Ethan Crane , Guest Columnist, Class of ‘22
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I believe that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

Even if you take issue with the word “genocide,” Israel is nonetheless committing mass atrocities. Israel has killed over 40,000 people in Gaza, about 16,500 of whom were children. Gaza’s civilian infrastructure is in shambles, almost a quarter of the population is facing catastrophic hunger and 90% of Gazans have been displaced at least once since the war began. Israel has destroyed schools and hospitals, and hasn’t even balked at killing journalists and aid workers. As if this wasn’t enough, Israel has blocked aid from coming in and people from coming out. The bottom line is this: In response to Hamas’s atrocious violence on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has collectively punished Gazans for months, making Israeli people less safe in the process. In fact, Israel has chosen to reject ceasefire proposals that would end the war and return their own citizens being held hostage.

Since April, the crisis in Gaza has sparked protests on college campuses throughout the U.S., including in San Antonio at UTSA. As a Trinity alumnus who once led the movement to divest Trinity from fossil fuels, I hoped to see the current generation of Trinity students follow suit. After all, what more reason could we possibly need to divest from weapons manufacturers in business with Israel? Instead, Trinity students seem to be waiting for someone else to take the lead, as the Board of Trustees expectedly invests in mass death and destruction (any diversified portfolio, unless demonstrated otherwise by a portfolio manager, almost certainly invests in U.S. weapons manufacturers). One could only imagine what the current crop of students would do if they were on campus during the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War.

Let this be a call to act: No one at Trinity has the right to blame others for inaction as long as they refuse to advocate for change themselves.