Over 30 Occidental Students for Justice in Palestine (Oxy SJP) members gathered on the Academic Quad near the Gilman Fountain for a rally Oct. 6 at 10:30 a.m. All students were masked, some wore neon reflective vests and carried walkie-talkies. Noise-making contraptions were distributed by Oxy SJP members, including buckets, wind instruments, air horns and a megaphone, as well as ear protection.
At 11 a.m., a speaker announced the board of trustees — referred to as the “Board of Butchers” — was currently meeting inside Swan Hall and asked the crowd if they were ready to disrupt the meeting.
Oxy SJP walked from the Gilman Fountain steps to the outside of Swan Hall, where there were at least four campus safety officers present. The group sang and chanted “revolution is the only solution,” “no more money for Israel’s crimes” and “trustees you can’t hide, you’re supporting genocide.”
At 11:30 a.m., chanting paused for a reading of poetry and writing from Palestinian authors and journalists, including some recently killed. Oxy SJP members gave speeches calling for the college to divest from weapons manufacturers, as well as a guest speaker from the University of Southern California’s SJP organization and a representative of the Palestinian Youth Movement.
The rally occurred a week after Oxy SJP staged a mock trial for members of the college’s administration and the Board of Trustees Sept. 30 on the steps in between Fowler and Johnson Halls. Over 50 students watched as Oxy SJP members acted as “witnesses” to convict the indicted on charges of complicity in genocide, repressing student speech and mistreatment of workers, according to one of the speakers. There were no campus safety officers visible at the mock trial.
Four Oxy SJP members sat at a table wearing masks of President Tom Stritikus, Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Vivian Santiago, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Amon Himmelstein and Chairman of the Board of Trustees Art Peck, along with a student wearing a white wig representing a judge. Oxy SJP members also handed out pamphlets to students describing the reasons and path to divestment for the college.
According to Oxy Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP) and Oxy SJP spokesperson Tobias Lodish (junior), these four people were chosen to be put on a mock trial for their targeting of students who express political dissent and for determining how the college’s endowment is invested. Lodish said that campus safety officers were not chosen to be put on mock trial because they do not actually direct school policy.
The first Oxy SJP mock trial witness said the college fails to acknowledge that investment in Israel is an inherently political position.
“Investment in weapons manufacturing was disclosed in October 2024,” the first witness said. “Occidental College has nearly a million dollars invested in genocide. And yet, in a year since, there has been no movement from the Board of Butchers towards divestment from these companies.”
After the mock trial witnesses spoke, the crowd yelled in agreement to charge the indicted “guilty,” and the main Oxy SJP mock prosecutor said that if a student sees Stritikus, Himmelstein, Peck or Santiago on campus, to consider them “trespassing.” According to Lodish, this reflects the punishment faced by two Oxy SJP students who underwent conduct trials over the summer.
“The indicted punishment mirrors the punishment they chose to inflict [on] two students,” Lodish said. “Under threat of trespassing charges, suspended students may not step foot on their campus.”
The students wearing masks of Stritikus, Himmelstein, Peck and Santiago then dipped their hands into red paint and held them up in front of the crowd.
“The red paint represents the bloody hands of Art Peck, Vivian Santiago, Tom Stritikus and Amos Himmelstein for their continued commitment to financing genocide, mistreating their workers and repressing political dissenters on campus,” Lodish said.
The college declined to comment on the mock trial.
Oxy SJP students, including those acting as the indicted and as witnesses, but also those monitoring around the event, wore surgical masks and keffiyehs throughout the mock trial.
The college’s updated Speech, Dissent and Demonstration policy prohibits the concealment of identity if an individual is trying to “evade accountability while violating any College policy or applicable law.”
“These policies are obvious attempts to undermine protest itself and intimidate students into silencing themselves,” Lodish said. “Masking is used to keep people safe from doxxing.”
In an Oct. 3 Instagram post, Oxy SJP said they will be holding a vigil Oct. 7 as well as a Palestinian community dinner Oct. 8 and a fundraiser supporting journalists in Gaza Oct. 9 in order to “orient themselves towards justice and liberation” two years after the escalation of genocide in Palestine.
Contact Ava LaLonde at lalonde@oxy.edu and Estel Garrido-Spencer at garridospenc@oxy.edu.
This article was prepared for publishing prior to the vigil planned for Oct. 7.
