STORRS, CT (WFSB) – Monday was the first day back for UConn students, but some chose not to attend their first day of classes.

They gathered on the South Campus to make their voices heard by university officials, demanding justice for the Palestinians and the 25 students who were arrested during the camp last semester.

Even some faculty members took part in the protests.

“Do our students have a right to free speech? Yes,” said a history professor at the university.

Last semester, the group said the rights of 24 students were violated when they were arrested at an on-campus camp.

A former student was also arrested.

Palestinian senior Mahmoud Salha is now speaking out for his fellow citizens.

“While she was rescuing her children, her house was hit by a rocket and she was killed under the rubble,” he said.

Salha says his cousin moved to Palestine to be closer to her family and raise her own children. Now that is no longer an option.

“They have to live without a mother and he has to live without a wife,” he continued.

Since the war began last October, 40,000 Palestinians have been killed.

A new semester brings new demands: UConn’s Divest Coalition is calling on the university to disclose and divest funds invested in the war, sever its ties to the arms industry and the settler-colonial state of Israeli companies, and end the repression of Palestine solidarity activists.

“No one should have to deal with this. It’s not right,” Salha said.

The group’s message is very clear and sprayed on a rock: “We are still here.”

The students say they will continue to use their voices to fight for the rights of the people of Palestine.

We have not yet received a statement from those responsible on campus.

There appear to be renewed protests at universities across the state.

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