Following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, the Fence was painted with the flag of Israel in memory and in mourning of those killed. The relevant post on the Instagram page, @cmufence, reads, “We stand united with the people of Israel as we mourn these stolen lives and yearn for lasting peace.”
The Fence was then painted by the Korean Students Association, and then by a group of students seeking to highlight the Palestinian perspective of the conflict.
An assortment of individuals, unaffiliated with any single organization, painted the Fence to read “Free Palestine, 75 years of occupation.” Though the group included students from both the Muslim Students Association (MSA) and the Middle Eastern and North African Students Association (MENASA), neither group was strictly in charge. The group included non-Muslim students and a few Pitt students.
The Tartan spoke with an individual who helped paint the Fence, who said the initial design was “very carefully chosen” to serve as “a reminder that the conflict didn’t start on Oct. 7.” Once the siege was placed on Gaza, it was understood “that the death toll and destruction was about to increase rapidly.” Those painting the Fence did not want this fact to be lost or ignored.
During the painting, a drone was seen flying overhead, presumably to record the individuals taking part. And the following day, those guarding the Fence faced confrontation, much of which was not civil. Though many people came to them to ask questions and talk in good faith, they also faced a litany of verbal abuse from students and adults. One student recorded a video in which an unidentified adult man shouted “fuck you guys,” calling the students “baby murderers.”
The Fence was then handed off to the Chinese Student Association, which displayed a neutral message, followed by a message from the Graduate Student Association and the Student Senate simply reading “Compassion.”
As students came back from fall break, many involved in the first painting felt that the rising death toll in Gaza deserved attention. The second message, which read, “Stop the genocide,” was “meant to reflect the international recognition of what is happening in Gaza as genocide.” Historian and political scientist Ilan Pappe has argued that Israel’s actions in the Gaza strip meet the UN definition of a genocide.
This second painting was plagued with many of the same issues as the first. Plans had been made to transfer the Fence to another, non-affiliated group afterward. However, as members of this group guarded the Fence leading up to midnight, they faced repeated harassment and anti-Muslim hate speech from individuals believing them to be responsible for the existing message. The harassment was so severe that this group backed out, leaving the Fence open to be claimed by others.
The final message on the Fence once again read “Compassion,” with the phrase “End Antisemitism” on the reverse side. To quote again from @cmufence, the intent was to address that “antisemitism and other forms of hate have dramatically spiked both domestically and on campus.”
In the wake of violence and terrorism, we might feel drawn to take a strong political stance. Seeing the immense loss of life that has been taking place in Israel and Gaza, many of us may feel compelled to assert our opinions for what we believe is right. However, one of the most impactful things we all can do as individuals is to do exactly what the Fence has said twice — show compassion for our peers.
Since Oct. 7, antisemitism in the U.S. has risen. Synagogues and mosques across the country, fearful of a terrorist attack, have begun locking their doors while congregating. On our campus, Jewish students have reported feeling unsafe, as they see antisemitic sentiments rise among their peers.
The willingness to listen and have a good-faith conversation is extremely important, as many of us simply don’t have the resources or context to know everything about the issue. A student involved with the pro-Palestine message on the Fence claimed that after a while, one learned how to tell the difference between conversation and “hate disguised as a conversation.”
No student should feel unsafe on our campus. “I don’t want to have to worry about my safety,” the student who helped paint the Fence told The Tartan. “I also have homework to do.” Critical to fostering this safety is a mere willingness to listen and learn.
Every post on the CMU Fence instagram page is rife with hostile comments, many of which don’t even appear to be from Carnegie Mellon students. Many of the individuals who harassed students at the Fence appeared to not even be affiliated with the school, yet felt bold enough to make their vitriol public and personal.
“The Fence is an outlet for student emotions and a transparent display in the hearts of CMU students,” the student said. “However, it can only start conversations — not carry them. We need to work on building a culture where a message on the Fence is followed by constructive communication through other means.”
So go out and listen to what your peers are saying, and listen without the intent to respond or argue. Listen with the goal to internalize the perspectives and experiences of others.
Friday, Oct. 27 marked five years since a gunman killed 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue, less than a mile from our campus. The brutality of such an attack is only possible when you cease to see the humanity of others, and the tragedy at Tree of Life shows us that the hatred required to commit such an atrocity exists in our community. The rising antisemitic and islamophobic sentiments have shown that this hatred still exists, and our responsibility is to ensure that we do not bring this hatred into our campus through our thoughts, actions, or conversations.
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