U of A community members participate in walk-out in solidarity with Mahmoud Khalil

On March 12 at 11:30 a.m., Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) hosted a walk-out in support of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian student activist at Columbia University and permanent United States (U.S.) resident, who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on March 9. 

The walk-out took place on Main Quad at the University of Alberta North Campus, outside of the Central Academic Building (CAB). Approximately 40 U of A students, staff, and faculty members were in attendance. 

The walkout began with a speech from a student. They said that “Khalil’s abduction is not an isolated act, it is part of the broader efforts meant to criminalize all political projects.” 

“Khalil’s arrest is not just about one student. It is an attack on all of us. And how we respond will define us,” they said. 

Following the first speech, attendees chanted in support of Palestine. Afterwards, an organizer gave a land acknowledgement before another attendee gave a speech. 

The speaker made a comparison between Columbia University and the U of A, as both schools have had a police presence on their campuses recently — referring to the Edmonton Police Service’s (EPS) removal of the Palestine solidarity encampment in May 2024. 

“Given this, there’s no wonder that both of these universities still refuse to divest from Israel and the genocide. These are the links [we] see between here and Columbia, between students here and students like Khalil,” they said. 

“We’ve seen time and time again how our university does not make its students … feel safe,” speaker says 

The next speaker said that Columbia University “will do nothing to protect their students.” 

“The actions of this university on this campus have been no better. We’ve seen time and time again how our university does not make its students, especially its Palestinian students, feel safe,” they said. 

Following the third speaker, Alex, a faculty member at the U of A, made the next speech. They said that “Khalil’s arrest is a blatant violation, as others have already pointed out, of the right to freedom of expression and seeks to send a chilling message to those who dare challenge authority in the name of anti-imperial and anti-colonial resistance.” 

“Khalil asked his university leadership for protection, and they did not protect him. Like Khalil, they can come for you. And when they come, they will clock you on the head with a baton while saying they believe in Access, Community, and Belonging (ACB),” they said. 

Corey Snelgrove, another U of A faculty member, was the next speaker. The Palestinian solidarity movement “has functioned as an antidote to our collective apathy and stupidity. In doing so, they’ve also done a remarkable job mapping the ways in which we are alienated from social control and diagnosing the dangers of authoritarian backsliding,” he said. 

“Besides exerting pressure for Khalil’s release, perhaps we should also honour his fight by recommitting to the liberatory and anti-racist political project that moves through Palestine that he represents,” he said. 

“Our silence will not save us,” U of A faculty member says 

Dia, the final speaker, was also a faculty member at the U of A. “Our silence will not save us,” she said. 

“Our safety will come from the kind of learning space students tried to build in that encampment last spring, where we keep us safe,” she said. 

Following the walk-out, a member of SJP, Maksen, said that the purpose of the walk-out was “to stand in solidarity with [Khalil] and other campuses, not just in Canada but in the U.S. and around the world.” 

“We know that if this is something that is accepted in the political climate, someone like this being kidnapped with no legal recourse, we are well aware of the fact that it can happen in Canada,” he said. 

Maksen said that the goal of the walk-out was to raise awareness of Khalil’s case as well as the connections between the U of A and other universities, like Columbia. 

“We want to show people how Columbia University … is not that different from U of A and that these connections are important to understand in [terms of] why universities … repress pro-Palestinian voices,” he said. 

“We believe that here it is unto us to do all that we can to contribute, no matter how much it actually affects or does not affect the actual situation in Palestine,” he said.