Voices from the Cornell Encampment: Andre

In early May, pro-Palestinian activists at Cornell voluntarily took down their "Liberated Zone" solidarity encampment. In this series, we'll listen to some of them explain why they participated and what they learned.

"The word of the day is "solidarity" not only with the encmapment here, but especially with the people in Gaza and in Rafah that are going through horrifying violence right now."

"And the beauty of this encampment, the beauty of these students getting together and risking their own visa status, risking their education, risk in expulsion, suspensions, and the community getting together. So I really feel like the encampment has really revitalized Cornell, like something different has started here. I've never really felt the community so together in working in solidarity and sharing food, sharing apples, and then offering to do laundry, and then getting together in the cold and bringing blankets. I don't know, just anything like, hand warmers, just anything at all that would help people to be together. I think that solidarity really encompasses the whole experience here."

"It is a bittersweet experience to see the last day of the encampment. But also it's reassuring to see that the struggle is going to continue with us here on campus and beyond."

"What I really learned I think from coming here is that how strong we are together. So, because I really feel like that one of the things that people said during one of the speeches, that administration was really ready to, you know, to sweep us out. They were not playing with it. But they saw, again, the solidarity, they saw us together and they saw that it would be, you know, problematic for them, that would cause repercussions. So I think that was something that really was beautiful for me to see and to learn. And also how administration's really lost. They don't know what to do. They don't know how to proceed because, it really speaks volumes that they're interest is not our education, but its own profit."

Find all voices in this series here.