Nearly 400 Penn State Students along with members of the State College Community marched onto the steps of Old Main on Saturday afternoon in protest of U.S. financial backing to Israel in the ongoing Israeli-Hamas War in Gaza. Last week, Congress passed, and President Biden signed a foreign aid bill aimed at supplying Israel with over 14 billion dollars of U.S. funding, a move that sparked demonstrations on campuses nationwide. Protestors at Penn State shouted “Down with imperialism at home and abroad” and demanded the school stop accepting funds from the United States Department of Defense. In the meantime, a Pro-Palestinian encampment has been set up at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Interim President J. Larry Jameson ordered the group to disband on Friday, but they didn’t. Officials say a statue in front of College Hall was also vandalized.
