Shepherd University SGA passes Gaza ceasefire resolution
Shepherd’s SGA is the first of any university in West Virginia to pass a ceasefire resolution, and, in doing so, student leaders called upon other universities and institutions to take similar action.
Shepherd University’s Student Government Association voted 30-0 (2 abstentions, 10 absent) Tuesday in favor of passing a permanent ceasefire resolution regarding Israel’s ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.
Shepherd’s SGA is the first of any university in West Virginia to pass a ceasefire resolution, and, in doing so, student leaders called upon other universities and institutions to take similar action.
“The Shepherd University Student Government Association calls for a permanent ceasefire in the ongoing Hamas-Israel war and the immediate, unconditional release of all hostages taken by Hamas and all Palestinian prisoners taken by Israel since October 7,” the resolution states. “SGA calls upon Shepherd University administration to publish a statement condemning all violence, hate speech, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in universities and colleges across the United States, which have stemmed from the ongoing Hamas-Israel war. SGA calls upon the Shepherdstown Town Council to vote in favor of a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. SGA calls upon other higher education institutions across the state of West Virginia to condemn all acts of hatred and violence stemming from the Hamas-Israel war and to call for a permanent ceasefire.”
The successful movement to pass a ceasefire resolution was organized in-part by Shepherd’s Muslim Student Association and The Picket, Shepherd’s student newspaper.
In the days leading up to yesterday’s vote on the resolution, The Picket managing editor Khalid Alsadek published an editorial headlined “I’d like you to join me in submitting a ceasefire resolution to SGA.”
The editorial highlights the ever-increasing numbers of casualties resulting from the Zionist entity’s aggression against Palestinians, including the recent deaths of more than 100 journalists targeted by Israel.
“However, the journalism industry is not the only one suffering from Israel’s onslaught,” Alsadek writes. “Gaza’s Education Ministry has been hit extremely hard, with all 12 of its universities partially or totally destroyed by Israeli airstrikes. University faculty have not been saved from these strikes, as three university presidents and almost 100 professors in Gaza have been killed since Oct. 7 (…) Universities are supposed to be safe areas where people find their purpose in life through meaningful education, free from bombardment and demolition. Israel clearly has a difficult time understanding this.”
“If this isn’t a war on Palestinian higher education, then what is?” Alsadek asks.
Alsadek’s editorial continues to describe the Zionist entity’s illegal and inhumane targeting of hospitals and ambulances, residential areas, parks, mosques, churches and various other locations and methods by which Israel continues to kill masses of innocent civilians.
Alsadek describes the Zionist entity’s ongoing aggression against the Palestinian people as “a textbook scenario of ethnic cleansing.”
“It is becoming clearer that Israel does not wish to bring its hostages back home and destroy Hamas except as a byproduct of turning Gaza into an unlivable wasteland, ethnically and culturally cleansing it of anyone and anything Palestinian,” Alsadek writes. “It is my belief that supporting Israel’s conduct in its war is evil, barbaric, and void of humanity. Not due to an inherent hatred for Israel and Jews, but due to the reports presented above. I will not shy away from saying that I am probably the only Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim-American who has run the Picket Newspaper, and I hold that responsibility with great honor. I see it as holding not only journalism’s weight and values of truth, ethics, and courage on my shoulders, but also the Picket’s tradition that is synonymous with Shepherd University’s values of understanding, inclusiveness, and creating a more prosperous and welcoming campus for all, including Palestinians.”
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