One of Few: A Palestinian Perspective at Bryn Mawr College

Guest Opinion

I am writing this opinion piece as one of the few Palestinians at Bryn Mawr College.

I saw the article posted on Bi-Co news, and I would lie if I said I was petrified. I’m not. I don’t believe that I or anyone who I have spoken to that is a part of the SJP has done anything that justifies the means for this level of investigation done by the school. Last year, I was applying for colleges, and if I’m being completely honest, Bryn Mawr wasn’t where I originally wanted to go. Then I toured the campus and heard from current students who spoke about a sanctuary, founded on the idea of women supporting women, where ALL are accepted and live amongst one another equally. All people, regardless of race, gender, sexuality, etc. And so, of course, I wanted to go here. However, I have come to see that this “acceptance” is the case amongst students, but not necessarily amongst the college as a whole. I have had encounters with the SJP in the past, and I was first confused as to why they were shut down in the first place, and also I found all the steps they took to conceal their identities a little silly. Now I see why. Now I see the truth.

I want to thank Willa Hollinger and the Bi-Co News for reporting on the issues in the December 1 article. I see the people who lead the school for their true intentions now. When SJP told me to leave my OneCard behind if I ever went to a protest or demonstration, I thought it was crazy to think that they would be tracking OneCard use. Yet now, I understand the lengths they would go to uncover the identities of those who continue to actively oppose the apartheid and genocide happening to the Palestinians.

Why does this matter? You reading this may not be in the SJP, so how does this affect you? If the leadership of this school, the same leadership who prides themselves on campus-wide free speech, is also limiting our ability to speak freely, what makes you think that they will stop here? Are you all so naïve to think that this only applies to the people speaking out against Israel? What about when you oppose anti-abortion legislation? What about when you oppose ICE? Or even our very own elected President, Donald Trump? What then? Do you think they won’t try to do the same thing to you? Silence you, track you, watch you, stalk you.

SJP members are lucky; they get to hide. They get to put away their OneCards and wear a mask. I can’t hide who I am. No mask will ever hide my DNA.

If we don’t stop this now, it’ll never stop. I encourage everyone to say something, use your voice while you still can, and allow others without a voice to be amplified. At an entire college, I am the one of only a few Palestinians. At a school who is currently facing backlash for treating SJP members unfairly, I am the one of a handful of Palestinians: How is that fair? SJP members are lucky; they get to hide. They get to put away their OneCards and wear a mask. I can’t hide who I am. No mask will ever hide my DNA.

Nevertheless, I love this school. The people, the professors, the campus; I don’t want to go anywhere else. I don’t want to transfer. I also don’t want to be “different” or walk around with a target on my back. However, it’s not fair. You get to read this essay and go on with your day. I write it and must do the same; however, I must also carry this with me every day. I must be Palestinian every day.

Why am I writing this? I am writing this to show a different perspective, not one laced with the privilege of being an “activist just because I care”. I am writing this to show that not all of us can walk away from conflict and confrontation. Not all of us can hide. It’s a privilege to be able to conceal. It’s a privilege to be able to hide. It’s a privilege to be able to say, “I’m not Palestinian”.

We want Palestinians to have the right to just simply live. And if that is grounds for expulsion, then be my guest, expel. Expel anyone for wanting help to come to the helpless, food to come for the hungry, homes to come for the homeless, and peace to come for the people.

I am Palestinian. I’m proud of it. I won’t attempt to hide, because why would I? If I hide, if I disappear, they win. They won’t win. I am the one of the only Palestinians at Bryn Mawr, and if that means that I have to work harder to show that we exist and we matter, then I will. I’m not scared because I’ve had to deal with this same baggage my whole life. But so has every other Palestinian in the world. I’ve had my family die due to the occupation; my grandmother is from Gaza, and her family died on October 27, 2023, in a church bombing. It would be ignorantly privileged of me to hide while living here in America. I’m not being actively murdered or bombed for living here. And neither are you. If the one of the only Palestinians can walk around with a target on their back at the same school as you and still write an essay to be published criticizing the leadership of the school that they attend, then why should you be scared? The fear, the hiding, the concealment: it’s letting them win. I believe that we all need to speak up, take off the masks, and show them who we really are. We cannot live in fear. We are people that oppose genocide. We’re not antisemites. We want Palestinians to have the right to just simply live. And if that is grounds for expulsion, then be my guest, expel. Expel anyone for wanting help to come to the helpless, food to come for the hungry, homes to come for the homeless, and peace to come for the people.

I am the one of the only Palestinians at Bryn Mawr College. If I can speak up for what’s right, so can you.