By Kassidy Tsikitas | Photographer, Sydney Matthews | Assistant News Editor
Two Baylor students organized a demonstration at Waco City Hall Saturday to demand a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, hoping to educate on the Free Palestine Movement.
Indianapolis senior Brynn Eaton and Abilene senior Miah Dennis organized the demonstration in an attempt to humanize the situation. According to an Instagram post, their goals were “to acknowledge the tragic loss of life, both Israeli and Palestinian,” and “to create a space to honor and mourn the loss of an estimated 4,000 Palestinian lives over the past 11 days.” It also called upon Rep. Pete Sessions, Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. John Cornyn to sign a resolution demanding a cease-fire and humanitarian assistance for Palestinians.
“No matter what political party you identify with or your opinion on the Israel state, these are human lives,” Eaton said.
Around 12 Baylor students, alumni and Waco locals gathered in support. Due to Baylor’s strict policies on political demonstrations, Eaton and Dennis said they are still awaiting approval to do a demonstration of this kind on campus.
“With Miah and I trying to hold an event on campus, the resistance that there’s been toward that is really discouraging,” Eaton said. “And if we do have this event, what are others going to say?”
In an Oct. 16 statement, President Linda Livingstone detailed Baylor’s actions in response to the conflict and announced Baylor had signed onto the Yeshiva University statement against Hamas.
“We are horrified and sickened by the brutality and inhumanity of Hamas,” the Yeshiva University statement reads. “Murdering innocent civilians, including babies and children, raping women and taking the elderly as hostages are not the actions of political disagreement but the actions of hate and terrorism. The basis of all universities is a pursuit of truth, and it is times like these that require moral clarity. Like the fight against ISIS, the fight against Hamas is a fight against evil. We, the presidents of universities across the United States of America and the world, stand with Israel, with the Palestinians who suffer under Hamas’s cruel rule in Gaza and with all people of moral conscience.”
Dennis said the statement “clearly supported the Israeli Zionist Movement,” and the demonstration was something to show solidarity for Palestine in Waco. Dennis said change is birthed from solidarity, and there is power when communities gather in support of one another.
At the end of the demonstration, Eaton and Dennis handed out flyers showing the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
