Local Campus Largely Individualized And Introspective In Expression of Views
A tale of two tree settings and campus open space: COA to left, SF State to right
Interviews and story lead-in by Ben Rubin (SF State photo by Ben Rubin)
The College Of Alameda, a typically tranquil and understated fixture of higher education in Alameda, hasn’t seen protests like those at nearby four year universities such as San Francisco State or UC Berkeley that have boiled over in vociferous turbulence capped by defiant tent encampments in recent months.
Community colleges, in general, COA among them, are historically not revered for great feats or overt showmanship in political activism.
A walk or drive through of The COA campus will not reveal tent enclaves of Pro Gaza youths expressing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, tactical disruptions of graduation ceremonies or brigades of banner waving advocates urging their respective schools to be more transparent with what their tuition money is funding when it comes to US Government support of Israel’s War against Hamas and its massive bombardment and military ground based attacks there.
As almost an unintended consequence, community college students are often not asked ‘what do you think?’ about the Israel-Gaza Conflict by media outlets, and COA is no exception.
But the lack of notice by the press, conjoined with the general absence of organized campus activism, does not mean that COA students are lacking in awareness, much less opinions on the bloody conflict.
“Never hear of anything about anyone trying to talk to us about this” One College Of Alameda student noted when approached for an interview as an ANN reporter wandered the campus of COA on two separate occasions in May in an attempt to engage students in dialogue about the conflict in Gaza and how they feel about protests at nearby colleges.
We found, despite a low level of student activism on campus, at least a handful of students at College Of Alameda are not uninformed and not without passion and views on the pressing issues of today as Palestinian casualties mount and widespread famine poses an ongoing threat.
Here are what several COA students had to say about their thoughts on the conflict in Gaza, student activism on their campus and more, with some yearning for more activism at COA and others preferring a less volatile environment in which to pursue their education. Then there is the the most pertinent question, ‘can protesting go too far?’
INTERVIEW 1
“What are your general feelings about the conflict in Gaza?” – Ben Rubin, ANN Reporter
“It’s sticky. A Lot of tragedy. It’s really kinda sad and it’s really f-ing complicated. It’s hard to fully grasp the whole situation over here in America” – Elijah, COA Student
“What political activism have you seen here? Do you wish there was more? – Ben Rubin
“I don’t know. I think everyone has a voice here, like everyone has perspective. It’s kinda nice that it hasn’t taken over the school in the same way it has other places. I can’t imagine how tense it is on university campuses. Obviously, we can be doing more but I never feel like my voice is underrepresented here in California and here at COA.” – Elijah
“Why are there no protests on campus?” – Ben Rubin
“Community college is kinda fragmented. Everybody’s kinda doing their own thing like in their own little bubble. I know some people who went over to SF and did protests there. It’s a bit more disconnected over here, for better or for worse.” – Elijah
In your opinion, is there a line to protest? And if so where is that line? – Ben Rubin
“I think being able to assemble and being able to have your voice heard just by sheer numbers is a really valuable thing, it’s a really incredible thing when everybody marches together and has their voice heard. I think the best way to get their message across is to be peaceful and to stand up. But I think once you start getting into physical conflicts and blocking people’s way, it’s really helpful but to a certain extent. I’ve seen some people go a little too far and some people not go far enough. So it’s just about finding a balance – Elijah
INTERVIEW 2
“What are your general feelings about the conflict in Gaza?” – Ben Rubin, ANN reporter
“I think it’s pretty sad. It’s been going on for quite a minute. Innocent people are dying every two minutes, not even that. I think they need to have something figured out soon cause it’s getting pretty bad, it already is bad, but it’s gonna get worse before it gets better.” – Davron, COA Student
“What political activism have you seen here? Do you wish there was more? – Ben Rubin
“Yeah I wish there was more. I know it’s a pretty small campus and we share it with ASTI but I feel like there should be more people around supporting Gaza because as you go to SF State and other colleges you see their support all over social media and their campus too.”
