Pro-Palestine demonstrators entered the Humanities Building at San Francisco State University on May 9 following yesterday’s die-in demonstration.
Approximately 10 students — some distributing flyers and pro-Palestine paraphernalia — marched from the first floor of the Humanities building to the fifth.
Golden Gate Xpress reporters observed students walking from Cafe Rosso straight to the Humanities Building, entering from the north side doorway.
The group of students traversed through stairwells and hallways, filling the previously silent building with chants of, “End the siege on Gaza now,” “Justice is our demand; no peace on stolen land,” and “We will honor all our martyrs; all our children — sons and daughters.”
Some chants mentioned Israeli president Benjamin Netanyahu, with calls of, “Netanyahu, what do you say? How many kids have you killed today?”
As students walked through the five floors of the Humanities building, more students joined the movement at around 12:20, returning to the encampment located in the Quad at approximately 12:30.
“Time, Place and Manner is aware of today’s demonstration. Previous protests have not disrupted instruction. We expect that this will not happen again as we have made every effort to support peaceful protest,” said Bobby King, director of communication for the office of the president in an email.
The march through the Humanities building and Wednesday’s walkout and die-in demonstrations follow an open negotiation session on Monday with SFSU president Lynn Mahoney. During the session, she told students, “I am not the secretary of state; as a president of a university, I don’t make political statements.”
In email correspondence between Mahoney and grassroots collective Students for Gaza, the president said, “My dedication to institutional neutrality is driven by a deep-seated desire to safeguard your rights both to engage in activism and to express your viewpoints freely.”
This is a developing story.