DENVER — This spring, tents filled the Auraria Campus as students took part in a 22 day pro-Palestinian encampment. After it came to a stop, it didn't take long for students to start planning their next move, with their focus on the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago.
"So, it was already in the minds of like a lot of students all over the country that we were going to take positive action towards getting there and marching on them and yeah, and really the planning and like mobilizing for this, it really took up a lot of energy," University of Colorado Denver senior Khalid Hamu said.
Hamu was an organizer of the encampment on Tivoli Quad and said the group decided to take it down to further their campaign for divestment. He helped organize people to get flights and housing in Chicago to protest at the DNC. Now there, Hamu shared, he is ready to show the DNC that the student movement stands with Palestine.
"Students are really passionate about this, they want to see change, and so we hope to see divestment and disclosure at our universities and then take that to the state level, take that then national," Hamu said.
Phil Chen, assistant professor of political science at the University of Denver, explained these protests could send a message to candidates regarding dissatisfaction with the status quo.
"Probably the reason you're seeing protests at the DNC, you know, there really isn't much chance that Trump and Vance are going to move particularly far on this issue," Chen said. "So, I do think it sends an important message."
Shad Murib, Colorado Democratic Party chair, provided Denver7 with a statement regarding these protests.
"We’re a big tent party and everyone has the right to exercise their First Amendment right to freedom of speech,” Murib said.
While Hamu and other students prepare to protest this week, students like Hatem Teirelbar who could not make the trip, want them to know they are supported.
"I really hope that there's a lot of people who know that their peers are in Chicago right now, who know that these encampments in places did make gains, that student protesting can be very effective," Teirelbar said.
Looking ahead to the start of the school year, students like Teirelbar and Hamu are ready to continue their demands for divestment and disclosure from the universities.
"We've made a little bit of progress, MSU has disclosed some of their investments," Teirelbar said. "So you know, that's kind of a foot in the door, but we are going to keep doing what we were doing last semester."
