Protesters slam San Diego State’s response to ‘Palestinian terrorists’ fliers

San Diego State University officials are assessing how to move forward after a protest late Wednesday that involved dozens of students surrounding President Elliot Hirshman and preventing him from leaving campus for about two hours.

The protest was in response to an email Hirshman and Vice President of Student Affairs Eric Rivera sent out the day before, addressing fliers on campus that identified certain students as supporters of terrorism. Critics said the administration response was inadequate. The protest eventually was diffused after Hirshman said he was sorry if he had inadvertently upset or hurt people.

University spokesman Greg Block said a staff meeting Thursday included a discussion about how the incident was handled. Hirshman also talked about having future meetings with student leaders, Block said.

Another protest is likely on campus next Thursday, when conservative activist David Horowitz is scheduled to appear as a guest of the San Diego State College Republicans. The website for the David Horowitz Freedom Center appeared at the bottom of the fliers, which surfaced two weeks ago.

The posters named seven students and claimed that they had “allied themselves with Palestinian terrorists to perpetrate” hatred against Jewish students on campus. Similar fliers have been posted at UC Santa Barbara, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz and UCLA.

Osama Alkhawaja, 22, was among the students named on the fliers at San Diego State.

“We wanted the president to come to our defense as students,” Alkhawaja said during the protest Wednesday.

In their statement, Hirshman and Rivera said that the university supported free speech, but it questioned whether naming students who were against a certain viewpoint could discourage them from taking part in political discussions.

“We raise these issues to strengthen our tradition of vibrant discourse about ideas and issues and encourage all members of our community to participate in these discussions,” the statement read in part.

Wednesday’s incident began with a silent protest during the swearing-in ceremony for new student government officers.

Hirshman left the ceremony with a campus police officer who escorted him to a police car that would carry him to his own vehicle.

Several students surrounded the police car once Hirshman was inside.

“My friends are not terrorists, and if their names are being posted around campus that’s an issue of security,” said Jeanette Corona, a 23-year-old student who participated in the protest. “No student should be demonized.... It’s [Hirshman’s] job to ensure the safety of all students on this campus.”

Corona was among the first who surrounded the police vehicle and prevented it from leaving.

“I stood in front of the car — people were standing on the side — and I told everyone, ‘Join me. Please don’t leave me alone,’” she said.

As Hirshman sat in the car, students chanted, “Hirshman, Hirshman, come on out. We have something to talk about.”

After nearly an hour, the president got out of the car and talked with some students. Members of the administration offered to set up a meeting between several students and Hirshman.

“We said, ‘Listen, there’s no way all these students are gonna leave just because you’re gonna meet with me. The only thing that will get these students to leave is a public admission that you’re sorry for the way that you’ve treated them,’” Alkhawaja said.

The students eventually got what many wanted.

“If we have done things inadvertently that have upset or hurt people, we are sorry for that,” Hirshman told students.

“It definitely feels like a victory,” Alkhawaja said.

Alkhawaja said she and the other students named in the posters were targeted for supporting the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement, which calls for divestment from Israel.

Jordan Dennison, chairman of the College Republicans, said some students are passionate about certain issues, but overall the campus atmosphere is cordial. “A member from the SSI (Students Supporting Israel) can walk past someone from SJP (Students for Justice in Palestine), and it’s not a big thing,” said Dennison, 21.

Jackie Tolley, director of the Jewish student group Hillel of San Diego, also described the campus atmosphere as peaceful.

“That’s not to say, however, that there aren’t times when tensions get to be very heated,” she said.

gary.warth@sduniontribune.com

david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com

lindsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com

Warth, Hernandez and Winkley write for the San Diego Union-Tribune.