As classes start this week at the University of South Florida, over a dozen students at the Tampa campus attended a pro-Palestinian sit-in organized by the USF Divest Coalition and USF Students for Socialism.
As students attempted to enter the Marshall Student Center at around 12:30 p.m., protesters were met by three USF staffers who promptly led the students out of the building. According to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay photographer Dave Decker, both parties declined to comment.
This is the first protest of the new semester at USF, following the encampment and hunger strike this past spring. These protests are in an attempt to, in part, get the USF to divest from corporations linked to Israel. At the encampment in April, inspired by protests at various other universities across Florida, multiple protestors, including a student, were arrested, with other students suspended and expelled.
Due to these events, USF has substantially changed its policy on utilizing public spaces on campus. The policy recently added, "Where circumstances permit, the University may attempt to mitigate disruptions caused by Activities by using reasonable alternative means before canceling or stopping an Activity. For example, the University may direct groups or individuals engaged in an Activity away from an Academic Space to an adjacent Public Space.”
Since the events at the pro-Palestinian encampment and a new semester beginning this week, USF may take these protests hosted by unofficial student organizations more seriously than years prior.
College campuses across the country have continued to protest the events between Israel and Palestine. According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, since Oct. 7—when a Hamas attack on Israel that killed just under 1,200 people—more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in attacks by the Israeli government. The United Nations reported in March that Israel is committing genocide to Palestinians in Gaza.
