UCSF Students Stage Die-In To Honor Dead Palestinian Healthcare Workers

On Oct. 8, dozens of UCSF students wearing scrubs, white coats, lab coats and stethoscopes, laid motionless across the forecourt of the Parnassus campus Kalmanovitz Library for nearly one hour, holding tombstones with the names of slain healthcare workers.

The student-led “die-in” demonstration was held to honor Palestinian healthcare workers who were killed amidst the year-long Israel-Palestine conflict in Gaza, which some experts say constitutes as genocidal against Palestinians.

In a press release issued by organizers, an unnamed Palestinian UCSF global health student talked about the trauma of what they’ve witnessed. 

“For every day of one full year, I have had to watch a livestream of a genocide of my people, I have had to watch families that look like me, that speak my language, that live on the land that I was supposed to grow up on, burn alive on Instagram, and then watch my closest friends, my colleagues, my classmates, be completely silent, and that broke me.” 

The student urged others to “be messengers” about the suffering. “Do not leave your Palestinian friends alone to be the ones providing education and taking action for Palestine.”

The die-in was coordinated by Students for Justice in Palestine at UCSF and co-sponsored by 10 other student and community groups, including WhiteCoats4BlackLives, the Jewish Voice for Peace at UCSF, the Muslim Student Association at UCSF, and PrideMed at UCSF. 

It drew over 150 supporters, including students, staff, residents, faculty, and other healthcare workers, according to the press release, all demanding an immediate ceasefire, an end to U.S. aid in the Israel-Gaza conflict, and an acknowledgement of injustices from the UCSF leadership.

On Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas perpetrated the worst terrorist attack in Israel’s history, unleashing a year of conflict, with tragic consequences for the Palestinian people. Since then, 42,600 people, including nearly 16,765 children, have been killed in Palestine and at least 1,140 people have been killed in Israel. 

As the conflict enters its second year, Gaza faces a humanitarian crisis, including man-made starvation, lack of potable water, a rise in deadly infectious diseases, a polio epidemic, and lack of healthcare. 

“The humanitarian situation in Gaza is a moral stain on us all,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. 

The die-in organizers’ press release quoted an unnamed dental student criticizing UCSF’s refusal to condemn Israel’s actions.

“For the past year, we, healthcare workers and UCSF community members of conscience have been calling on this institution to condemn genocide and medical apartheid, to divest from the Zionist occupation, and to support medical aid to Gaza. Have they done any of these things yet? No!” said the student. 

Instead, UCSF has focused on curtailing demonstrations on its campus. KQED reported that of all Bay Area universities, UCSF was the “site of stiffest university opposition to student encampments” as it deployed police to remove tents on three occasions. That heavy-handed approach was a departure from other university administrators in the bay, who did not involve or even threaten police action as long as protests remained peaceful.

Over the past year, UCSF authorities have also revised policies to limit modes of expressive activities and canceled medical school lectures about the health impacts of war, genocide, and settler colonialism. 

In September, faculty from seven University of California campuses filed a joint unfair labor practice (ULP) charge against their employer with California’s Public Employment Relations Board. The charge mainly focused on the universities’ crackdowns on student-led Palestine solidarity protests and encampments where students, faculty, and staff members were present. At the same time, the UC Board of Regent’s Compliance and Audit Committee approved the allocation of drones, tear gas, and less-than-lethal weapons to UCPD. 

A medical student quoted in the die-in press release stated that protesters remain undaunted.

“We will not be silenced. We will continue to demand transparency from UCSF and the University of California system about their funding and investments. We will continue to pressure our institutions to divest from the companies that are arming and profiting off of genocide. We will continue to demand that our university stand up for the safety and rights of its Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and pro-Palestinian students, staff, and faculty. And we will continue to fight until Palestine is free.”