For nearly two hours Monday afternoon, about 200 demonstrators participated in a pro-Palestine walkout, marching around the perimeter of campus and calling for USC to disclose and divest its investments in any weapons manufacturers.

The walkout came on the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which escalated into an ongoing war in Gaza. The Israel military has killed more than 41,000 people in Gaza — with at least 16,000 being women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry — and exacerbated shortages of food, fuel, clean water and a lack of access to medical services.

A media liaison for USC Students for Justice in Palestine, who requested anonymity for fear of University retaliation, said they were fighting against “apartheid” and “colonialism” and for Palestinian life and liberation.

Daily headlines, sent straight to your inbox.

Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with the latest at and around USC.

“It’s one year of genocide,” the media liaison said. “We’ve seen Palestinian resistance and steadfastness rage on for the past year, even though Israel had bombed and maimed their population over and over again for the past year … Every single vigil matters to us. Every single protest matters to us, but today holds special significance.”

Demonstrators presented speeches at the Trousdale North Entrance before beginning a counterclockwise loop around the campus perimeter. In addition to calls for divestment, speakers also criticized USC’s security measures.

“We’ve seen USC attempt to repress our movement by taking shameful disciplinary actions against more than 75 students, revoking our valedictorian’s speech because of her stance on Palestine, and now they’ve decided to surveil students and close campus to the surrounding community,” said a speaker from USC SJP.

After several speeches, demonstrators marched along Jefferson Boulevard, Vermont Avenue, Exposition Boulevard and Figueroa Street. They chanted, “Free Palestine,” “Israel bombs, USC pays, how many kids have you killed today?” and “Shut it down!” 

Olivia Harrison, a member of the USC Palestine Justice Faculty Group and a professor of Middle East studies, said she thought students continued to protest because the conflict remains unchanged.

“Students are still here because it’s not getting any better, and it’s simply gotten worse day to day,” Harrison said. “We have already more than 2000 who have died in Lebanon. So I don’t think the students are going to forget what is happening, and I think they’ll continue to show up for us as long as it continues.”

Another USC SJP media liaison said the level of political involvement at USC was impressive, given USC having “never been a political school.” 

“The change in USC’s political sphere has been more drastic than most of the universities in the United States, and this is an incredible coming of age for USC,” the USC SJP liaison said. “The administration has no idea how to handle it because it’s never happened before.”

The first media liaison for SJP said the demonstrators demanded the disclosure of USC assets and divestment from weapons manufacturers.

A law student who requested anonymity for fear of University retaliation said they hoped for more dialogue with the University compared with events in the spring.

“I would like to see, personally, [President] Carol Folt come back to the table,” the student said. “Erroll Southers should be gone. I think that [Provost Andrew] Guzman [should] come back to the table, talk to students in good faith, talk about [the Department of Public Safety’s] role on campus and listen to the majority support of the faculty.” 

Along parts of Jefferson and Exposition Boulevard, the procession walked in the street and some individuals from the group blocked traffic and redirected drivers.

Los Angeles Police Department cars watched from across the street as the demonstrators marched, and DPS officers watched from inside campus. DPS officers videotaped demonstrators in order to keep a record of events, said DPS Assistant Chief David Carlisle.

Carlisle said DPS notified LAPD’s Southwest Division prior to the event that the demonstration had the potential to spill into the street. 

Campus authorities closed entrances around campus as demonstrators approached them — beginning with the closure of the North Trousdale Entrance at noon. The second USC SJP media liaison said the march was intended to shut down campus entrances.

A protest leader said, “Guess what, y’all, we’ve closed down every entrance except one,” when the group reached the Watt Way entrance.

Carlisle said DPS decided to close the gates to allow normal function of the University.

“Today with a large group like the demonstrators who marched around campus, it would be very difficult to screen each person if they wanted to come onto campus en masse,” Carlisle said. “So out of an abundance of caution, we kept the gates closed while the large group passed by.”

USC SJP will host an art workshop Tuesday and a study-in for Palestine on Wednesday as part of their “week of rage.”