DeKALB – NIU student protesters held the first pro-Palestine rally of the semester Wednesday at MLK Commons.

Protests and marches were held throughout the spring 2024 semester in support of Palestine, with protesters marching to Altgeld Hall to deliver specific demands to Liz Wright, executive assistant of the President’s Office, and Carol Sumner, chief diversity officer and vice president for Academic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. five students gathered near the NIU letters statue at MLK Commons to rally in support of Palestine.During the rally, students were holding Palestinian flags and waving them around.

Nicholas McKay, a junior Japanese studies major and organizer of the rally, explained the purpose of hosting the rallies.

“We want the university to disclose their investments, and I want to see if they have any investments in Israel or any Israeli companies. So disclose and then divest. And then another thing, last year the university put out a statement in which they label ‘from the river to the sea’ as an anti-semitic slogan, which is false. And so I’d like them to apologize and put out a factual statement,” McKay said.

The rallies have been hosted to raise awareness about the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which began on Oct. 7.

Wednesday’s rally is considered a kickoff rally by McKay since it’s only the fifth week of the semester.

McKay said he hopes to plan weekly rallies from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Wednesday, in MLK Commons, weather permitting.