Complicity, Conspicuousness, and Change Protests for Palestine in St Andrews

Abstract

The genocide in Gaza continues, and the University of St Andrews administration has stayed silent. However, members of the student body have used their rights to protest week after week, calling for action from the University, the United Kingdom, and the rest of the world. This article examines student-led protests for Palestine in St Andrews and argues that the challenges and tensions that come with exposing oneself to the town and university can be simultaneously disheartening and motivating. Through mainly auto-ethnography, supplemented with participant observation and interviews, I unpack the ways people understand their roles and experiences in protests. Protests are a way to spread a message, and this piece hopes to spread a message as well.