Members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), Palestine Solidarity SMTX (PSSMTX) and the local community gathered on The Square to protest for a ceasefire in Gaza on Sunday, March 23.
The protest was advertised as an emergency protest to “Stop the Genocide” to address the deportation case of Mahmoud Khalil and Israel resuming military action in Gaza after ceasefire negotiations broke down.
“Israel and the U.S. have decided to violate the ceasefire agreements with Palestine, and they’ve begun bombing civilian areas again,” Jack Thornton, an organizer with PSL, said. “Groups around town want to quickly rally and let the current administration know that the public does not stand by this decision.”
The protest attracted around 30 attendees, who protested the Trump Administration’s war in Gaza and demanded that San Marcos City Council pass a ceasefire resolution.
San Marcos Place 6 Councilmember Amanda Rodriguez spoke at the protest. She called for an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestine and said she would vote in favor of a ceasefire resolution.
“I feel like any oppressed person, any marginalized person’s liberation, our freedoms, our human rights, are inextricably linked to the liberation of Palestine,” Rodriguez said.
PSSMTX and the Palestine Solidarity Committee at Texas State began calling for a ceasefire resolution at council meetings at least a year a year ago. Since then, a resolution was never added to the council’s agenda for a vote. Rodriguez said she believes public pressure could help get it on the agenda and ultimately passed.
“We can’t do that, though, unless you come out and let them know that you will not stop coming until they do,” Rodriguez said. “The least we can do in this city is show people all around the world that we are not complicit.”
As well as protesting Israel’s actions, the protestors also called out the current administration, which is cracking down on “antisemitism.”
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 29 to crack down on what he called antisemitism. According to a Jan. 30 fact sheet, the executive order is being used to deport any non-citizens who participated in pro-Palestine protests.
“To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you,” Trump wrote in the fact sheet. “I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before.”
Under that order, Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student was arrested and detained in connection to his role in pro-Palestinian protests last May.
Thomas Alter, assistant professor of history at Texas State, attends pro-Palestinian protests both on and off campus. He spoke to The Star on his own behalf, not as a representative of Texas State or the history department.
Alter said the current administration is violating the First Amendment with their actions against protestors. He believes everyone should be out and speaking in favor of protesting.
“You have to use your rights or you’re going to lose them,” Alter said. “We’re out here protesting against a genocide and using our democratic rights and that’s what everyone should be doing.”
After the Trump Administration cut $400 million in federal funding to Columbia, the university suspended, expelled or revoked degrees of students who took part in protests.
Alter said he was worried that moves similar to the ones at Columbia, or the detainment of Khalil could happen at Texas State.
“We have to be prepared to stand up for the most vulnerable of our students,” Alter said. “If Texas State wants to be a world-class university, which I believe it is, that begins with defending our international students.”
On March 20, unknown individuals graffitied multiple buildings across campus with pro-Palestinian and anti-Trump messages. Texas State President Kelly Damphousse condemned the messages, calling them “hateful,” and a university spokesperson said the University Police Department is looking into the incident as a criminal matter.
“I would not expect a school administrator to accept graffiti on their campus, but the president of the university actually misattributed the statements that were spray painted on the wall as antisemitism, which is not what their messages were,” Scott Cove, an organizer with PSL said.
Organizers said they will be at the April 15 city council meeting, where they will once again demand that San Marcos City Council passes a resolution calling for a ceasefire.
