HAVERFORD, PA (KYW Newsradio) — The “Students for Peace” group at Haverford College launched a sit-in Wednesday at Founder’s Hall, calling for action from administration following the shooting of a fellow student last month.
Kinnan Abdalhamid was one of the three college students of Palestinian descent injured in a shooting while in Vermont over Thanksgiving break.
In response, students from the peace group issued a list of demands for administration that’s been signed by roughly half of the student body.
The group says they’re asking administration to support a call for an immediate and permanent cease-fire in Gaza. They also want administration to provide a restorative accountability statement “over the harm they've caused over the last two months.”
Students say they plan to continue the sit-in until administrators agree with their demands, which they feel align with the school’s Quaker values.
“And frankly, the fact that neither of those two things have happened is just a shock to all of us,” said Julian, a student with the peace group.
E.P., also a student with the peace group, said there has been a lot of “inadequate response to care for our community — in particular, our Palestinian, Arab, Muslim students on campus” in the last few months.
He feels these lack-of responses were only heightened when Abdalhamid was shot.
Members of the group say they’ve had a few meetings with school officials.
Some of it has been described as “productive,” but there’s still feelings of frustration.
In a statement from a Haverford College spokesperson, they said, in part, that “nuances and implications associated with the topics the students have raised are the subject of many ongoing conversations.”