By Sebastian Castro and Kiera McDonald
Boston University Student Government responded to criticisms from Israeli students for their endorsement of Palestinian fundraisers, elected multiple chairs and discussed event plans on Monday night.
Student Body President Dhruv Kapadia, a senior in College of Arts and Sciences, and Vice President Navya Kotturu, a senior in CAS, presented an endorsement for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. The endorsement for the PCRF fundraiser was voted on and successfully passed.
“Ultimately, this is a situation that none of us have control over and is occurring thousands of miles away, but the least we can do is fundraise for those that truly are living in horrific conditions,” Kapadia said.
Yonatan Manor, a junior in the College of Communication and president of BU Students for Israel, addressed student government and said they should have supported fundraisers for Israel.
“I just wanted to point out the double standard that student government was essentially endorsing by promoting a fundraiser supporting Palestinian civilians and not also trying to endorse a fundraiser for Israeli civilians,” Manor said.
Alex Higgins, a senior in CAS, said there was a lack of student representation when Palestinian fundraisers were immediately endorsed and support for Israeli fundraisers were held off.
“I’m just upset that the first formal speech that comes out of this student body is one that is not taking into account all sides of students on this campus,” Higgins said. “From my point of view, it’s a student representation argument.”
Kapadia said there were no major organizations facilitating fundraisers for Palestine on campus and the endorsement was not “a slight against Jewish students.”
“It’s our responsibility, as student government, as student leaders, in collaboration with all the rest of the organizations that signed on, to address a pressing issue that is receiving no urgency from the BU community, which is fundraising for Palestinians affected in the Gaza Strip,” Kapadia said.
Faisal Ahmed, a senior in CAS, said the endorsement will not impact Israeli students and more people need to learn about the conflict without “initial empathies.”
“I totally disagree that a statement, endorsement or collaboration in support of the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund does anything to Israeli students on campus,” Ahmed said.
Manor helped introduce a new bill marking student government’s endorsement of an Israeli relief fundraiser on campus. It was voted on and passed.
The meeting began with words from Senior Associate Dean of Students Jason Campbell-Foster, Associate Dean of Students Nancy Martinsen, and Assistant Dean and Director and Student Government advisor John Battaglino.
“I encourage my staff … to listen, to hear, to be empathetic, to be engaged, to be transparent, and to build relationships,” Cambell-Foster said. “That’s really the key of our work.”
Kapadia delivered his presidential address acknowledging the engagement department’s annual cultural organization mixer, clothing drives and the social advocacy department’s survey regarding meal plan costs.
Kapadia also said the student government is advocating for “a statement of transparency” from the University that BU does not practice legacy admissions after the Supreme Court ended affirmative action.
“We hope that’s a signal to neighboring universities, and just universities across the world that a university like BU, as prestigious as we are, as large as we are, we don’t practice something like legacy,” Kapadia said.
This article was previously published under a different headline. It has since been updated to better reflect the article.
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