2 weeks ago
An online fundraising campaign raised nearly Rs 2 crore for a fraternity whose members held up American flag amid pro-Palestine protest at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill campus.
Students at UCN-Chapel Hill surround and hold up the American flag amid pro-Palestine protests. (Screengrab)
New Delhi,UPDATED: May 2, 2024 18:30 IST
The pro-Palestine protests have taken the US campuses by storm, with the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill also witnessing demonstration against the war in Gaza. On Wednesday, the demonstrators tried to replace the American flag on the campus with a Palestine flag, but were stopped by a group of students, some affiliated with a college fraternity. An online fundraising has now managed to raise USD 228,000 (nearly Rs 2 crore) to throw a party for the fraternity.
The pro-Palestine agitators had taken down the US flag in the first attempt before the law enforcement officers returned the flag to its place. The demonstrators then tried to take down the US flag a second time, leading to a confrontation with counter-protesters. This is when some students, belonging to the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, stepped in.
The students surrounded and held up the American flag, even as bottles of water were thrown at them and they were screamed at by agitators, as per a report by the New York Post.
Brendan Rosenblum, a junior and Jewish student at UNC-Chapel Hill, had water bottles thrown at him as he stood in the middle of the quad by with an Israeli flag while protesters tried to replace an American flag with a Palestinian one. Classes today have just been cancelled. pic.twitter.com/hUkPTXtLxj — Bryan Anderson (@BryanRAnderson) April 30, 2024
The campus activism drew attention online, with a GoFundMe campaign launched for the fraternity.
The organisers of the online fundraising campaign heaped praise on the ‘platoon of American heroes’ and raised money to “throw this frat the party they deserve.”
A GoFundMe page set up for the Pi Kappa Phi students has raised more than $122,000 as of Wednesday afternoon for the students’ heroic stand this week at the UNC-Chapel Hill campus — “to throw this frat the party they deserve,” the fundraising site said.
The online campaign raised over USD 2,28,000 by Thursday.
The fraternity expressed gratitude for the fund raised and an update on the page read: “We are overwhelmed by you glorious, Patriotic Americans who value good beer and great times. We are in contact with multiple leaders from fraternities whose members helped defend the flag, including Alpha Epsilon Pi and others, in addition to Pi Kappa Psi.”
The pro-Palestine protests have swept US campuses, including Columbia University and City College in New York. The demonstrations have been met with arrests by the police and sanctions from the college administrations.
Published On:
May 2, 2024
