Last Thursday, there were two separate protests against the Board of Trustees (BOT)’s unwavering decision to not divest from military contractors amid the war in Gaza. These events were not irregular for Whitman’s campus, which has seen an abundance of protests pushing for divestment over the last year. However, this was the first time I took notice of a significant amount of disagreement within the student population about the protests.
In a now-deleted YikYik (you’re not sly), an anonymous person asked about the purpose of the walk-out. Many rightly advocated for it, stating that – just as they have for over a year – students were putting pressure on the Board of Trustees for failing to listen to divestment proposals. Meanwhile, many said that the walk-out and die-in wouldn’t accomplish anything.
They argued that the Board of Trustees has already failed to listen to student demands over the last year and asked fair questions about why people think they would change their minds now. While these concerns are valid, they completely miss the point of protest both at Whitman and the world at large.
One singular act of protest will never amount to anything, and to imply otherwise is entirely wishful thinking. Peaceful protests are just small portions of much larger movements with the goal of making lasting change. While one student walk-out may not accomplish anything on its own, looking at it through an isolated lens defeats the purpose toward which it is working.
The reality of this specific walk-out is that it followed a smaller protest earlier that morning, where roughly 15 students participated in a die-in outside of the Board of Trustees’ transport to Kennewick, showing them that they cannot hide. The walk-out was a continuation of that same message, which was also the point of previous walk-outs, sit-ins, the encampment outside Reid Campus Center and the occupation of Memorial Hall over the last year.
The point of these protests does not exist specifically in the moments they happen. Each new protest is a continuation of the first, all to get the Board of Trustees to not only see but to listen to the students and our calls to action. There have been moments of success as a result of these individual protests, such as the call for a meeting of the BOT after the occupation of Memorial Hall or the promise of a committee dedicated to divestment after the encampment outside of Memorial Hall. However, due to the stagnant stance of the Trustees opposing divestment and failing to create a committee focused on divestment, the interest of the students remains unheard and is therefore still being fought for.
Some students support a ceasefire in Gaza and a free Palestine yet reject participation in these protests because they see no point if nothing comes of it. To claim that protests accomplish nothing is willful ignorance in the face of both history and morality. Even if movements don’t lead to any successful reform or change, at the very least, the protests that made them exist are great places for conversation and free speech.
If you believe in the freedom of the Palestinian people and a ceasefire in Gaza, then protests such as the die-in we saw last Thursday are something that you should absolutely be engaging with. Conversation on the topic allows for a space where ideas may be spread and built upon, and where a lasting community can be built. During a time that is so full of despair and hopelessness, it is essential that people gather together, creating support systems for one another.
Understanding protests as only meaningful if they achieve an end goal fantastically misses the successes that are made on a small scale. I know November is an incredibly trying time for students, but now is not the time to limit your participation in protests based on egotistic ideals. Within each of these protests is a community that works to strengthen one another, which in itself is enough justification for a protest. Do we no longer understand that community is the backbone of our collective successes?
Just because the Board of Trustees repeatedly and purposefully fails to listen to students’ voices on divestment does not mean that all of the effort put forth in each past protest has had no effect. Everyone has asked themselves at one time or another, “What would I do when faced with injustice?” We are almost immediately self-assured knowing of course we would do something. In reality, this is simply just not the truth. As a society, we have developed a narcissistic, nihilist sense of what protest accomplishes. Rome was not built in a day. Palestine will not be liberated tomorrow. But your actions in the face of genocide matter, even if the Board of Trustees want to pretend that they don’t.
