At least 50 students gathered in front of the Student Union on the University of Wyoming (UW) campus to hold a silent demonstration in solidarity with those who have lost their lives in the Israel-Hamas war.
The event was planned to last for nearly ten hours on Friday, May 3, one second for each death since Hamas militants broke through the blockaded Gaza Strip and invaded Israeli towns on Oct. 7. That meant 19 minutes for the 1,139 lives lost in Israel, and over nine hours for the 34,596 in Gaza as of May 3rd.
Alia, a UW senior, was one of the first students to show up for the vigil. She held a sign with QR codes linked to four different organizations: Jewish Voices For Peace, Doctors Without Borders, United Nations World Food Programme and United Nations Relief and Works Agency.
“In Wyoming, because we're such a small state with a really small student population, I think these kinds of smaller protests, and even just smaller local efforts, are able to get a lot more spotlight,” said Alia. “And I think that there is the potential for a free Palestine, and for Palestinians and Israelis to have a more hopeful, peaceful future. And I think the ceasefire is a really great first step towards that.”
Demonstrators began by organizing near the student union around 2 p.m. on Friday. Students and parents packed the building as year-end events were taking place across campus, creating a high traffic area outside the student union. Many looked on, or stopped to watch as students participating in the vigil began to circle around Beckham Carver. Carver, a UW senior, was the only student to publicly speak for the group before going silent.
“[We] stand in solidarity with those calling for a ceasefire in Gaza,” said Carver. “We as students of the University of Wyoming believe that all life is sacred, and that our government cannot in good conscience continue to actively support the deaths of thousands of civilians, many of whom are children, journalists and medical professionals.”
In Wyoming, Republican lawmakers have made their support for Israel well known, and Democrats have mostly steered clear of the matter, even as protests took place in front of the state Capitol in February.
But participants in the vigil still passed out leaflets for passersby, labeled, “Call For Ceasefire: Call The #’s Below.” The leaflets had the numbers for Sen. John Barrasso (WY-R) and Sen. Cynthia Lummis (WY-R), and Rep. Harriet Hageman (WY-R). The preprepared script instructed callers to demand representatives take “immediate steps to deescalate, by calling for a total and permanent ceasefire, [allowing] humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, including reinstating funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugee [and] end Israel’s siege on Gaza.” Additionally, demonstrators passed out papers with information about a UW class called “Israel-Palestine Conflict: History and Current State of Affairs”.
Some students raised a fist in the air as a sign of support, others stopped to talk with those handing out leaflets. Some stopped simply to observe the vigil, like UW sophomore, Katie Acord.
“I do think that there is, in every situation, a choice to be made and university administration should take this as the voice of the students,” said Acord.
Acord, like many other students, was unaware the vigil was happening. Nonetheless, passersby were curious, given the wave of protests happening on college campuses across the country. Schools like Columbia University and groups like Jewish Voices For Peace have organized significantly larger, more sustained efforts with demands that institutions of higher education divest from Israel.
However, most students don’t expect the same to happen at UW, like Aaron Sweeney, a political science student who stopped to observe the vigil.
“It doesn't look like [protests at other universities], especially with the school year winding down right now. Things can grow. People have stronger opinions as things progress though, so more can happen,” said Sweeney.
Logan Raper, an international studies student who’s friends with some of the demonstrators, said a lot of the people involved want to make their voice heard.
“Despite the fact that Wyoming is overwhelmingly conservative, and there are a lot of people who are very vocally in support of Israel and against the Palestinians, there are a lot of students who are willing to make their voices heard in this instance,” said Raper. “And even if it doesn't amount to massive, sweeping change within the university or the state or even on a national level, it's still important that we get out there with support.”
A few hours into the vigil, some students showed up with two American Flags. They held them up in front of the demonstrators, taking pictures of each other while doing so, before leaving after about an hour. Another student walking by yelled, “Let's go Israel,” with some cheers from those holding up an American flag.
At one point, a van with signs reading, “Come To Jesus,” with an American flag attached and loudspeakers built into the top, parked next to the demonstration. After about a minute, the van drove off, never using its loudspeakers.
Overall, the entire demonstration was civil, even with the occasional heckler or a car that blasted the “Star-Spangled Banner” in support of the flag wavers. UW campus police were nearby at all times. However, as the day progressed, police shifted their focus away from the vigil and toward an ongoing “Union Fest” concert put on by UW to celebrate the end of finals week.
Josh Holland is a UW Officer who monitored the vigil.
“At this time, we don't have any real indicator that there's gonna be anything significant here,” said Holland, referring to a comparison between the UW demonstration and other college campus protests.
Demonstrators ordered food, brought blankets and tried to stay warm as the day went from windy, to rainy, to low 30’s by the end. Whether it was the Wyoming climate or demands of finals week, demonstrators would switch out or leave as time went on. By 11:00 p.m, most of the campus was empty. However, three students remained. They were all members of the Wyoming Young Communist League.
The three remaining demonstrators were visibly cold, exhausted in their speech but had every intention of finishing the vigil.
“Every second [represents] every life lost in this recent onslaught on Gaza,” said Nikhil. “It's disproportionately Palestinians and so I brought the [Palestine] flag here to show that the focus of these talks, of wanting peace in this region, should be focused on justice for the Palestinians,” he said.
Louise, another of the group of three, said the point of this demonstration and other similar university protests was solely to bring attention to ending the violence and the disproportionate harm done to the Palestinians.
“We organize this in response to the ongoing genocide and Gaza. The message, of course, is a ceasefire would be nice, but at this point, there needs to be more than that,” said Lousie. “We have to demand that Palestinian people no longer have to be afraid for their lives, no longer [have] to live in such desperation and poverty.”
The last member of the three young communists, Misha, sat next to several signs held throughout the day. One listed death totals of Gazans, Israelis, children, women, and journalists.
“This very involved, very taxing, very lengthy, symbolic gesture … I feel like [this is] what we're told is the only acceptable way to say anything about what's going on right now,” said Misha.
Among the signs, she also kept a tally: One line for every minute to make sure they were there for the entire nine hours and 56 minutes.
