A note from the author: As a student at Yale, I find it hard not to feel the tension caused by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Many people have died on both sides, and there has been unrest throughout the duration of this conflict. This article is not meant to be a position piece on the conflict but rather a letter from a concerned Yale student to my fellow Yale students.
Brody Gilkison
Contributor, The Beacon
Yale University, one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the world, hosted its pre-frosh orientation last month, known as Bulldog Days.
It’s a tradition that often gives admitted applicants a taste of what it’s like to be a student for a few days and one that, for many, is the first time they and their parents have visited Yale. Knowing this, it should be all the more important for students and staff alike to be on their best behavior and demonstrate what life can be like as a Yalie.
On the morning of Monday, April 15, some groups felt the need to put on large and obtrusive protests that continued into the afternoon. For example, a group of students placed barricades in front of the doors of the Schwarzman Center.
On these barriers hung messages relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the promotion of a “[Hunger] Strike 4 Palestine,” “Books Not Bombs,” and “Yale Corp Divest From War.” As Yale students, we see posters similar to these posted around campus on a daily basis, which is typical for any modern college campus. However, this group of students decided to raise an even bigger ruckus by:
- Placing large immovable walls to block visitors from entering the Schwarzman Center
- Hanging signs on those walls
- Leaving the walls up for Yale Facilities employees to take down on top of their regular jobs
Going further, the same group set up a tent on cross-campus, a heavily trafficked area with the overlapping of a beautiful spring day and Bulldog Days. On this tent hung signs reading, “Ask Your Tour Guide About Yale’s Investment In Genocide.”
This tent was staffed by a group of students passing out flyers that accused Yale of secretive investment strategies. The flyers hinted that Yale’s funds are directly tied to fueling the Israeli military and, thus, responsible for the genocide of innocent civilians.
Additionally, these flyers included a fake receipt of the cost of attendance at Yale. On this flyer were estimated statistics from the ongoing military conflict, including the targets hit in Gaza as well as the amount of Palestinian deaths.
Typically, if someone is not interested in engaging any further after seeing something like this, they walk away to their next class and forget about it in seconds. However, as a Yale student who takes pride in the university I attend, I found the events that took place that week to be disheartening. Bulldog Days is a time when prospective students come to visit Yale with their parents.
This is a critical time in the college decision process, as many students are often balancing the various pros and cons of each school.
The university works extremely hard across the board, from the students to the various staff and faculty, to put on a fantastic event for incoming students to feel welcome and appreciated in this new setting. So, it struck a nerve to see a group of students actively try to intimidate current and new students alike with these messages.
First, they blocked the entrance to Commons, which was both a nuisance and a safety hazard. Then, they spread dark messaging during one of the university’s busiest and most important times of the year.
This group of students not only actively accused Yale of funding genocide, but they tried to guilt students into believing that they were a part of the problem, all while attending the same university and using its money to fund their future.
As Yale students, we are fortunate to attend a top-tier institution with nearly every resource imaginable available to us.
We all worked our tails off even to have the chance to get in, much less thrive as a student in this wonderful learning community. Yet, we constantly disparage and belittle this same institution that will open doors to us for the rest of our lives. Not only that but doing so to impressionable young minds and anxious families is uncalled for and unjust.
We have plenty of avenues to debate, call for change, and make that change happen as students, but obstructing entrances and exits to heavily trafficked campus spaces is not one of them.
Beyond that, handing out flyers with ‘estimated’ numbers and disturbing language is something that should not take place on our campus. I plead with my fellow students to see the error in the way these students went about spreading their message on Monday. Yale is our home, and we should present it to all visitors in the best possible light.
Hamas is reaping what it has sown, Biblically speaking. They richly deserve destruction. When they are ready they can surrender, and forever renounce war, and accept Israel’s right to exist. Not that anyone would believe their statement. Releasing hostages has to happen for Surrender to be effected.