Around 40 people gathered at Hahn Plaza on Tuesday for a “Walkout for Palestine” protest that later moved to Bovard Administration Building. Two organizers were allowed into the building by Department of Public Safety officers to deliver their list of demands to University administration. 

The protest was organized by USC South Central Against Labor Exploitation and USC South Central for Justice in Palestine — both advocacy groups not affiliated with the University. The protest was on the second anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people. 

“We are [USC S.C.A.L.E and USC SJP], and we denounce genocide, and we denounce apartheid, and we denounce segregation, whether it’s in South Central or Palestine,” said a speaker who did not identify themself. “We stand for life, and those Zionists stand for death. Always remember that. What we’re going to do now is we’re going to go on a march around campus to make our voices heard.”

One of the organizers listed the demands of the protest, calling for the University to divest from “genocide enabling companies,” end the “sale of bodies” and other resources to the United States military or Israel, make educational resources public to South Central, reject the Trump administration’s compact for higher education and stop laying off employees.

Annenberg Media reported Oct. 1 that in 2017, the U.S. Navy began purchasing human cadavers from USC for the purpose of surgical training involving the Israel Defense Forces. 

USC has laid off over 700 employees since July, one of whom spoke at the walkout. They said they were a former employee who described the layoffs as employees being treated as “puppets of labor, pockets of value, just waiting to be strip mined and then discarded.”

About a dozen students opposing the protest gathered and shouted at the protesters, one saying: “What’s Palestine? There’s no Palestine on a map. I don’t know what you guys are referring to.”

After speaking at Tommy Trojan, the protesters marched through campus, holding two banners stating “The People’s University South Central” and “Divest from Death USC” while chanting “Money for staff and education not for war and occupation” and “Israel, Israel, what do you say? How many kids did you kill today? USC, what do you say? How many kids did you kill today?”

They made their way around campus to directly deliver their demands to interim President Beong-Soo Kim’s office, the first contact the groups have made with administration since the pro-Palestine encampments in Spring 2024, when encampment negotiators met with then-President Carol Folt multiple times.

The protesters congregated outside Bovard as DPS officers allowed for two organizers to hand their list of demands to Kim’s office. While they were delivering their demands, the rest of the protesters continued to chant.

After they were able to successfully reach the president’s office, the speaker came out and addressed the crowd once more. 

“What happened in there was people’s power,” the speaker said. “Everyone’s efforts right here, everyone here contributed to what we’re able to do today to deliver our demands.”

A USC S.C.A.L.E. media liaison, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation, said one of the goals for the protest was to make contact and organize students, staff and other community members to make their voices heard.

“It’s easy to feel like you don’t have a voice. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. It’s easy to feel shame. It’s easy to hold grief all by yourself,” the liaison said. “But we are not here to shame you. But we’re not here, either, to applaud inaction. But what we are here to say is that there is a space for you.”

After around an hour, the protesters dispersed outside of the North Trousdale entrance.