Students for Justice in Palestine, an activist group advocating for the empowerment of the Palestinian people, used their UFest table on Saturday to hold a vigil, mourning the loss of over 40,000 Palestinian lives over the past 10 months. They invited other campus organizations to stand in solidarity by displaying Palestinian flags on their tables, distributing pamphlets and declaring themselves a safe space for incoming Muslim, Arab, Palestinian and other students of color.

At their vigil, SJP displayed a poster board reading “322 Days, 40,000 Palestinian Lives” that listed the names of Palestinians killed in Gaza. The organization distributed Palestinian flags and stickers — one reading “intifada” in multiple languages and another from Our Homes, Our Power advocating Good Cause Eviction. They collected donations for Medical Aid for Palestinians — an organization based in the United Kingdom that works with Palestinian communities, providing emergency medical care and working toward increasing Palestinian access to locally led health care systems.

“Our vigil was meant to be a welcoming force on this campus — a place where incoming Palestinian students could feel safe expressing their grief,” SJP wrote in a statement to Pipe Dream. “We stood in unity with other multicultural organizations. We will not be ignored.”

The pamphlets included statistics describing the destruction in Gaza, putting varying estimated death tolls at 92,000 to 186,000 when considering damaged public health infrastructure — the higher figure provided in a July letter published by Lancet, a medical journal. They also named Binghamton University complicit in “funnel[ing] its students into the arms industry.”

Divestment efforts across SUNY campuses, often led by student activists, have been ongoing since last year. Multiple protests were held at and around BU throughout the 2023-24 academic year urging the administration to divest from weapons manufacturers like Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems and advocating increased financial transparency. A resolution expressing support for principles of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement was passed by the Student Association Congress last April, parts of which were later struck down by the SA’s Judicial Board.

The pamphlets and a subsequent Sunday morning Instagram post highlighted other campus organizations that expressed support for SJP, naming 35 multicultural, advocacy, Greek letter and creative organizations. Some of these organizations — including the Latin American Student Union, the Arab Student Association and SHADES — also participated in the vigil.

“We want incoming students of color to know that Binghamton has safe spaces that exist for them even though the school itself or the faculty may not agree with the liberation of Palestine,” SHADES wrote to Pipe Dream. “There are many students here that are trying to uplift Palestinian students’ voices along with the liberation for other marginalized groups. On the behalf of SHADES, we publicly condemn the genocide of the Palestinian people, and we stand in support for the freedom of Palestine.”

At one point, a counter-demonstration occurred where protestors stood silently with the Israeli flag across from SJP’s table. Later, other students crowded around the table and sparked a heated debate with members of SJP, continuing until UFest concluded. Both incidents ended without conflict, and campus police officers remained near the table throughout.

In an Instagram post announcing the vigil, SJP also criticized University administrators, saying they tokenize the multicultural community at BU.

“We refuse to be happy pictures for administration to flaunt about how much they care for their vibrant multicultural community — all while they continue to ignore the concerns of students of color and fund genocide,” the post read.

A University spokesperson did not immediately respond to Pipe Dream’s request for comment.

The UFest vigil comes days after three high-level University administrators, in a lengthy B-Line message to the campus community, outlined policies toward activism and student expression for the academic year. A subsequent B-Line titled “Core Principles reminder,” which was signed by Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Donald Hall and Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Karen Jones, said the University would have no tolerance for racism, hatred or bigotry and condemned Islamophobia, antisemitism and other attacks based on race, gender, religion, political affiliation and other protected categories.