SDSU Students Demonstrate, Join Walkout Over Israel-Hamas War

SAN DIEGO, CA — Hundreds of protesters and counter-protesters took to San Diego State University's main walkway Tuesday, demonstrating over the Israel-Hamas war, in a walkout organized over social media.

The student organization, SDSU Students for Justice in Palestine, led the midday walkout that centered at Hepner Hall amid sunny weather, impending graduation ceremonies, and final exams.

The SDSU students are the latest to join the movement that sparked at Columbia University in mid-April and has expanded to Cal Poly Humboldt, UCLA, and USC in California. The movement calls for universities to distance themselves from companies that support Israel's involvement in Gaza.

At SDSU, students and supporters held signs, waved banners and flags, and chanted "Shut it down!" during the walkout, according to a video released over X, formerly Twitter.

The group, SDSUJP, shared its opinion on holding the walkout over Instagram.

"Far from endangering our campuses, these protests renew our commitment to ethical engagement and popular education," a spokesperson for the group wrote on Instagram. "We support all students' actions of civil disobedience, including encampments."

According to KPBS, UCSD's student government passed a resolution last month regarding divesting from supporters. The university opposed the measure.

Hillel of San Diego, a nonprofit organization representing the 2,500 Jewish college students in San Diego, shared a statement Monday before the protest.

SDSU did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and there was no word on whether the protest would continue beyond the day or disrupt end-of-year graduation activities, as was the case at other universities.

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