Orlando, FL - On Monday, September 23, several student and community groups rallied at the University of Central Florida (UCF) to demand justice for a Palestinian protester targeted by university administration.

The protester, a recent UCF alumna planning to begin graduate classes in the fall, had been trespassed from the university after participating in several peaceful pro-Palestine demonstrations on campus in the beginning of the summer. She was singled out by university police, who followed her to her car after she and several others had passed out flyers after a graduation ceremony. She was also the only person involved in these demonstrations to face any sort of disciplinary action. She did not know this was going to happen, it was sprung on her after a July academic advising appointment. The student was then told by UCFPD that she is prohibited from attending classes or setting foot on university property, indefinitely.

The group of about 30 demonstrators who gathered on Monday evening near the Reflection Pond demanded that the university drop the trespass charges and allow the student to attend classes again. They also demanded disclosure of the university’s investments, and for the university to divest from weapons manufacturers and Israeli companies involved in the genocide in Gaza and the occupation of Palestine.

Groups present included the UCF Divest Coalition, Healing our Homeland, Central Florida Queers for Palestine, Orlando for Peace, and UCF Students for a Democratic Society.

“Many students on campus are involved in organizing for our collective liberation, and yet the university and the UCF police department chose to target one of the only Palestinian organizers on this campus,” said Reem Elkhaldi, a local attorney and executive director of Healing Our Homeland.

Elkhaldi continued, “We have to realize that the weapons we are supporting on this campus – that they are pushing the students on this campus to go and build when they graduate, those weapons are being tested on my family and friends in the Gaza strip. We refuse to accept genocide as normal. We will not surrender to immoral administrators and state agents and accept the oppression of others in exchange for new sporting equipment and endless cupcakes at the holiday parties.”

The rally came just days after the Orlando Police Department brutalized and arrested eight pro-Palestine demonstrators in downtown Orlando after a march for Lebanon, and days before the UCF board of trustees is set to vote on new protest regulations. These regulations include a ban on masks at rallies and a requirement for all individuals on university property to identify themselves to university officials and law enforcement.

The speakers condemned the ongoing repression. “Our administration will go through all of this effort to silence our demands and will at the same time pat themselves on the back for listening to the student body,” stated Marcus Polzer, an organizer with UCF Students for a Democratic Society.

Polzer continued, “Our administration is repeatedly demonstrating to us that they are actively hostile to what we are demanding. They would like to just sit by and profit off the genocide while banning students from campus indefinitely for speaking out and demanding divestment. Our university does in fact care about what we say, and they want us to shut up, but we’re not going anywhere.”

As the rally grew in size and energy, students made clear that the intensified repression and intimidation would not deter the spirit of the student movement for divestment and the freedom to protest. Students chanted, “Shame on you, UCF! Feeding the machine of death!” One sign read: “We are not going anywhere! Disclose and divest!”

As the rally came to a close and students were getting ready to disperse back to their vehicles, the sprinklers were turned on around the Reflection Pond, but only on the side where the rally was taking place. While a few signs were destroyed, this laughable display of hostility had no real effect. The student movement continues to grow in size and strength, and a week of action for Palestine has been planned.

#OrlandoFL #FreePalestine #StudentIntifada #PoliticalRepression #Divest #UCFSDS #SDS