SJP Oct. 7 Demonstration The Xavierite
Growing up as a Palestinian in the United States means that you have to be mindful of how you act and portray yourself, as not everyone will accept you. Not everyone embraces you with open arms and is sympathetic towards you and where you come from.
Despite this, I would try to be as unapologetic as possible. I would proudly announce that I was Palestinian and that my family hails from Jerusalem. Of course, some people wouldn’t understand or know where Palestine was, and would be even more confused when they couldn’t find it on the map.
When it came time to attend Saint Xavier University (SXU) after studying two years at Moraine Valley Community College, I didn’t know what to expect. I was unsure of the environment that I was going to be in and what the atmosphere would be like.
I was a little apprehensive of declaring my ethnicity at SXU after hearing that my friends at other universities had faculty members that were Zionist and administrations that were very much anti-Palestinian.
I remember in the fall 2023 semester when I first started attending SXU, I was afraid of adorning my laptop with my Palestinian stickers, believing that someone may have something rude to say about it or that a professor might see them and have some bias and discriminate against me.
After attending class for a few weeks and seeing my fellow Arab students decorate their laptops with Palestinian stickers, I decided to add stickers featuring Handala and Al Aqsa Mosque.
After the events of Oct. 7, 2023, I was afraid of going to class and that a professor might single me out in front of everyone, or say some hurtful things because I had made it clearly known that I was Palestinian due to my stickers. Thankfully, that was not the case.
Rather than having a professor say nasty things to me, my political science professor, Matthew Costello, PhD, came up to me as I was finishing a quiz and asked me if I had any family that was in Gaza. I told him that the majority of my family lived in Jerusalem and the West Bank, to which he said that he hopes they stay safe.
Such a short interaction yet it meant so much to me.
Shortly after, the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter at SXU began organizing demonstrations to bring awareness to the genocide unfolding in Gaza. I saw so many faculty members, Palestinians and non-Palestinians alike, as well as the interim President of SXU at the time, show up in solidarity of Palestine.
Following the SJP demonstrations and events, many Palestinian students around campus would wear their kufiyas, which gave me the courage to wear mine as well.
I realized that this fear was all in my head and that no one was going to attack me for simply declaring that I was Palestinian. God forbid if someone were to attack me, I knew that I had professors who would support me and have my back.
Even when it came to writing in the Xavierite about what was happening in Palestine, the director of student media, Pete Kreten, let me know that he would help me if anyone gave me trouble for speaking up.
As I get ready for graduation this spring, I remember how shy and timid I was my first semester here at SXU, and how afraid I was of letting it be known that I was Palestinian, and how very unapologetic I am now.
This just goes to show that you should never be afraid to be proud of who you are. Of course, there are going to be people who will be against you and hate you for that, but that’s their problem and not yours.
I can’t exactly wash away my Palestinian DNA or stop being Palestinian because it makes someone else uncomfortable.
I’m so grateful to be part of a university and community that is very supportive and willing to go the extra mile to make sure that I feel safe and comfortable, while at other universities I know that some students might not have that same privilege.
Thank you SXU for creating a safe environment for Muslim and Arab students.