5 August 15 - 21, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents duct doesn’t apply to the alumni or faculty, but they still face criminal trespass charges. The students’ disciplinary hearings began days after Israel launched another attack that struck the southern and central Gaza Strip. Just before that, a weekend strike killed scores of Palestinians who had sought shelter in a makeshift camp, accord- ing to Reuters. Some of the bombs sent to Israel were made by General Dynamics in Garland. The University of Texas/Texas A&M Invest- ment Management Company invests mil- lions of dollars in weapons manufacturers, including General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing and Northrop Grumman. The investment management company didn’t respond to a request for comment. However, Kevin Eltife, chairman of UT’s board of regents, said at a meeting just days after the arrests that divestment would not happen. These investments are what the stu- dents, faculty and community members in- volved in the protests have been fighting against. The group’s attorney, Dan Sullivan, be- lieves the whole situation with the arrests and university’s actions is ridiculous. “I think it’s garbage. It’s terrible,” he said. “It sets an awful precedent.” He said what UTD is doing is part of a campaign of re- pression, but he doesn’t think the criminal charges will stick. “Many of these arrests have already been found to be illegal by courts,” he said. Whether the charges stick or not, the students and recent graduates will keep fighting. Mousa Najjar was one of the arrested stu- dents. He also held up a Palestinian flag dur- ing his graduation ceremony and said he was escorted off campus as a result. He was told he’d be arrested on the spot if he didn’t leave. Now, Najjar is worried the college will withhold his degree. “For years, our own administration has continuously demonstrated absolutely no intent to protect its own students, let alone heed their demands,” Najjar said. Since campus organizations like Students for Justice in Palestine started calling on the university to divest from weapons manufac- turers, they’ve been met with complete dis- regard, Najjar added. “Rather than working with the students to address our concerns regarding the uni- versity’s investments in these companies that are killing our own families,” he said, “our administration instead chose to publicly denounce student demands.” Najjar also said that instead of lis- tening to the stu- dents, the college suggested mental health resources for them. “We don’t need mental health resources,” he said during the press conference. “We need divest- ment from these companies killing our own people.” Mariam Lafi, also arrested in May 1, be- lieves the university has two options: divest from weapons manufacturers or “continue to profit off the genocide against the Pales- tinian people.” She said Students for Justice in Palestine, of which she is a member, has been advocating for divestment for years to no avail. “Our calls have been outright ignored,” she said. “Now, ignoring us is no longer an option, as hundreds of thousands of stu- dents have organized globally to demand di- vestment and fight for the Liberation of Palestine.” The students may not be able to persuade these corporations to stop making weapons, but their aim is closer to home. “But, we can and we must target the insti- tutions and bodies that invest in them,” Lafi said. “Like our universities.” Jacob Vaughn Mousa Najjar, one of the arrested students, said the press conference was held at nearby Point North Park because he and others are no longer allowed on campus. “WE NEED DIVESTMENT FROM THESE COMPANIES KILLING OUR OWN PEOPLE.” —MOUSA NIJJAR D Lone Star Metropolis READER’S CHOICE IS LIVE! SCAN TO VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITES NOW! VOTING ENDS SEPTEMBER 5. ON NEWSSTANDS 9/19/24 Bestof DALLAS® 2024 Hold on to your stethoscopes! West Coast University-Texas has been nominated as a Best University in the 2024 Best of Dallas awards. VOTE FOR US!
