Walking through the Court of Carolina on Oct 7, you might’ve seen multiple stands and dozens of people wearing keffiyehs and hijabs congregating around each other.

“Free Palestine” and “Never Again” were written all over the sidewalks, and there were Palestinian flags everywhere.

At one table were informative handouts describing “U.S. Empire, Capitalism, Genocide” and U.S. Imperialism. Another table was handing out free Qurans and other religious pamphlets.

Approaching the table handing out Qurans, it was staffed by Masoud Qalandri, a junior, from the Muslim Student Association (MSA). Masoud explained what the event was all about. “This is a two-birds-one-stone kind of deal, informing the people,” he said.

The MSA and Masoud were there talking about “the Deen Islam,” teaching people the ways of Muslim living, and educating anyone interested in Islam. The MSA was there to “spread the news about what’s happening in Palestine.”

Masoud commented about the process for planning the conjoined event on Oct. 7. “We decided to come out humbly [on] Oct 7, some people are remembering or grieving what happened in Israel, [and] we are also here to share our perspective; to share the truth, we also grieve innocent loss, we’re on the same side – humanity,” he said.

The table to the left of Masoud’s was covered in books. At that table was Juliette, who is a member of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). She introduced another member of the SJP, Yasmine, and they discussed what the SJP is. 

Juliette described SJP as “a student-led organization here at NC State, who support education and empowerment of [the] Palestinian Movement here on campus.”

To find out a bit more, I asked SJP why they decided to come out on Oct. 7, and Yasmine said, “It’s been two years since the genocide in Gaza began, it’s been 77 years since the Nakba … and we are here to honor our martyrs, to bring Palestinian education to students at NC State.”

The ‘Nakba’ was the forced ethnic cleansing of over 750,000 Palestinians by Israeli Zionist militias. Hundreds of villages were destroyed, and thousands of Palestinians were killed in massacres. “Al-Nakba” translates to “the catastrophe” in Arabic.

“This is a multi-organizational, across-campus coalition that we’re working on today to really bring attention back to Palestine, on Oct. 7, to make sure that we’re centering the voices of Palestinians,” Juliette said.

Yasmine also referenced the donation table they had set up, noting that, “a lot of people have been dire to find a trustworthy form of donation to families directly in Gaza.”

Standing out in the Court of Carolina, it was a peaceful event with a low hum of voices, the occasional rustle of construction crews, and people walking around in the background.

Juliette reflected on our immense privilege as NC State students, “We’re here walking around, we get to come and go, and every single university in Gaza has been bombed.”

Oct. 7 is a notorious day globally, reminiscent of Sep. 11, especially for those in historic Palestine. However, there are many people who still do not have a grasp of what’s going on.

When asked how she approaches discussions with people who aren’t knowledgeable and with those who sympathize more with the Israeli perspective. 

“I’m Palestinian myself and I try to approach them from the lens of a Palestinian … pleading my family’s cases or my friend in Gaza’s cases. We really try to see eye and eye and show them that our blood matters, we matter as people,” Yasmine said.

You can connect with SJP on Instagram @ncsusjp. Masoud and the MSA can be found on Instagram @ncsumsa.