“Our Peers”: Last Month’s Teach-In and its Perspectives

“What are our ethical responsibilities as university students and staff to a place where all universities have been destroyed?” asked Dr Malaka Shwaikh, an associate lecturer in the School of International Relations, during the teach-in on 17 October, Universities in a Time of Genocide. 

As he opened the event, Dr Rahul Rao, another member of the School, remarked, “It’s important to think about who we are and where we are […] just by being in this room, we are all in a place of privilege.” Many speakers repeated similar phrases, drawing attention to students’ ability to attend university, especially when, as one speaker discussed, the ability of Gazan students to do the same has been destroyed.

Last month, the School of International Relations organised a teach-in in conjunction with several societies, including the Palestinian Solidarity Society, the BAME Students’ Network, the Middle Eastern and North African Society, Amnesty, the Socialist Worker Student Society, and the Muslim Students’ Association. It was aimed at further educating students, staff, and the community about the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict. 

A teach-in, by definition, is a meeting usually held at a university for lectures, debates, and discussions to raise awareness of or express a position on, a social or political issue. “To me, teach-ins are the most impactful thing,” said Isaac Pickrum, Vice President of the BAME Students’ Network. One society member explained that he “understand[s] how it can be intimidating to come to a protest if you haven’t been to one before, so teach-ins are useful for bringing more students to the cause.” 

The recent teach-in featured several students and staff members from multiple schools across the University of St Andrews, each presenting on a different aspect of the conflict or sharing personal stories or appeals related to it. The speakers included Ahmed Nehad, Dr Malaka Shwaikh, Israa Aljaish, Lucia Assadi, Owen Schacht, Dr Viviane Saglier, Q Manivannan, Dr Emily Finer, and Antonis Vradis. 

The presentations included everything from a creative speech on how St Andrews could look if it decided to wholly embrace Palestinian advocacy, to a Jewish perspective on Israel’s alleged perpetuation of genocide, to the story of one scholar’s struggle to get her young daughter out of Gaza. 

One major focus of October’s teach-in was the role of the higher education community in addressing the mass destruction of educational facilities, as is currently happening in Gaza. Dr Viviane Saglier, a lecturer in the School of Film Studies, presented on ‘scholasticide’, a term coined by Professor Karma Nabulsi at the University of Oxford. 

“All the universities in Gaza have been partially or completely destroyed,” she said, explaining how scholasticide involves the systematic destruction of Palestinian education in Israel, and discussed how learners of all ages, from young children, to university students, to professors, have been deeply harmed by it. Dr Saglier described how raids have been carried out on universities for years and students arrested without cause, arguing that this phenomenon is not new or unique to the past year. 

As of now, said Dr Saglier, “The educational system in Gaza is completely not operational,” leaving countless students without any way to continue the education they’ve worked hard for. 

However, after highlighting the dire situation, Dr Saglier also offered concrete ways in which to assist students and academics in Palestine. “We owe it to them — our peers,” she said, referencing the many scholars who have been killed, wounded, or forced to flee. Dr Saglier went on to describe several ways in which members of the community can advocate for Palestinians and Palestinian scholars, including organising vigils and informational events, passing union motions, and engaging in the Boycott Divest Sanctions movement. 

Another speaker, Ahmed Nehad, who is from Gaza, offered a straightforward way for community members to advocate for Palestine: listen to Palestinians and act on it. Describing his frustration with Palestinian advocacy, or the lack thereof, in Western countries, he asked, “Will horrors keep happening with Westerners always understanding too late?” He advised the audience to do their own research, but always keep in touch with what Palestinians themselves are saying. Dr Shwaikh shared this sentiment, reminding the community to consider how and where they get their news about Gaza.

Attendees seemed to respond well to the teach-in, finding it powerful and informative. Though she didn’t exactly walk out feeling hopeful, attendee Mrunmayi Kamerkar said she left feeling less “distant” from the conflict. 

“I walked out with a greater sense of urgency […] but also, it showed me that there are a lot of different ways to show up.” Kamerkar emphasised how helpful she found the high number of speakers presenting different ways to advocate for Palestine. “It was useful to hear how you can [approach advocacy] from a lot of different places and bring your own experiences and knowledge to it.”

Another local and direct method of providing assistance to Palestinian scholars is the St Andrews Education for Palestinian Students Scholarship, also known as the STEPS Scholarship. The STEPS Scholarship provides a year’s worth of funding to academically talented Palestinian students, thus enabling them to study for a Master's Degree at the University. In the past, two STEPS Scholars have been chosen every year. However, negotiations with the University have recently yielded agreements to fund four STEPS Scholars. 

Pickrum described how many of the involved societies were called together to participate in “dialogues” with the University about what they hoped to see happen, one demand being the increase of STEPS Scholarships. 

However, there’s only one STEPS Scholar this year. The other three haven’t been able to get out of the occupied territories. “We know why we can’t get the three STEPS Scholars out,” said Pickrum, “but [the University] won’t say anything about it because that would force them to acknowledge what’s happening.”

Tension around the Israel-Gaza conflict remains high, as evidenced by a man who repeated the words “go to hell” at students as they marched down Market Street last month with signs demanding a ceasefire. 

One student, Sam, told me that he gets “death stares” whenever he wears a keffiyeh around town. After releasing a statement condemning Israel and advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza, the Rector, Stella Maris, was dismissed from the University Court. Since 7 October, the BAME Students’ Network has received more frequent reports of hate crimes, both Islamophobic and antisemitic in nature.

“For our organisation,” said Pickrum, “there are so many options for positive mechanisms of change, like investment in Palestine or investment in Palestinian education. We just want investment and protection in [and for] our Palestinian and Arab and Muslim scholars […] We want the University to acknowledge what’s happening […] and I think that’s a much more difficult thing to achieve.”

Illustration: Isabelle Holloway