OPINIONS
8
GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM
letter TO the editor EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Daniel Varitek
Dear Editor, Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) is a transnational, nonviolent movement established in 2005 by over 170 civil bodies in Palestine, after Israel’s incessant occupation of Palestinian land. Inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement, BDS is seen as the current and primary nonviolent method to pressure Israel to comply with international law and respect the right of Palestinians to return to their homes, from which they were forcibly expelled from, as stipulated in UN Resolution 194. Since its creation in 1947, Israel has ethnically cleansed indigenous Palestinian land and illegally settled in it, thus creating one of the largest refugee crises in modern history — the reason many of our Palestinian students are studying here today. Moreover, the Gaza Strip, an area of land roughly 140 square miles with over 2 million Palestinians blockaded by Israel, has been deemed as unlivable by 2020. Our Student Government Association has proverbially agreed to this treatment. Over winter break, various members of the SGA at GSU accepted funding from the Maccabee Task Force in order to attend a Hillel-sponsored “free trip”
to Israel. By accepting this funding, the SGA is dismissing several human rights violations committed by the apartheid state of Israel and is complying with the plight of Palestinians within the occupied territories, Palestinian refugees, and Palestinian students at GSU. Perhaps the SGA members accepted the funding believing that they would experience the Palestinian narrative, but why would a settlercolonial state expose its treacherous underbelly? It is pertinent that Georgia State support the BDS movement. Student activism on college campuses has historically been an influential and effective means of political and social change for many generations — challenging dominant narratives and shedding light on subaltern discourse. We can see this from the ‘60s and ‘70s with the Civil Rights Movement, especially in the context of Atlanta. The U.S. government fails to hold Israel accountable, and 26 states have enacted some form of legislation to criminalize the nonviolent boycott of Israel. The United States has a particular relationship with Israel, providing it with over $10 billion in military aid every year. The first step that Georgia State needs
to take toward the BDS movement and supporting the human rights of the Palestinian people is to divest from the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange program, also known as GILEE. The GILEE program is housed by GSU and directed by former GSU professor, Robert Friedmann. Aside from the fact that GILEE sends GSUPD to a country that is accused of countless international human rights violations, police are trained in military and “counter-terrorism” tactics, and use these tactics on GSU students and Atlanta community members. On Thursday, April 18th at 7:15pm, the SGA will be voting on an opinion resolution that would encourage GSU to divest from GILEE. GSU students have the opportunity to attend this university-wide meeting and speak in support of the resolution. By doing so, students would contribute to GSU taking a step in the right direction by pushing for an end to the university’s partnership with a state that is systematically enacting a genocide against its indigenous Palestinian population. Zainab Khan Senior, political science major
editor@georgiastatesignal.com executive editor (atlanta) Vacant executive editor (perimeter) Vacant
Editorial NEWS EDITOR Will Solomons
news@georgiastatesignal.com
ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR Ada Wood
news2@georgiastatesignal.com OPINIONS EDITOR Shari Celestine opinions@georgiastatesignal.com ASSOCIATE OPINIONS EDITOR Shari Celestine opinions2@georgiastatesignal.com ARTS & LIVING EDITOR Sydney Bloeme living@georgiastatesignal.com
ASSOCIATE ARTS & Living EDITOR Vacant living2@georgiastatesignal.com SPORTS EDITOR Jerell Rushin sports@georgiastatesignal.com ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR Joshua Fife sports2@georgiastatesignal.com COPY EDITOR Vacant copy@georgiastatesignal.com
Production PRODUCTION EDITOR Devin Phillips
productions@georgiastatesignal.com ASSOCIATE PRODUCTION EDITOR Vacant production2@georgiastatesignal.com
PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO EDITOR (ATLANTA) Unique Rodriguez photo@georgiastatesignal.com PHOTO EDITOR (PERIMETER) Vacant photo2@georgiastatesignal.com ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR Vacant
Digital DIGITAL EDITOR Vacant
digital@georgiastatesignal.com ASSOCIATE DIGITAL Editor Vacant digital2@georgiastatesignal.com VIDEO EDITOR Julian Pineda associate vIDEO EDITOR Jaye DePrince PODCAST EDITOR Caleb P. Smith
Marketing MARKETING MANAGER Taylor Dudley marketing@georgiastatesignal.com PROMOTIONS MANAGER Vacant promotions@georgiastatesignal.com RESEARCH ASSOCIATE Vacant
THE SIGNAL BUREAUS BUREAU CHIEF (CLARKSTON) Vacant BUREAU CHIEF (ALPHARETTA) Vacant BUREAU CHIEF (NEWTON) Vacant BUREAU CHIEF (DUNWOODY) Vacant BUREAU CHIEF (DECATUR) Vacant ADVERTISING ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Vacant
advertising@georgiastatesignal.com STUDENT MEDIA ADVISOR Bryce McNeil bmcneil1@gsu.edu BUSINESS COORDINATOR Wakesha Henley whenley@gsu.edu STUDENT MEDIA ADVISOR (PERIMETER) Zoana Price zprice@gsu.edu
MISSION STATEMENT
The Signal shall provide, in a fair and accurate manner, news of interest and significance to the Georgia State University community and serve as a forum for the expression of ideas of members of that community. Furthermore, The Signal shall provide an opportunity for students to pursue experience within a professional newspaper environment. The Signal shall also provide truthful and ethical advertising of interest to the Georgia State University community.
ADVERTISING
The deadline for all advertising is 5 p.m. on the Tuesday prior to the desired issue of publication. Ads must be print-ready and in PDF format; files must be delivered via e-mail at signaladvertisingco@ gmail.com. Please visit our website at www. georgiastatesignal.com/advertising for more information, including rates and payment methods.
COVERAGE REQUESTS
Requests for coverage and tips should be submitted to the Editor in Chief and/or the relevant section editor.
SUBMIT LETTER TO EDITOR
Letters must be submitted to the Opinions Editors via e-mail and must include the text of the letter in the body of the message. Letters should be 200-400 words maximum. The Signal will allow longer letters, but only in rare circumstances. Letters must include the full name(s) of the writer(s) and include their year and major. If the writer is a faculty member, they must include their title and department. Letters will be fact-checked prior to publication. The writer may be obligated to make changes to the letter for publication. Letters will be edited for grammar, clarity, length, factual accuracy and adherence to The Signal’s policy. The Signal reserves the right to modify and/ or reject letters at the discretion of the editorial staff.
DISCLAIMER
Opinions and Letters to the Editor expressed in The Signal are the opinions of the writers and readers. It does not reflect the opinions of The Signal.
OFFICE INFORMATION
The Signal Student Center West, Suite 250 P.O. Box 3968 Atlanta, GA 30303 Phone: 404-413-1620 Fax: 404-413-1622 Web: www.georgiastatesignal.com