A coalition of student organizations assembled a rally at Stafford Commons on March 20, 2025, in support of Mahmoud Khalil and Palestine. Protestors marched from Stafford Commons to Holladay Hall to hand-deliver letters to the North Carolina State administration in Mahmoud Khalil’s name.
Mahmoud Khalil is a graduate student at Columbia University who helped organize protests and encampments at the university. On March 8, immigration officers arrested him outside of his apartment at Columbia University. Organizations like Dissenters, Pal Youth Movement (PYM), and Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) came out in solidarity with Mahmoud Khalil and Palestine because of Israel’s recent actions.
Ten days after Khalil’s arrest, Israel bombed the Gaza Strip, resulting in over 400 Palestinians killed. Israel’s bombardment broke the ceasefire agreed upon between Israel and Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the strikes, which killed mostly women and children. The strikes came after Hamas refused to accept Israel’s demands to change the ceasefire agreement.
On national television, Netanyahu said the attack was “only the beginning.” Netanyahu stated that Israel will continue its barrage on the Gaza Strip until it eliminates Hamas and frees all hostages. As reported by AP News, The White House said it had been consulted and voiced support for Israel’s actions.
The event began at 2:15 p.m., and people crowded Stafford wearing masks, kufiyas, and holding signs that read “Ceasefire Now.”
The first speaker, Chelsey, an NC State faculty member and member of Dissenters, thanked everyone for coming and shared their story. “I write this on March 18 as news floods in that the Zionist entity has once again escalated its genocidal campaign and martyred at least 450 souls last night. I wrote this with growing rage and concomitant sadness.”
Chelsey highlighted the rise of fascism, saying, “We are living in an age of the normalization of fascism. Did it begin last weekend when Trump ignored a federal order to halt deportations? No. Did it begin when Mahmoud Khalil was abducted in front of his pregnant wife? No. It has been a slow and deadly creep, beginning as settler colonialism took root and capitalist expansion drove forth genocidal and dehumanizing policies. So where will you stand NC State? Where do you stand new chancellor Kevin Howell? Will we be a transformative and liberatory institution or one that welcomes in the tide of fascism with open arms?”
Chelsey concluded with, “We will continue to show up. We will continue to speak out. Administrative officials may react in fear. Fear of profit loss, fear of delegitimization, fear of losing power. But we act with conscience, with morality and the steadfastness of liberatory freedom.”
Chelsey then introduced Juliette as the next speaker.
Juliette Majid, a graduate student at NC State, addressed the crowd and acknowledged their emotions and fear. “Today, I feel a mix of emotions and fear for my community members and friends. Anguish for Mahmoud’s wife, Noor, and the families of so many people who are being kidnapped and detained by the U.S. Grief for the over 400 Palestinians murdered in Gaza by the Zionist occupation. Yet, I feel love and pride for the people, especially the students, who continue to advocate for Mahmoud, Palestine, and so much more in the face of repression and violence.”
Majid highlighted Khalil’s arrest. She said, “Today, March 20, marks 12 days of Mahmoud Khalil’s illegal abduction and detention by the U.S. government. Mahmoud broke no law. He exercised his First Amendment right to free speech. Columbia University, and universities across the country, like NCSU and UNC, are invested in corporations that give weapons to the Israeli military, the very weapons that are being used to kill Palestinian families.”
She ended by saying, “For me, what this highlights is the need to keep protesting. Keep pushing our institutions to protect students, especially our international and undocumented communities, and our rights to academic freedom and freedom of speech. Abandoning, threatening, and repressing students, faculty, and staff will not win NCSU or UNC any favors, and in my eyes, will stain their reputation forever. No one, no matter their citizenship status, should be targeted for their views. That includes speaking out against Israel’s genocide and ongoing oppression of Palestinians.”
The final speaker was Cami, a member of the PYM. She started by saying, “Brothers and sisters, comrades and friends, we stand here today, not just as students, but as a collective force for justice, for dignity, and for liberation. We gather because we refuse to be silent in the face of genocide. We gather because Gaza is burning once again. Only days ago, the Zionist entity shattered what was left of the ceasefire with unrelenting brutality. Once more, bombs rained down on the people of Gaza, people who have already endured 15 months of devastation. Over 500 martyrs [killed] just in the span of 48 hours. This is not war. This is not a defense. This is a massacre, and this is genocide.”
The speaker commented on how liberation threatens Israel, stating, “They do not want liberation because liberation threatens their wealth and their power, and it is not just the Zionist entities. They are backed by the sailing forces that have oppressed and exploited people across the global South for generations. This fight is against the empire itself. The system wants us to believe that we are powerless, but history tells us otherwise. When we organize, we win, and when we resist, we shift to the tides of history.”
She concluded by saying, “We are at a turning point. They want us to be afraid. They want us to be silent, but we refuse. We refuse to let their fears dictate our actions. We refuse to allow history to repeat itself without resistance. For every Palestinian fighting for their land, for freedom, and their very existence, we will not be quiet, because Palestine will be free from the river to the sea.”
In an interview with The Nubian Message, the three speakers shared additional thoughts.
Chelsey: “Well, there’s been a genocide ongoing for over 500 days, and the university has done little to nothing about it. And so I think it’s very important for the university to take a stand and show us that they’re either going to support academic freedom, freedom of expression, or be on the side of fascism. You can’t concede to your oppressor’s morality.”
“They’re not going to do anything because they think it’s better. We have to continue to show up, we have to continue to press, or nothing will change. It’s become too easy to commit genocide. It’s become too easy to become hidden behind the internet, and it’s time to rip the mask off and let people know who these folks are,” she added.
Majid: “I think now more than ever, we’re seeing the rights of so many groups in the United States being stripped away. And for the last 75 years, we’ve seen the rights of Palestinians in their land be stripped away from them as well.”
She then stated, “It’s important to take a stand in these moments in time, especially as students are facing repression and violence more so now than they have in many past campus protest movements. All we wanted to do was ensure that our voices and our message were heard as we protect the students that they are supposed to be protecting. We should not be doing the job of the administration. The administration’s job is to protect us, not the other way around.”
Cami: “Our rights as student protesters, they don’t exist anymore. We’re just here to practice our First Amendment rights, and the fact that students are being abducted by the government is what’s happening. And if you’re not on the streets, then what’s wrong with you?”
She continued, “They want us to just shut up and be quiet and not exercise our rights, and that’s why we need to keep showing up. And we keep ourselves safe. We keep ourselves safe. I’m going to keep showing up for my people. They are the motivation at the end of the day, but also keep yourself safe. We are not going to stop until NC State divests. So whatever actions that we need to take are going to happen. NC State can’t keep ignoring us.”
The Palestinian movement has been given new life with the recent actions, and it puts the spotlight back on the question of freedom for Palestine.
