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How Student Protest Encampments Can Help Build New Futures [1]

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Date: 2025-06 

On a Wednesday in late April I was walking up 139th Street in Harlem, New York, carrying a bag containing a pack of tampons, one bottle of dish soap, 12 packets of Emergen-C, and six packs of Advil. The guy behind the counter at the bodega had invited me behind the glass, so that I could clear out whatever inventory I needed. I showed him my “shopping list,” which was a screenshot of a supply list that had been sent to me in a Signal group composed of faculty and staff in solidarity with the City University of New York Gaza Solidarity Encampment (CGSE). The man gave me a sort of half-salute as I took back my credit card, and I smiled at his subtle camaraderie.

When I arrived at the CGSE, a child was standing in the quad’s center, surrounded by large painted canvases calling for Palestinian Liberation and signs that named some of the Palestinian children who had been killed by the Israeli military in Gaza. This young girl’s hijab was lightly blowing in the wind as she led the encampment, a growing crowd, in a chant: “Free, Free Palestine!”

I moved through some of the tents, past the People’s Library—a raised slab of concrete that was now covered in books by Audre Lorde, Angela Davis, and Edward Said—and caught sight of some tents labeled “Medic,” “Supplies,” and “Food.” Making my way over, I emptied my bag of supplies and helped a handful of encampment residents reorganize some of the tables. As we finished lining up the masks, sunscreen, and bandaids, another person was handed the microphone and announced that an art circle would begin right after a Muslim prayer. Several people moved to hold tarps up in front of the cameras, so that those praying could do so with privacy. Back in the center of the quad, I spotted a large, double-sided whiteboard that listed the day’s scheduled activities, which included yoga, a teach-in about the history of Puerto Rico as well as several solidarity poetry readings.

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[1] Url: https://atmos.earth/how-student-protest-encampments-can-help-build-new-futures/

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