Anonymous flyers calling for the support of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement have emerged in the Student Center and other parts of campus.
The flyers, which were written in marker and photocopied, ask students to participate in the boycott and to “look up the targets of the BDS Boycott in support of Palestine.”
According to the BDS’ official website, the BDS Movement seeks to target and boycott corporations that have financial links to Israel. Companies like HP, Chevron, Siemens, and Puma have been targeted for their proven association with Israel. Along with a corporate boycott, the movement aims to raise awareness through academic and cultural boycotts.
“I think it is essential for students on campus to be educated on the topic of boycotting and what it actually means,” Yusuf Allam, the president of the CCSU Arab Student Council (ASC) and member of the CCSU Muslim Students Association (MSA), said. “At the end of the day, before we can tell people to ‘boycott this, boycott that,’ I think it’s important that we just start on the base of education and educating people on why we are boycotting to begin with.”
Allam said that the ASC has potential plans to hold a booth on boycotting so that students can apply it in praxis.
Although no protests have been planned, Allam said the ASC is not against the idea.
“We will definitely be looking to attend protests and potentially hold one, under all necessary precautions,” he said.
Nylamar Samuels, a member of the MSA and CCSU Students for Justice in Palestine, has also been a vocal proponent of the boycott.
“I’m very passionate about what’s going on around the world, as well as the Congo and Sudan, but at the moment, Palestine is one of the main focuses because they are being pushed out of their homes,” Samuels said. “Whoever was sharing those posters around campus about boycotting … it was a really good idea and I think we should follow their lead on it.”
Samuels said that she sometimes walks around campus with pro-Palestinian posters to spread awareness.
Like Samuels, Omar Mountassir, a sophomore and member of the Muslim community, has also been actively participating in the boycott.
“Me and Yusuf … we’re good supporters of Palestine and we’ve both been to protests,” he said. “It’s good to know that there’s other people who agree with us …”
Grassroots campaigns have grown from consumers like Mountassir, who has boycotted companies such as McDonalds, Dominos, Burger King, Pizza Hut, and Starbucks. The boycott against Starbucks has been effective on campus, according to Mountassir.
“We have a Starbucks on campus, and I have seen a steady decline in the amount of people that have been going there,” he said.
Although Starbucks is not a target of the BDS Movement, the company has employed union-busting tactics and has targeted employees over pro-Palestinian advocacy in the past.
“Before the events of Oct. 7th, I knew Starbucks was suing workers for attempting to unionize,” Mountassir said. “So it’s bigger than just the Middle East in general.”
As of now, no pro-Palestinian protests have been planned on campus, and some students demand urgent action.
“This is something that we need to talk about now,” Samuels said. “The sooner the better.”
