MEChA, CWU’s Chicanx student organization, has undoubtedly been one of the biggest supporters of the Palestinian people here on campus. In the past, they have held demonstrations and educational workshops, as well as having a link on their Linktree to resources for Palestine. Most recently, MEChA held a Week of Action from Feb. 20 to 23, including informational tabling in the SURC, a peaceful demonstration, a tabling on how to boycott and a candlelight vigil.
“We are doing this to show solidarity for the Palestinians and the lives that have been lost over this genocide,” Kiko Gomez, one of MEChA’s political action coordinators, said. “We want people to understand what’s happening, that we shouldn’t just be avoiding this like it’s some type of mini-event that’s just gonna pass over. This is still ongoing, and it’s very important for everyone to be aware.”
On Tuesday, Feb. 20, MEChA members tabled in the SURC from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., giving out informational pamphlets and pins in support of a ceasefire. Within these pamphlets, MEChA provided an overview of the conflict and its history, as well as information on the International Court of Justice’s Jan. 26 ruling, the asks and needs of the Palestinian people, companies to boycott and a call to action. The call to action asks students to email and call their representatives to call for a ceasefire, share and repost news about Palestine and continue to boycott businesses who are supporting Israel.
Wednesday, Feb. 21, a peaceful demonstration was held across campus, with students showing up to march around through and around campus in a show of solidarity with Palestine. Students carried signs and posters to show their support. Along with the march, several CWU students made speeches including Lashaya Dohty, Layla Taha, Kiko Gomez and Mariana Bravo.
Thursday, Feb. 22, MEChA members once again spent hours tabling in the SURC to spread information. This time, the focus was on another way students can get involved; targeted boycotting. According to the pamphlets handed out by MEChA, the goal of targeted boycotting is to call out specific large corporations that have been found to fund or support Israel and cause a decrease in the revenue and reputation of these companies. “The companies will feel the impact because we see that marginalized communities, especially minorities, have a very big hand in the economy any time that we take action, especially boycotting things,” Mariana Bravo, another MEChA political action coordinator, said. “We will not be contributing to companies that are going to contribute to something that is a humanitarian crisis, and we know that this is going to hit them where it hurts the most, their pockets.”
MEChA says that the newest boycott targets to focus on are Amazon and Google due to their continued financial support of Israel, McDonalds, Burger King and Papa Johns for their vocal support of Israel, and Chevron, which extracts a significant amount of their gas from lands claimed by Israeli apartheid, according to the MEChA Pamphlet.
On Feb. 23, the final day of MEChA’s Week of Action, they held a candlelight vigil on the walkway between Black Hall and the SURC. Students were encouraged to bring shoes to leave in honor of the lives that have been lost.
“These things branch across all different kinds of cultures and different things that we’ve all experienced as minorities,” Bravo said in regard to MEChA’s involvement on the issue. “We want to continue emphasizing that people should not have to fight for the right to exist.” More information about MEChA, as well as Palestinian history, donation links and real-time updates, can be found on MEChA’s Instagram page @cwudemecha.
