Students establish ‘Liberation Zone’ at University of Missouri - Kansas City

About 100 people gathered Monday on the campus of the University of Missouri - Kansas City and established a “Liberation Zone” as part of a wave of national protests bringing attention to the war in Gaza and U.S. support of the Israeli military.

Students set up tents and information tables and strung large banners around an outdoor amphitheater at the center of campus.

Dozens help up signs reading “Stop US Funded Genocide,” “Let Gaza live” and “Dissent is Jewish.”

The UMKC students joined several other schools where anti-war protests have sprung up this month, including Columbia University in New York City and the University of Texas at Austin.

Nearly 1,000 people have been arrested across the country, the Associated Press reported.

Sofia Yiman, a junior at UMKC, said she was protesting because innocent people, including children, were being killed in Gaza.

More than 34,000 Palestinians have died since the war began in October, when Hamas took hostages and attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people, according to the Associated Press. The death toll includes thousands of children, in addition to aid workers and journalists.

In a news release, the local chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine outlined several demands for UMKC, including the disclosure of financial investments and divesting from Israeli weapons, technology and construction companies.

Yara Salamed, an organizer with Students for Justice in Palestine, said, “We just want our academic institution to be transparent.” She said the group’s presence was important to show support for the people of Gaza and the West Bank.

The group also wants the university to cease ties with Israeli academic institutions and to support free speech. It called upon elected leaders to support a ceasefire. Other groups, including Veterans for Peace, also were present Monday.

Speakers talked before the crowd and led chants including, “Cease fire now,” and, “Resistance is justified when people are occupied.”

An administrator was seen negotiating with a small group of students about the use of a bullhorn, which they continued to use. Workers removed tables and chairs from the area as a couple of police officers looked on from the perimeter.

Organizers said they planned to remain at the site for the rest of the day and could return in the future.

Stacy Downs, a UMKC spokeswoman, said students will be allowed to continue to be on the premises “as long as they follow campus policies.”

“Our university policies encourage freedom of expression for all members of our campus, as long as they model safe, respectful interaction, don’t present any safety concerns and don’t disrupt normal operations of our campus,” she said.

She also said the university, “cannot and will not respond to demands. However, we are willing to engage in respectful dialogue with leaders of student groups regarding their concerns.”

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