Students gathered on Dexter Lawn on Wednesday for an installation using 400 handheld flags to represent and honor the deaths of Palestinian children in the Israel-Hamas war.
The demonstration, modeled after a similar display at UC Santa Barbara in November 2023, consisted of placing 400 handheld flags on the lawn to form a Palestinian flag. According to journalism junior and organizer Lauren Yoon, each flag had two children’s names written on them using data from the Al Jazeera Media Network.
Students held the event on the 76th anniversary of the Nakba, the day when more than 700,000 Palestinians were displaced during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
“Up until today, their families are considered refugees within what is supposed to be their country,” Lena, an environmental management junior, said. “No violence should be inflicted upon innocent people – especially children – and we wanted to do something for remembrance.”
As a Palestinian student, materials engineering sophomore Mariam attended the event to help raise awareness on the topic. Mariam and Lena wished for their last names to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation.
“I hope that [students] stop by to read some of the names and it registers in them the magnitude of what’s going on,” Mariam said. “What’s represented from these flags is so much less than the actual statistics.”
Although the demonstration included the names of 800 children, the death toll of Palestinian children in the Israel-Hamas war is at least 10,000, according to data reported by Al Jazeera Media Network.
Yoon said their demonstration does not compare to the magnitude of the situation.
“That doesn’t even include all the children who are presumed dead under the rubble of buildings and concrete buildings that the Israeli military has decided to bomb,” Yoon said. “This was the best we could do and we just wanted to honor the names of the children who have died just for being Palestinian.”
Organizers hoped that passersby would be encouraged to reflect on current events after seeing their installation.
“We just hope people, even if they don’t really interact with us, know that this is still an ongoing moment,” Lena said. “This is really history in the making with what’s being brought to the surface about the realities of occupation.”
Mariam said the ongoing conflict has affected her ability to focus in school.
“It’s been really difficult to just keep up with academics and stay interested in academics while there’s such a bigger world conflict going on right now,” Mariam said.
Yoon, who has been involved in several Palestine demonstrations on campus, stressed the importance of understanding her role in the movement.
“Obviously, all action, all resistance is justified and we support that and we stand in solidarity with that, but we also do want to sometimes take a step back and remember why we’re doing these actions and remind ourselves who we’re doing this for,” Yoon said.
Yoon said that those in support of the movement should sign the divestment demands that Cal Poly Social Justice Coalition, Abolitionist Action of Central Coast and Cal Poly Students for Quality Education released.