SPOKANE, Wash. — Gonzaga students walked out of class Thursday afternoon to find protestors taking over Bulldog Alley showing solidarity for Palestine in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.
“What’s unique about Gonzaga is how many people really come here because we’re passionate about the specific Jesuit mission. What that means is that we care about social justice, about creating and standing with the common good,” said protestor Juliana Maucione.
Maucione said she doesn’t believe the university is following that same mission of creating and standing with the common good.
“People are coming out here to call out the hypocrisy of the university’s investments and how that compares to their proclaimed mission,” Maucione said.
Protestors demanded the university release its investment portfolio, which would show what companies are investing in the university. Protestors claimed some partners in that portfolio could be connected to war supplies sent to Israel. Without that portfolio, however, they won’t know if that’s true.
On top of wanting to see Gonzaga’s investment portfolio, students also want to be acknowledged by the university.
“As someone who’s felt isolated in my care for this conflict, it feels really good to see that other people do care,” said protestor Elie Kornfeld.
Kornfeld said there’s a lack of support or recognition from Gonzaga. During the protest, however, he felt like that could change.
“Although there were a lot of people passing by that didn’t join in, I think that in some way they can hear what we’re saying and it can disrupt them even a little bit. That’s really what the goal is,” Kornfeld said.
A statement from Gonzaga University following Thursday’s protest said:
Gonzaga recognizes that campus demonstrations are an important way by which students and other members of the university community can give voice to their concerns about significant issues and events of our time. A fundamental principle which sits at the heart of Gonzaga’s educational mission is the commitment to freedom of expression. Our Jesuit values call upon us to seek justice, uphold the dignity of all persons and to build bridges of understanding that can lead to a more hopeful and peaceful future. We therefore respect the right of students, faculty, staff and administrators to exercise their intellectual freedom in the pursuit of these ends.Information regarding the University’s endowment investments, including the purpose of the University’s endowment, how it supports students, and how it is invested can be found at https://www.gonzaga.edu/give/giving/about-giving/endowments/sustainable-investing.
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