Victoria, a Northeastern student in Boston, hasn’t yet told their parents that they spent a night at an encampment on campus last week protesting Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip.
“I’ve had to do a lot of that kind of in hiding and not really in an open discussion and dialogue with them because I want to protect them and not have them worry about me,” Victoria said. “But also, as somebody growing up in this generation, as Gen Z, I feel obligated to do my part, as well.”
Victoria requested that GBH News use only their first name over fears of potential repercussions from Northeastern. Other students echoed those sentiments, with plenty to worry about as tensions over campus protests nationwide go up.
There’s pressure from family to lay low, some said. There’s worry about what their schools will do. And then there’s a concern that prospective employers may pass over them.
Those are the unknowns. What they appear to be more certain of, however, are at least two goals.
They want their schools to divest from funds that support Israel’s military and Israeli institutions. And they also want Israel to end its military actions in the Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands of people have died since October.
Escalating tension
The latest conflict in the Middle East ignited on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants launched an attack that killed over 1,000 Israelis and took more than 200 civilian hostages. In the months that followed, an estimated 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, and many are malnourished and battling disease.
Multiple encampments across the country, including those at Northeastern and Emerson, have been broken up by police. More than 2,000 people have been arrested in connection with pro-Palestinian protests across the country, according to the Associated Press.
Lina is another Northeastern student who was involved with the encampment, which Boston police cleared in the early morning last Saturday. She’s employed by the school and fears repercussions if they were able to identify her, so GBH News is only using her first name, too.
Lina said she split ways with her therapist in large part over their rift on the situation in the Gaza Strip.
And she is hiding her actions from much of her extended family, too. There’s always been an ideological difference there, she said. But this is different.
“It can really just feel like you’re talking to a brick wall in those circumstances. And it’s especially gutting and jarring because you’re talking about the deaths of tens of thousands of people,” she said.
Rowan Sporte Ehn is another Northeastern student and an intern with the nonprofit Massachusetts Peace Action. Sporte Ehn said there was a requirement for people at the encampment to wear masks — to prevent COVID-19 and to shield identities.
“I now have a couple new friends from there, but one who mentioned that they’re a kindergarten teacher and they were terrified of if their face got out there, then what if parents see that?” Sporte Ehn said. “And they can’t get hired at school institutions because nobody wants a person whose been arrested teaching their children.”
But these types of protests inherently come with risks.
“Fear is a very great tactic to suppress student voices and protests in general. But that’s the point where someone has to say to themselves, ‘No, this is too important, this is too essential, and we will not back down because of what they are doing,'” Sporte Ehn said.
Grace Sanford, another Northeastern student who is also an intern with Massachusetts Peace Action, is no longer too concerned about potential discipline she could face from the school for protesting.
“I feel like sometimes this is the kind of stuff that we have to give up in order to fight for what we believe in. And I’m thinking, if I don’t have my co-op, at least I [can] continue to raise my voice and fight for the people in Gaza,” she said.
Her fellow student Victoria, the one who hasn’t yet talked to their parents, says they’re not planning to rely on Northeastern for career connections. And they’re prepared to forego job opportunities with employers whose values they don’t agree with.
“Honestly, I will make my way through the world how I have to. And if that means I have to sacrifice to stand by what I believe in, I’m willing to do it, you know?” they said.
