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NEWS GLEAMS | Pro-Palestine Demonstrations Spread to Colleges Nationwide; Light Rail Expands to Lynnwood in August

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A roundup of news and announcements we don't want to get lost in the fast-churning news cycle!

by Vee Hua 華婷婷

Demonstrations in Support of Palestine Spread to Colleges Nationwide

As part of a nationwide movement called "Popular University for Gaza," pro-Palestine university students have been setting up encampments on their campuses to demand that their schools divest from companies that are enabling Israel's ongoing offensive in Gaza. The demonstrations are taking place at more than a dozen universities and growing, with the most high-profile among them being Columbia University; Yale University; New York University (NYU); the University of California, Berkeley; Stanford; MIT; and Vanderbilt University, with the longest-running encampment, which began March 26.

The grassroots organizers behind the movement, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), boast over 300 sub-chapters across Turtle Island. They describe Popular University for Gaza as "a coordinated mass movement of students, faculty, and staff dedicated to preventing our universities from performing their daily functions. We have created a climate that will force administrators to fully divest from the Zionist entity, or allow their university's reputation to shatter."

Circumstances surrounding the college encampments vary greatly in terms of responses from law enforcement, university leadership, and university faculty. As reported by ABC News, "The protests on campuses have been largely peaceful, according to school administrators, with some officials, including the [New York Police Department], as well as protesters blaming unaffiliated individuals for instances of violence and offensive rhetoric."

Calls for the government to call in the National Guard have also fallen short. New York City Gov. Kathy Hochul stated Tuesday evening that she has no plans to call in the National Guard.

Still, tensions have flared on some campuses. On Monday, between 40 and 60 protesters were arrested at Yale University on misdemeanor charges. That same day, over a hundred students and about 20 professors were also arrested at NYU following a request from the university. At NYU, video captured rocks, chairs, and other objects being thrown at the police, who allegedly later wrestled with some protesters and discharged pepper spray. The majority of protesters were released with "summonses for trespass," while four students face charges of "obstructing governmental administration" and resisting arrest.

Columbia University's encampment has dominated national headlines more than any other university. The encampment began last week on the same day Columbia University President Minouche Shafik testified before Congress about antisemitism on campus and a Congressional investigation about the university's "failure to protect Jewish students."

A day later, the university called law enforcement on the pro-Palestinian encampment; 108 protesters were arrested and charged with trespassing. Among them was the daughter of Michigan Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar — she, like many of the other students who were arrested, has also been temporarily suspended.

Yet the arrests at Columbia have only brought nationwide attention and led to the growth of their on-campus encampment. At the outset of this week, Columbia announced it would cancel all in-person classes and make them virtual, citing safety concerns for certain students. As Shafik stated, "Students across an array of communities have conveyed fears for their safety and we have announced additional actions we are taking to address security concerns. The decibel of our disagreements has only increased in recent days. These tensions have been exploited and amplified by individuals who are not affiliated with Columbia who have come to campus to pursue their own agendas. We need a reset."

The university gave the encampment a deadline of Tuesday at midnight to disperse before "alternative" considerations would be considered. On Wednesday morning, the university released a statement that it was "making important progress with representatives of the student encampment on the West lawn" and would continue negotiating for the next 48 hours, due to what it saw as "constructive dialogue." The university cited that student protesters committed to dismantling and removing certain tents, that only Columbia University students could participate in the protest, that they would comply with New York Fire Department safety requirements, and they would refrain from using harassing language in the encampments, to create a space where all are welcome.

On Monday, President Joe Biden apparently referenced the student protests during his statement marking the start of Passover. "Even in recent days, we've seen harassment and calls for violence against Jews," he said. "This blatant antisemitism is reprehensible and dangerous — and it has absolutely no place on college campuses, or anywhere in our country."