“Why are there no protests on campus?” – Ben Rubin
“I think it’s just the level of engagement, there’s not a lot of people engaged here. The population here is not as big as it would be at a state” – Davron
In your opinion, is there a line to protest? And if so where is that line? – Ben Rubin
“No. If you’re trying to spread a message then no. I feel like when they stopped traffic on the SF bridge that’s sending a message. They’re not here to play, they’re trying to really send a message. This is a serious issue” – Davron, COA Student
INTERVIEW 3
“What are your general feelings about the conflict in Gaza?” – Ben Rubin, ANN Reporter
“I think a ceasefire, because people are getting killed. I don’t know as much information as others but I think all fighting/war is bad” – COA student 1, who spoke on condition of anonymity
“Same; ceasefire. I see a lot of people trying to ban videos of what’s going on on social media. I try to make (others) aware… because I have almost 600 followers, so just to spread the word with as many people as possible because it’s really a problem. People are trying to hush it down like it’s some trend, like it’s going away, but it’s actually happening right now. I have friends that try to make people more aware of it and it’s tough to see but you have to post how brutal it is, you have to show what is happening or people will not listen” – COA student 2 who also requested name withheld
“The reason I’m doing this is because I feel like community colleges are underrepresented when it comes to political activism. What political activism have you seen here? Do you wish there was more? – Ben Rubin
“Yeah they are, I haven’t seen any now that you mention it.” – COA student 1 (names withheld)
“I haven’t seen anything, I’ve only seen people putting stickers of the (Palestinian) flag around, I know they’re trying to support but that doesn’t do much” – COA student 2
“But also we’re only here Tuesdays and Thursdays. But I don’t see any- We’ve been here for a whole semester and you’re the first person that came up to us” – COA student 1
“Never heard of anything about anyone trying to talk to us about this. We actually usually don’t stop for other people but this is important” – COA student 2
In your opinion, is there a line to protest? And if so where is that line? – Ben Rubin
“I think that there could be technically sometimes a line. But the thing is when they stopped the San Francisco bridge, it got a lot of attention. And that is probably what they wanted which is good. But if somebody is going to San Francisco for an emergency or sometime but the bridge is blocked how are they going to get there but also they got the attention which is good. This is a whole nother thing, sometimes when there are peaceful protests (people) will attack peaceful protesters. They’re peaceful, they’re not doing anyone harm, and people attack them anyway. I don’t know, is there a line?” – COA student 1,
“I feel like, cops here are really-’ Anonymous COA student 2
“They’re sucky, they don’t do anything” – Anonymous COA student 1
“I hate cops (laughs) I don’t really know what to say to that honestly. I’ve never protested in my life but I’ve always wanted to. I guess I would be part of a peaceful protest. I just don’t want violence.” – Anonymous COA student 2
“I don’t even think there really is a line. It’s not the protesters who are crossing the line, it’s the people against the protesters that are crossing the line” – Anonymous COA student 1
“You’re trying to stop someone protesting for not killing children” – Anonymous COA student 2
INTERVIEW 4
“What are your general feelings about the conflict in Gaza?” – Ben Rubin
“I stand with Gaza. What I see from the news, and what happened, I see children being killed. Israel is killing people, they’re killing civilians that have no guns to defend. That war is bull—t. They’re killing civilians – Hillme, COA student
“What political activism have you seen here? – Ben Rubin
“Not really, I haven’t seen any” – Hillme
Do you wish there was more? – Ben Rubin
“Sure if that will change anything. Yeah definitely.” – Hillme
In your opinion, is there a line to protest? And if so where is that line? – Ben Rubin
“When they protest on the San Francisco bridge. I believe they shouldn’t close the bridge. Because okay we stand for poor people, for the right people. But at the same time, there are people that need to go to work or there are people that have an emergency to go to. That’s the line they crossed. – Hillme
