Correction: a previous version of this article contained an image caption not meant to be published in its entirety. The caption has now been shortened for brevity.
Across the nation colleges have been swept with large student protests and encampments against their college’s funding of the weapons industry that directly funds Israel’s siege of Gaza.
Long Beach City College’s investment into the investment company BlackRock that funds the weapons industry, specifically companies such as Lockheed Martin, who supply fighter jets to Israel, and RTX Corp who send bombs and missiles, has drawn pushback.
Specifically, BlackRock has many investments with defense companies such as military contractor General Dynamics that builds tanks, jets, and other vehicles used in war.
LBCC has had their own protests but in comparison they have been small and insignificant compared to the crowds that other colleges amassed.
If students are going to convince the school to divest it needs to be with action not words of support and LBCC has seen little action, with only a few small protests that never led to anything significant.
The major protests have been at large universities such as UCLA and Columbia where students live on campus and are typically more engaged in school events contrary to LBCC where students tend to be less involved.
This does not mean community college’s have not made a difference and gotten their schools to divest.
This past week Pasadena Community College unanimously passed a resolution to stop any future investments into weapons or fossil fuels after around 300 students organized a demonstration on campus.
If even two percent of LBCC or 400 students protested against the college’s investments, it would be difficult for the board of trustees and the superintendent-president to dismiss.
With an enrollment in the 20,000’s LBCC has not even seen one percent of its student body demonstrate for the divest.
The solution is that more people need to show up to school protests and support divesting from BlackRock and any future investments into companies that fund weapons.
Young people proportionately support Palestine over the older generations and yet this has not been represented in the turnouts of pro-palestine protests held at the college.
This means that too many students are vocal supporters but not willing to take a small action other than just protesting like reposting LBCC palestine protest news and joining groups in support of divesting such as following the LBCC Divest page on Instagram.
If students are serious about supporting Palestine and divesting from BlackRock they need to show up and support events that protest the school’s investment in the weapons that murder innocents every day.