In Support of Pro-Palestinian Student Organizers at WashU
Organizing on Washington University’s campus has never been easy, but pro-Palestinian organizers have pushed the university and exposed its true colors. As a WashU graduate, I have been frustrated and angered by the news of an administration targeting and repressing its own faculty and students. This sentiment is shared by other alumni I talked to who formed Washington University Students in Solidarity (WUSIS) in 2014 and fellow Ervin Scholars I organized with in the Student Worker Alliance (SWA). It can be stressful and draining struggling against the university, but these efforts have not gone unnoticed by alumni, many of whom support this student movement. Many of us look on with pride, admiration and respect for those willing to push, sacrifice, and struggle for a better future; despite what the university may say, you are not alone.
When I taught Engineering Leadership and Team Building in 2022, I emphasized not just learning about those concepts from just a white-collar engineering perspective, but to also think and reflect upon these issues from a community-led and driven perspective. I brought a guest speaker from the Close the Workhouse campaign to show the importance of building community and creating institutions that would support and sustain long-term organizing.
On-campus organizing should build and enhance similar relationships and ties off campus, but also further develop the relationships between students, professors, and workers. Washington University relies on thousands of workers, many of whom are organized (dining staff, graduate students, adjuncts, custodial staff etc.). By forming these bonds, the community can collectively rely on each other as a shield against university repression. Professors afraid of reprisals for speaking out in support of Palestine & Lebanon may be more likely to support actions if supported by hundreds (if not thousands) of unionized workers. Workers may be more willing to speak out if students and faculty members were willing to advocate for labor.
But collaboration must continue beyond just within the university. The university also impacts University City, Central West End, and The Grove; these communities are influenced by Washington University as their development is tied to the university’s plans for “revitalization” (gentrification). The university also relies on local businesses on campus (think Corner 17, Coffeestamp etc.) that should be brought in (or pressured) to support initiatives and actions on campus. The university also depends on massive amounts of materials that are utilized daily (food, paper, office supplies, etc.). If disrupted, it could paralyze the institution.
This struggle for Palestine and WashU’s culpability in internationally condemned actions goes beyond just Palestine. As Israel promotes their version of Lebensraum in their vision of a “Greater Israel” that involves Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Iraq, the struggle for Palestine represents a key piece within a larger struggle against US Imperialism and WashU’s active participation within that system.
And as the struggle goes beyond Palestine, the potential impact students organizing for Palestine can have is massive. Imagine if through these relationships with organizations inside and outside of WashU, these organizations withhold support and labor from WashU in solidarity with the aims of pro-Palestinian organizers? Should WashU retaliate against any of these groups, other organizations could use their collective power to protect those groups and maintain leverage.
While it may be difficult to target the university’s capital as it is extremely wealthy, it is comparatively much easier to disrupt (even within legal channels) the functioning of the university and to paralyze it to force concessions. In addition, what if these groups can be brought into an organizing framework where representation is democratically guaranteed so that a standing committee can represent the interests of students, workers, professors, and community members? Perhaps this should be the long-term organizing goal? An organization representing the constituency of the university could then effectively force the university to achieve other goals such as achieving zero net carbon faster, abolishing WUPD and more.
These are aspirational goals, but goals that can be pursued by students and workers alike. There is a clear need for organizational unity and this moment can lead to an unprecedented reversal of power in which the university community dictates to and controls the administration, not the other way around. The university recognizes the importance of this moment and uses unprecedented repression to avoid this possibility out of fear of what could be accomplished.
To the organizers fighting on campus: I believe you will be successful in holding the university accountable. Time, history, and the rest of the world are on your side; how can the administration resist this?
