In response to a surge in national collegiate activism, about two dozen Iowa City High School students participated in a walkout and all-day protest on the lawn of the school, followed by a march to the University of Iowa Pentacrest on Friday.

The event was organized by the group City Students for Palestine. The students set up tents, signage, and a table with food and water on the lawn of City High at 8:15 a.m. 

“Our purpose with this event is to show that we stand in solidarity with all of the university students as high school students,” Kalea Seaton, City High senior and co-organizer of City Students for Palestine, said.

Throughout the day, students used chalk to write sentiments such as “Free Gaza,” and “I stand with Palestine,” on the sidewalk. Organizers provided books on Palestinian culture and the history of the war between Israel and Gaza.

Shahd Suleiman, a sophomore at West High School who works with City Students for Palestine as a member of the Arab Student Union at West, said the nationwide surge in student activism resonates with her personally as a Palestinian.

“I really appreciate what the City High students are doing for us. I think situations like this help us have unity,” Suleiman said. “But even in these happy moments, they’re not really that happy because we have to think back about what we’re doing it for.”

Suleiman said she believes increased activism in the United States is needed before the impact reaches Palestinian people in Gaza.

“We wanted to make this a place of education as well as activism,” said Penelope Wilmoth, City High senior and co-founder of City Students for Palestine. 

Watch more on the protest:

The event also featured speakers and a lunchtime march around the school to bring awareness of the protest to students inside the building.

Jinann Abudagga, a junior at West High School and a speaker at the City High protest, said demonstrations like this exemplify the wide range of student activism.

“I think it’s important to share both sides of the story and being at protests like this shares our authenticity and our peacefulness,” Abudagga said. 

Anbar Barkati, City High junior and co-founder of City Students for Palestine, said the group aims to encourage students and community members to speak out against the actions of the Israeli government.

“I am so glad to see the amount of people standing up for Palestinian lives,” Barkati said. “We encourage anybody at City High or out of City High to raise awareness and speak for the truth.”

Previously, to raise awareness of Collins Aerospace’s financial ties to Israel, City Students for Palestine organized a protest outside the company’s Cedar Rapids facility on April 5.

“We’re calling on the University of Iowa to divest from their contracts with businesses such as Collins Aerospace and Lockheed Martin, who have direct ties to Israel,” Seaton said. 

Additionally, the group’s organizers said they hosted teaching events during the protest, highlighting the importance of education and awareness.

“Hearing from Palestinian and Jewish voices is really important,” Wilmoth said.

A letter sent by City High Principal John Bacon to students’ parents said the school was aware of the planned walkout and subsequent protest ahead of time. 

“Students have the right to participate in organized protests and walkouts, and we honor their right to free speech,” the letter reads. “We will work to ensure that those who choose to participate can do so in a way that creates minimal disruption to the learning environment.”

City High reserved an area of the lawn for City Students for Palestine to use for Friday’s event. The school also offered support to the students in the event of counter-protestors, Wilmoth said. 

“Our school has been very supportive. I know that a lot of school administrations would not be this kind and supportive, and we feel very lucky,” Wilmoth said.

Organizers and students emphasized the need for media attention on both the peaceful nature of their protests and encampments and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

“As someone whose parents were both born and raised in Gaza, the only reason that the genocide is out there is because of the journalists out in the field,” Abudagga said.

At 3 p.m., a group of about two dozen students and two community members began a march to the UI Pentacrest holding signs with pro-Palestinian sentiments and chanting, “Hey hey, ho ho, this occupation has got to go.”

City Students for Palestine is not associated with Iowa City Students for Palestine or the three-day solidarity event scheduled to take place this weekend on the Pentacrest, but student organizers said they support and plan to attend the upcoming event.