BUFFALO, N.Y. — Rather than walks to the library and hours spent studying, some students at the University at Buffalo have spent their finals week protesting over the war in the Middle East.
On Wednesday night, the demonstrations seen on campuses across the country finally made their way to Western New York, as hundreds gathered in protest, calling for a ceasefire in the war in Gaza and for the university to divest from Israel.
What started as a peaceful protest quickly took a turn around 8 p.m. when police on scene told demonstrators they had until sunset to disperse, as the university does not allow overnight protests.
Most ran away, but 15 people refused and were carried away in handcuffs.
On Thursday, the university released a statement saying they believe the demonstration was led by non-UB students and that 10 of the 15 people arrested were not affiliated with the university.
Students such as senior Thomas Giaramita say they understand the response.
“I mean, I feel like it's kind of warranted,” he said. “Protesting, yelling at people, calling people names and stuff — it's probably not the best idea, in my opinion, so that's just what I believe in, personally.”
But Faizan Haq, a professor of intercultural communication at Buffalo State and the president of WNY Muslims, feels none of it was necessary.
“I seriously think that what happened yesterday could have been avoided,” he said. “These kids were dispersing anyway. So you don't need to display such a huge force. Why turn this thing into an incident when you can do this without an incident?”
2 On Your Side attempted to speak with the group involved in the demonstration numerous times yesterday but was not told no one was comfortable speaking.
However, tonight in statement, the students involved in the protest spoke out for the first time since, saying: “We condemn the actions of UB Administration, UB Police, and Israel, for violating UB Students’ First Amendment rights, as well as Palestinians’ basic human rights, respectively. UB students will continue to stand up and protest for what is right until UB Administration agrees to divest from human rights abuse in Palestine.”
Students at UB are organizing an additional protest Friday starting at 3 p.m., specifically in response to the police action taken against them.
Groups and organizations across Western New York issued statements about what's happened this week.
UB Students for Justice in Palestine's statement: click here.
Muslim Public Affairs Council-Western New York: