More than 70 people gathered around the Lucille Y. Gilman Memorial Fountain Oct. 7 for a candlelight vigil organized by Students for Justice in Palestine at Occidental College (Oxy SJP), part of six consecutive days of programming the group labelled its “Week of Rage.”
The “Week of Rage” included a talk on the history of British and Zionist occupation of the region of Palestine, a screening of the film “All That’s Left of You,” a Palestinian cultural celebration and a mobilization to a march organized by the Los Angeles, Orange County and Inland Empire chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM LA-OC-IE) at Pershing Square Oct. 10.
Athya Paramesh* (junior) spoke to The Occidental as a spokesperson for Oxy SJP. Paramesh said the week’s programming was meant to bring people together and build solidarity.
“The Week of Rage is centered around Oct. 7, which is the anniversary of the day that the genocide in Palestine escalated in 2023,” Paramesh said. “Every day represents a different aspect of the struggle for liberation.”
Warren Montag, who was a professor at Occidental from 1987 until his retirement in 2025, said the name “Week of Rage” comes from protests against the Vietnam War labelled “Days of Rage.”
“It is about getting people to see how horrific the things that are going on now in the world are,” Montag said. “[The “Week of Rage”] is an attempt, through education and persuasion, to show people why [they] should be outraged.”
Trisha Bhima, Associated Students of Occidental College (ASOC) president, sent an email to the student body Oct. 7 containing “A Resolution Recognizing Three Years Since October 7, 2023,” sponsored by ASOC Senate, ASOC Diversity and Equity Board, ASOC Honor Board and ASOC Sustainability Fund, and co-sponsored by ASOC Executive Committee.
“ASOC calls upon Occidental College, including its board of trustees and senior officials, to divest from corporations and partnerships that are complicit in or profit from the ongoing occupation and violence in Palestine, as well as from financial holdings in those entities, in alignment with the College’s stated values of equity, justice and global responsibility,” the resolution said.
Bhima said the resolution is a way for ASOC to put pressure on the administration and trustees as a representative body.
“As students, we are invested in understanding the process behind divesting and helping us get there as an institution,” Bhima said.
College President Tom Stritikus said he understands the resolution to be a directive articulating a wish for the college to divest; the resolution does not detail how the college should divest, and it is not meant to.
“This is a directional endorsement of divestment, not a specific divestment proposal,” Stritikus said. “So I take this in the spirit that the students are broadly interested in the college divesting.”
Paramesh said she was grateful to receive the resolution.
“[The resolution] was a really courageous showing from our ASOC body,” Paramesh said. “Sometimes we feel like no institutional change is possible, but when it is so clear — like in this [resolution], that all of the branches have signed — and there are so many students, who are not necessarily engaged in SJP, still calling for [divestment], that shows just how invested students across the board are.”
At the Oct. 7 vigil, printed and laminated images and biographies of Palestinians killed by Israeli attacks since Oct. 7, 2023 surrounded the Gilman fountain. Candles and flowers were distributed to attendees, who walked around the fountain and placed these items in front of the images, while one student played acoustic guitar.
“I am hearing that we had about 70 students gather on Wednesday for a vigil,” Stritikus said. “I am thankful that students feel that they can gather to express their voice in that way.”
After attendees were given time to walk around the fountain and read the biographies, a microphone was provided for open comment. More than a dozen students spoke. Four students waved flags throughout the entirety of the vigil: three Palestinian flags and one Lebanese flag. Rabbi Robin Podolsky spoke during the open comment period.
“[This vigil] meant acknowledging the tremendous weight of loss that those of us who are horrified at the ongoing genocide and occupation are feeling on a daily basis,” Podolsky said. “Oct. 7 is also the anniversary of the death of a lot of Jewish civilians, and I wanted to acknowledge that.”
Podolsky said she is employed by the Office for Religious & Spiritual Life as a freelance chaplain. Podolsky said the death of Jewish civilians should not be used as an excuse to perpetrate genocide against the people of Gaza.
“People like me have got to make it clear in the public square that on the basis of our Judaism, not in spite of it, we absolutely oppose this genocide,” Podolsky said.
Montag said he has given talks to Oxy SJP on multiple occasions. Montag said education allows those involved in protest movements to participate more efficiently.
“Oxy has a very long, unbroken tradition of different forms of protest,” Montag said. “It contributes to the general level of discussion on campus, and I think that is a very good thing.”
Bhima said there was a notable absence of student protesters outside the Board of Trustees meeting Oct. 5.
“Something that I want the administration [and] the trustees to think about, is what kind of culture they are creating on this campus,” Bhima said. “It is important to allow students to feel like they have a voice. Otherwise, you get apathy, and that is very scary to me, and I think it should be scary to them.”
Stritikus said divestment was a topic the board discussed at the meeting and the consensus will be communicated in the coming weeks. Stritikus said he and the board take student voices seriously.
“If students are feeling frustrated, or a lack of agency, I am always interested in talking with people about ways that students can feel like they can have the right to exercise their voice,” Stritikus said.
Paramesh said as campus organizers, it is easy to become entrenched in trying to solve things through institutional means. Paramesh said while divestment remains a goal of SJP, the issue of Palestinian liberation is much greater than how the college’s endowment is invested.
“The point of the Week of Rage is to not only come together in our anger, but also to come together in our hope, and the strength that we have when we are working collaboratively, and in community,” Paramesh said. “We are fighting for something so much larger than ourselves.”
*Athya Paramesh is a staff writer for The Occidental
Contact Eli Heringman at heringman@oxy.edu
