Clad in beanies, winter coats and keffiyehs, Fordham students across the university’s schools and campuses gathered in the snowy weather in front of the entrance to the Leon Lowenstein Center on 60th Street and Columbus Ave, to protest the war between Israel and Hamas on Jan. 19.
Roughly 30 people attended the demonstration, which was organized by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) — the undergraduate group that remains unrecognized by Fordham University as an official club.
Students took turns with a bullhorn, delivering speeches and leading chants condemning the high human cost of the Israeli military’s campaign in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, which has led to the loss of over 25,000 lives since Oct. 7. Additionally, the protestors accused the university’s administration of tacitly supporting what they referred to as a genocide in progress.
Addressing the crowd, a first-year in Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC), who asked to be quoted anonymously for fear of retaliation for their pro-Palestinian beliefs, called on Fordham’s administration to recognize the suffering of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
“Fordham University is committed to the moral development of their students, yet has failed to show an ounce of empathy for the atrocities being committed against the Palestinian people,” the student said.
The university does not have a statement in response to the demonstration, Bob Howe, associate vice president for communications, said.
Jamie Rodriguez, FCLC ’14, said he chose to join the protest at his alma mater to apply the decolonial ethics he learned at Fordham.
“It’s truly living out Fordham’s Jesuit Catholic values,” Rodriguez said. “It’s a full expression of solidarity with people, human beings that are facing a system of oppression and white supremacy.”
“Signifying that we’re here on the first week of classes is to show that we will be here for a long time.”SJP spokesperson, FCLC ’26
After a moment of silence for civilians who have died in the conflict, organizers for the protest decided to disband earlier than anticipated as the temperature outside continued to fall. The protest began at noon and concluded at approximately 1:30 p.m.
A spokesperson for SJP, FCLC ’26, who asked to be identified anonymously for fear of retaliation for their pro-Palestinian beliefs, said they felt the protest was a success even though it concluded early.
“The fact that people still came out in the cold and the snow made me so happy; I was literally crying there,” the spokesperson said. “If today was like a sunny day, if it was 60 degrees, I wonder how many people would be there.”
Echoing the SJP spokesperson’s sentiment, Rodriguez shared that it was touching to see Fordham students show up to protest on Friday despite the wintry weather.
“I am very happy as an alumni to see like 30, 40 people out here in the stone cold,” he said.
Some organizers of the protest said they wanted to peacefully protest in an effort to reject the characterization of the pro-Palestinian movement as anti-Semetic or violent by some of its critics.
The protest was initially planned for Tuesday, Jan. 16, but was canceled by SJP organizers due to snow — the spokesperson said they feared the worst when an inch of snow was again forecasted for Friday. Despite concerns of low turnout, the spokesperson said SJP leadership decided to not reschedule Friday’s protest because they believed it was crucial to maintain momentum in the first week of the spring semester.
“I told the (SJP) board that we will be doing an action the first week of the semester because we told our campus that we were going to and I want them to know that Fordham SJP is actually going to follow on the promises that we make,” the spokesperson said. “Signifying that we’re here on the first week of classes is to show that we will be here for a long time.”
According to an SJP spokesperson, the organization hopes to be a more visible presence on campus this semester through events like fundraisers.
A handful of personnel from the university’s Department of Public Safety observed the protest for its duration, including Robert Dineen, assistant vice president for Public Safety at the Lincoln Center Campus.
Dineen noted that Public Safety officers monitored the protest to intervene in the event of conflict and ensure a peaceful demonstration. He added that Public Safety monitors all protests on campus, no matter the cause.
On the same day as SJP’s protest at Fordham, a pro-Palestinian protest on Columbia Unviersity’s campus escalated when pro-Israel counterprotesters sprayed speakers at a pro-Palestinian protest with a foul-smelling “skunk spray.”
Dineen noted that should a similar incident have occurred at Friday’s protest in front of Lincoln Center, Public Safety officers would have rendered any aid, medical or otherwise; investigate the complaint; and notify appropriate university officials as well as the New York Police Department if necessary.
According to Dineen, Public Safety officers filmed much of the demonstration in case they needed to refer to them at a later date. Dineen noted that the recordings will be kept “for possible reference in the future,” but he did not specify what that entailed. Some protestors said the filming of the protest resembled a threat to release their identities.
A sophomore in the Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center, who asked to be quoted anonymously for fear of retaliation for their pro-Palestinian beliefs, said that pro-Palestinian protestors should take steps to prevent their identities from being spread online.
“It is what it is, we kind of did sign up for it … in general if you’re at a protest you are going to get photos taken of you,” the student said. “Everyone here went out of their way to protect their identities, which is super important.”
Dineen assured that the documentation of the protest is for internal use only and is never to be publicly released.
According to an SJP spokesperson, the organization hopes to be a more visible presence on campus this semester through events like fundraisers.
Insiya Gandhi contributed additional reporting to this piece.