palestine — with six students being arrested this morning. In New York, hundreds of Columbia students gathered on the campus’ South Lawn and set up tents, pledging to remain on the lawn until the University breaks its financial relationship with Israel-tied companies. This encampment resulted in the arrest of 108 individuals. 

Protests, encampments and demonstrations have also occurred on other campuses across the nation, including Emory University and California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt. 

“We stand in solidarity with our comrades at Clark Atlanta, Emory, Columbia, Cai Poly Humbolt and all other student activists RESISTING genocide,” reads the caption of @freepalestinewfu’s first post about the protest on Tuesday morning. 

Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered on Hearn Plaza on Tuesday, April 30.

This student rally was the first on Wake Forest’s campus in response to the Israel-Hamas war. Earlier in the semester, an anonymous group of students organized a display that included banners and white flags arranged on campus in support of Palestine. Since Oct. 7, Wake Forest has seen several events organized by students and faculty, including a teach-in hosted by professors and vigils held by the Jewish community and the Muslim Student Association (MSA). 

Freshman participant Dareen Khoshnaw explained that they believe that organizers for both the Commemoration of Enslaved People and pro-Palestinian rally have common goals. 

“We both want freedom,” Khoshnaw said. “We both want less bloodshed. We both want no oppression. We have the same goals, and a lot of Western media and a lot of colonial powers are kind of making it seem like (they) are trying to pit us against each other as if it’s between religions or between ethnicities when it’s really not.”

Another participant, whom the Old Gold & Black granted anonymity to due to their concern for personal safety, echoed Khoshnaw. 

“We think that they can represent the same things and support the same things — supporting the freedom of people (and)supporting people’s rights as well,” said the participant. “We don’t think that having one takes away from the other. They are in collaboration with each other and can build each other up.”

The Commemoration of the Enslaved was originally scheduled to be hosted on the steps of Wait Chapel. Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Jose Villalba explained in a written statement that the University moved the event inside to allow students to protest. 

“When our office learned that members of our campus were planning on holding a rally at the same location and at the same time as the annual Commemoration, we decided to move the planned event into the Chapel so as to create the space and solace at the center of remembering these often-forgotten founders, while also allowing organizers an opportunity to exercise their freedom of expression,” Villalba said. 

Despite the support shown for participants by members of the growing crowd of approximately 200 individuals, with many giving the speakers a round of applause, some observers disagreed with the decision to host the protest at the same place as the Commemoration of the Enslaved. 

“I think for publicity, it makes sense,” an observer whom the Old Gold & Black granted anonymity due to their concerns for personal safety said. “However, I think that it’s very difficult to justify it, because it takes away from another really important memorial and it takes away attention from something that Wake (Forest) does need to address, especially with our lack of diversity. So I think it could have been done after or there could have been another way to do it.”

The protest was a response to the current Israel-Hamas war that began on Oct. 7 when the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israeli towns bordering the Gaza Strip — a Palestinian territory that Israel and Egypt have blockaded for 16 years (Editor’s Note: The Old Gold & Black follows AP Style guidance, which is to refer to Hamas as a militant group). Approximately 1,200 Israelis died and about 240 hostages were taken as a result of the attacks. In response, Israel has conducted air strikes and sent troops, which has killed over 33,000 people, according to the Gazan Health Ministry. 

Wake Forest’s investments criticized 

While protest participants did not disclose specific companies, they called for the University to “disclose their investments and divest in Israel and Israel-backed companies, shareholders and partnerships,” according to a Tuesday morning post on the @freepalestinewfu account. 

“We are here today because Wake Forest actually has a few stocks in companies that have ties to Israel or that support Israel,” the anonymous participant said. 

While individual Wake Forest investments are not public, they are made through iShares, which is an exchange trade fund provider owned by BlackRock, an international asset management company that has recently come under criticism for its ties to Israel. Activists across the country have cited the company’s holdings in weapons manufacturers as a reason for divestment. The New York Times reported that approximately 3% of BlackRock’s Core S&P 500 exchange-traded funds (ETF) is invested in “military contractors,” which includes Raytheon and Boeing. 

Verger Capital has investments on behalf of Wake Forest through Blackrock in ETF, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission form. As an institution, Wake Forest does not choose individual shares to invest in. However, the investment portfolios managed by Verger Capital include investments in defense contractor companies such as Raytheon and Boeing. 

“The University’s support for ongoing genocide in Gaza represents not only an attack on Palestinian lives but Black people’s lives here in the domestic,” the first speaker during the protest, whose name the Old Gold & Black did not obtain, said.

The Office of Communication and External Relations provided a written statement on behalf of the University explaining that Wake Forest does not have a direct connection to Israel through endowments. 

“We own parts of numerous indices (e.g., S&P 500, MSCI ACWI), which are stock market indices that track the stock performance of the largest companies listed on global stock exchanges,” the statement reads. “Some of those companies have exposure to Israeli companies listed on the exchanges.  In the partial index Verger owns, there is inappreciable exposure to Israel and defense companies; this means that the exposure is too small to influence returns on the pool.” 

The protest continues 

Protest participants alternated between chanting and giving speeches until approximately 5:15 p.m. The crowd of students, faculty, staff and Winston-Salem community members discussed the protest among themselves as they listened to the speeches and chants. Some observers chanted alongside participants from the crowd. Trachtenberg expressed that he attended the protest to support the participants, whom he characterized as “brave.” 

“I think they are extraordinarily brave,” Trachtenberg said. “This is a campus that has historically been hostile towards student activism. I think mainly Black and brown students coming out in support of justice (and) in support of freedom is a profoundly brave act on a campus that is so hostile towards this type of activism.” 

Wake Forest Hillel Religion and Education Chair Maverick Cortes told the Old Gold & Black that he attended the protest to ensure that his peers are safe. 

“Campuses across the U.S. right now have become dangerous hotbeds for terrorism, and I want to make sure that my fellow Jewish students and my fellow peers who aren’t even Jewish, (are) safe,” Cortes said.

The crowd began to disperse when protesters spread out across half of the quad after approximately an hour of chants and speeches. The anonymous organizer shared her hopes for University action in support of Palestine and minority students as a result of the protest. 

“I think we want to see a change happen there, but I think we would also like to see them divest from their stocks in companies that have ties to Israel,” the anonymous organizer said. 

Shaila Prasad, Breanna Laws and James Watson contributing reporting to this article. This is a developing story. The Old Gold & Black will continue to report on the the encampment and Wake Forest’s response to the Israel-Hamas war.