Student calls for divestment are a part of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. While numerous student governments across the country have passed resolutions for their universities to divest from companies that support Israel during its current war on Gaza, few universities have divested. Such divestment at universities is seen as difficult because of how entrenched the funds are, and over 38 states have passed anti-BDS laws this year. Washington State is not among them.

4 New Sound Transit Light Rail Stations Between Angle Lake and Lynnwood to Open in August

Earlier this month, Sound Transit announced that its light rail expansion of the Link 1 Line north to Lynnwood will open on Aug. 30. During peak times, trains are expected to run nearly every eight minutes, and the expansion is projected to serve between 47,000 and 55,000 riders daily by 2026. The 8.5-mile segment will join King County and Snohomish County through public transportation.

"For the first time, the light rail system is joining two counties, bringing voters' vision for our region's integrated transit system one step closer to reality," King County Executive and Sound Transit Board Chair Dow Constantine said in a statement.

The four new stations as a part of this line include:

  • Shoreline South/148th Station
    Located just northeast of I-5 at the NE 145th Street exit, the elevated station will include a parking garage with 500 new spaces.
  • Shoreline North/185th Station
    Located on the east side of I-5, the station serves Shoreline Stadium, the Shoreline Conference Center, and the surrounding neighborhoods. Improved pedestrian pathways connect the station to the west side of I-5, and the station has a parking garage with 500 new spaces.
  • Mountlake Terrace Station at Mountlake Terrace Transit Center
    Located east of I-5 just north of 236th Street Southwest and west of Veterans Memorial Park, the elevated station is a short walk from the Mountlake Terrace Library, new City Hall, and the future Gateway transit-oriented development neighborhood; 890 parking spaces exist at the station.
  • Lynnwood City Center at Lynnwood Transit Center
    The elevated station serves one of the busiest transit centers in the region, with extensive connections to local and regional service; 1,670 parking spaces already exist in a five-story parking structure that opened last year.

Overall, the project totals $3.1 billion, with $1.17 billion coming from a Full Funding Grant Agreement that was executed by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and comes under legislation from the Biden—Harris Administration.Additional Sound Transit expansions include the 2 Line, which will open this week, on April 27, to connect South Bellevue with Redmond Technology. Further down the line, South Bellevue Station is expected to connect with the Chinatown-International District in 2025, and Line 2 will eventually link Lynnwood with Redmond Technology.

Nobuko Miyamoto Concert to Benefit Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple Arson Fire Restoration

Following the devastating January 2024 arson fire that closed the Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple indefinitely and damaged part of its archives, a concert fundraiser will take place on Saturday, April 27, to benefit the temple's ongoing restoration work.

Third-generation Japanese American dancer, creative artist, and activist Nobuko Miyamoto will be supported by music director Derek Nakamoto and guest artists Chic Street Man and Francis Wong, in a performance entitled 120,000 Stories. According to a press release, "120,000 Stories is a multi-generational journey with stories that address issues such as race, gender, multiculturalism, and climate change." 120,000 Stories is also the title of Miyamoto's Smithsonian Folkways Recordings album, released in 2021.

The concert will take place at 7 p.m. at Pigott Auditorium at Seattle University. Tickets are available online, and RSVPs are free. Those who cannot attend the event can still make donations to the temple via check or on its website.

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Vee Hua 華婷婷 (they/them) is a writer, filmmaker, and organizer with semi-nomadic tendencies. Much of their work unifies their metaphysical interests with their belief that art can positively transform the self and society. They are the editor-in-chief of REDEFINE, a long-time member of the Seattle Arts Commission, and a film educator at the interdisciplinary community hub, Northwest Film Forum, where they previously served as executive director and played a key role in making the space more welcoming and accessible for diverse audiences. After a recent stint as the interim managing editor at South Seattle Emerald, they are moving into production on their feature film, Reckless Spirits, which is a metaphysical, multilingual POC buddy comedy. They have a master's in Tribal Resource and Environmental Stewardship under the American Indian Studies Department at the University of Minnesota, Duluth.

Featured image via lev radin/Shutterstock.com.

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