“Oh, Of Course We’ll Withdraw” Israel Says After Seeing 44 Students Sitting Around Academic Plaza

Last week was a monumental seven days for on-campus protests. From the Draggieland ban to the Trump administration’s immigration policies, there’s been a lot to complain about.

A lot goes into setting up a protest, says women’s and gender studies super senior Riley Platt. Platt is one of a small handful of students that plan and facilitate the various on-campus protests that happen throughout the school year.

“It takes a lot of planning, a lot of organization,” Platt said. “You have to make a bunch of flyers and post them around so people actually come, which is really hard but there’s tools like Canva to help. We pretty much use the exact same format every time but thankfully no one ever notices, right? Then there’s making sure you get enough pizzas for everyone who shows up — three is usually plenty — because it really helps attendance if free food is involved.”

Platt says he usually sees the same students at all the protests.

“It’s kind of crazy how all the same people care about all the same things,” Platt said. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say they were just showing up for the pizza or because protesting makes them feel good and righteous inside. But I bet it’s because they care so much about animal rights and also all the bad stuff that happens overseas.”

Protests are the most proactive and effective forms of facilitating change in global events, according to Platt.

“This is how you really make a difference,” Platt said. “The only thing more powerful than a student protest is maybe having a sticker on your computer or adding the Palestine flag to your Twitter bio.”

— Batt-atouille