Defending the Camp

In April 2024, around the United States and in Canada, Australia, and several European cities, students established encampments protesting the bloodshed taking place in Gaza. Over two thousand people were arrested in police raids targeting these encampments. Yet despite high-profile assaults on Columbia University and other occupations, many encampments managed to stand their ground for several days, even in the face of repeated police attacks. In this report, participants in the Gaza solidarity protest encampment at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) recount their experiences learning to hold their ground.