Students at Virginia Commonwealth University are once again demanding increased accountability, protection and engagement from university leadership regarding its ties to the war in Gaza and federal influence on its policies.

During a press conference outside the James Branch Cabell Library last week, members of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at VCU reiterated their calls for the university to disclose and divest any financial connections to companies linked to the Israeli government and the ongoing conflict.

“We will not stop demanding that the university live up to the values it claims to uphold,” said Palestinian student and SJP member Sereen Haddad, speaking alongside fellow students and members Kenza Zitouni and Cristina Sayegh.

The organization also called on university officials to establish VCU as a “sanctuary campus” to ensure the safety of marginalized students from law enforcement, to reject anti-Palestinian conditions for federal funding, and to ban military recruiters, corporations and partners from the college grounds.

The role of the student body, college staff and faculty in decision-making was also a key focus. They specifically expressed concern over the VCU Board of Visitors’ control over decisions related to the curriculum, faculty and the surrounding community.

“VCU has been avoiding us, not meeting with us,” Sayegh said. “By holding this press conference and listing our demands, we hope to make a stand and show where the people and the students and the community members of Richmond stand.”

The press conference was the latest gathering on VCU’s campus related to the war, following a ceasefire that ended weeks earlier but still saw ongoing death and violence.

It also was the latest anti-war gathering held by VCU students, whose protests have continued after a “liberation zone” on the library’s lawn last year ended with a crowd of students and residents dispersed by campus, city and state police with riot shields and tear gas. That event led to multiple arrests and charges that were later dismissed.

Since then, new VCU policies have imposed limits and requirements on gatherings, chalk drawings, face coverings, and other activities. Despite these restrictions, the press conference drew a sizable crowd, with about 40 students and others attending.

“All of these people who have all these different concerns are coming together to understand that our struggles are interconnected, they are not separate,” Haddad said. “And once we do understand, once we do figure out that we all need to be working together is ... when we truly will be able to persevere.”

When reached for a response to the demands, a VCU spokesperson said they “don’t have any comments regarding the students or their activity.”