[ [link removed] ]Will you sign the petition to urge college administrators and electeds
across the country to protect the rights of students to peacefully
protest?

Dear MoveOn member,

Over the past few weeks, there has been a swell of student demonstrations
from coast to coast, with thousands of young people exercising their First
Amendment rights to protest against their schools' support for the Israeli
government's assault on Gaza, which has killed nearly 35,000 Palestinians.
There have been disturbing reports of police quelling the freedom to
protest with tear gas, rubber bullets, and riot gear.^1 Students deserve
to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights without fear of being
brutalized by the police or the National Guard.

[ [link removed] ]Add your name to the petition to urge leaders to STOP the violence
against student protesters immediately!

Students and even faculty members being dragged out and arrested,
screaming. Pepper spray and flash-bangs used by police to disorient
protesters. Tear gas. Rubber bullets. Stun guns.^2,3 Police presence at
peaceful student protests is escalating tensions on college campuses—and
it's having a chilling impact on freedom of speech nationwide. And on some
campuses, there are concerning reports of Black and brown students—who
already experience racial profiling by campus police—being
disproportionately targeted by police at protests.^4,5

[ [link removed] ]The violence against students by police and academic administrators to
end peaceful protests on campuses is shameful and wrong, and it must end
now. Will you add your name to the petition?

A student at Emory University said she was tear-gassed while trying to
leave a protest.^6 And at the University of Texas at Austin, university
administrators had more than 50 students arrested, as police in riot gear
shut down a Palestinian rights protest—despite there being no signs or
reports of violence.^7

[ [link removed] ]Local leaders should be working to de-escalate tensions on college
campuses and meeting with students in good faith—not escalating situations
with police presence and violence. Sign if you agree!

Urge local leaders and electeds to protect the First Amendment rights of
students and demand police STOP using tactics of fear, intimidation, and
violence against peaceful protesters. 

[5]Sign the petition

More than 34,000 Palestinians, including thousands of children, have been
killed by the Israeli military, with more than 8,000 people missing under
the rubble.^8 That is one out of every 75 people in Gaza killed.^9 You
read that right. One person out of every 75 Palestinians in Gaza has been
killed. 1.9 million Palestinians (85% of Gaza's population) have been
displaced.^10 Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are starving right now
in Gaza, with dozens of children dying slowly and cruelly due to
dehydration and starvation.^11 This is the heartbreaking and immoral
reality that Palestinians are facing.

[ [link removed] ]Students are bravely protesting to put an end to these atrocities.
There is absolutely zero excuse for protesters to be brutalized and
intimidated by police. Click here to add your name to the petition.

For generations, students at campuses have protested and changed the
course of history. From sit-ins during the Civil Rights Movement to
protests against the Vietnam War and the Iraq War, students have been
powerful in shaping social movements and demanding change. However, unlike
with past movements, colleges and universities have been swift to chill
dissent.^12 University administrators must take steps to protect students
exercising their right to peacefully protest. Calling the police or the
National Guard to attack them is unacceptable. 

[ [link removed] ]Violence against students must end. Full stop. Add your name to protect
students exercising their right to peacefully protest!

Let's be clear: Any antisemitic, anti-Palestinian, or Islamophobic
language and actions have no place at these protests or anywhere else on
campuses or in society. And we condemn them in the strongest terms
possible. All people deserve to feel safe in their communities, and police
shooting rubber bullets and arresting students and faculty while targeting
peaceful protesters with riot gear isn't a safe environment for anyone,
and harks back to some of the darkest parts of our history. 

[ [link removed] ]We all have a constitutional right to peacefully protest and organize
without fear of retribution or violence. Click here to add your name to
the petition, and then share with three friends to help spread the word.

Thanks for all you do.

–Nakia, Isbah, Aliya, Chris, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "Police allegedly use rubber bullets and teargas at university protest
in Georgia," The Guardian, April 26, 2024
[ [link removed] ][link removed]

2. Ibid

3. "Israel-Hamas war protesters and police clash on Texas campus, Columbia
University begins suspensions," AP News, April 29, 2024
[ [link removed] ][link removed]

4. "Colleges and Universities Have a Racial Profiling Problem," ACLU,
September 21, 2018
[ [link removed] ][link removed]

5. "Police allegedly use rubber bullets and teargas at university protest
in Georgia," The Guardian, April 26, 2024
[ [link removed] ][link removed]

6. Ibid.

7. "How today's antiwar protests stack up against major student movements
in history," Vox, May 1, 2024
[link removed]

8. "Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #160,"
ReliefWeb, May 1, 2024
[ [link removed] ][link removed]

9. "Israel-Gaza war in maps and charts: Live tracker," Al Jazeera, May 1,
2024
[ [link removed] ][link removed]

10. "Most of Gaza’s Population Remains Displaced and in Harm's Way," Human
Rights Watch, December 20, 2023
[ [link removed] ][link removed]

11. "The 10-Year-Old Boy Who Has Become the Face of Starvation in
Gaza," The New York Times, March 9, 2024
[link removed]

12. "How today's antiwar protests stack up against major student movements
in history," Vox, May 1, 2024
[link removed]

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