By MATEUS FERREIRA/Staff Writer
UT Tyler’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine claimed a hard-fought victory, albeit a short-lived one.
The President of UT, Dr. Julie V. Philley announced in an email that a “façade and window washing project” will require that “various items be removed to allow for proper cleaning and any necessary maintenance.” When asked if the removal of the flags will be permanent, Beverly Golden, associate vice president for strategic communications and media relations, said, “There’s currently no plan to reinstall the flags.”
The controversial student group celebrated the addition of the flag in the Met as an important step in representation. It joined a collection of flags representing students’ home countries.
According to its website, Students for Justice in Palestine is a movement founded in 1993 that aims to get students involved in pro-Palestinian activism. It has over 350 chapters in the U.S. and Canada. SJP came to UT Tyler last semester.
Raising the flag was the chapter’s first action item.
”Our main demand was having the flag up in the UC because representation for the Palestinian diaspora in this campus is important. It took the entire semester, but we got it up,” Brandi Danea, Vice President of the SJP, said. She called it a “huge win” but said she’s determined to get a lot more done
The group also demanded the protection of free speech and the end of the silence on the “genocide” in Palestine. Danea said prominent figures in Student Engagement have confirmed that they will help the group as long as it abides by university policies.
SJP said that the flag and Palestinian representation are still essential. Leaders claim Jordanian and Ethnic Palestinian students were relieved to see representation finally and thanked SJP.
UT has not announced when the flags will be removed for the “campus-wide refurbishment and revitalization initiative.” According to Golden, The flags will be replaced with “new branding” to revitalize the appearance of the facility.”
“Through these numerous campus improvements, we’re working to serve the needs of today’s students and enhance our tremendous campus facilities,” Golden said.
SJP will hold a tabling event at the Met on Feb. 12 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. They also plan to host a screening of a movie about the Nakba on Feb. 19.
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