Editor’s note: This article originally made a misleading statement. MTSU for Palestine did not shut down because of Nguyen’s absence; rather, it was a miscommunication between co-founders and an advisor.
Some may consider it a risky time to start a college organization in support of Palestine — but MTSU students Rio Martinez and Alice Guo plan on doing exactly that this spring.
MTSU for Palestine’s resurrection comes amid the Trump administration doubling down on its plan to deport college students who “illegally protest” against the Israel-Hamas war.
On March 8, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian advocate who took part in protests at Columbia University. His arrest was a result of Executive Order 13899, signed on March 11, which enables the Department of Homeland Security to revoke and deport international students who are “pro-jihadist” or “Hamas sympathizers.”
“We want a space where people can learn more about what’s going on, because if you think of recent events like Khalil’s detainment, it’s becoming more and more scrutinized to be pro-Palestinian,” Martinez said. “And we just want to give people a space to reflect … and [learn] how [they] can help.”
MTSU for Palestine, which had been defunct since the fall of 2024 after the group’s co-founders were “ghosted” by a potential advisor.
“Without being official, it’s hard to do anything at all. Moreover, people were really busy, and ultimately, I was the only one left in the org,” Kaylee Nguyen, one of the club’s co-founders, said. “Without an advisor and without a team/community, there was nothing else I was able to do.”
That’s why MTSU for Palestine was not on Martinez’s mind when this semester started.
“I didn’t really think about the club that much since it had been inactive for a while, so I totally did not come into this semester planning to start it back up,” Martinez said. “I was interested to see if we could fundraise for Palestine, and then Alice [Guo] reminded me of the club. And I was like, ‘OK, I’d like to get that started up.’”
The timing is important to Guo. “Another failed ceasefire in Gaza tells us we need urgent action, Guo said. “So we remain committed to change, however we can contribute.”
Martinez and Guo plan to restart the student advocacy group by screening the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land” in the Student Union on Thursday. The showing comes three days after the film’s co-director, Hamdan Ballal, claimed Israeli settlers attacked him at his home in the West Bank and that he was beaten by the Israeli soldiers who detained him.
The Israel Defense Forces said Ballal’s claims that he was beaten were “entirely baseless.” The soldier who arrested him, Shem Tov Luski, also denied beating Ballal.
MTSU for Palestine is not an official student organization, but rather a wing of MTSU’s Young Democratic Socialists of America Chapter.
“It’s mainstream now,” Martinez said. “There’s more eyes on it, and that’s what made us want to grasp the opportunity.”
Palestinian liberation became commonplace in the Western zeitgeist since university students led protests across the country last fall. But not without resistance.
An Education Department letter listed the University of Tennessee, warning the Volunteers that they may face “potential enforcement actions” by not taking adequate steps to protect Jewish students under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
Members of the Trump administration have used antisemitism as a reason to punish specific colleges like Columbia University, which had over $400 million in federal grants canceled because of a probe headed by the Justice Department’s Task Force to combat antisemitism.
Some colleges, like Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, took action against students who took part in a sit-in at Kirkland Hall on campus. Martinez claimed this had a chilling effect on Palestine-related activism.
“We fear that MTSU might take example of [Vanderbilt] since they receive state funding,” Martinez said.
While both schools receive federal funding, Vanderbilt is considered a private university and is governed differently than MTSU. Still, the potential for more crackdowns is not lost on either leader.
“I’m much more concerned about suppression of our First Amendment rights, Guo said. “Since Trump’s executive orders sanction both educational institutions and student activism.”
Despite this fear, MTSU for Palestine has faced little to no pushback since announcing its return — even from politically different student organizations.
“Though our founder, Charlie Kirk, is fond of Israel, that’s not really an issue we focus on,” a spokesperson from TurningPoint USA wrote in a direct message on Instagram. “Some of our members are anti-Israel but not pro-Hamas. They’d rather put America first and not focus on Israel.”
That’s not to say the group won’t face any backlash, Martinez said. In fact, he was not sure how the MTSU administration felt about the group’s presence on campus.
“We’re totally disruptive,” Martinez said. “You know, campuses never like to have disruptive people. I wouldn’t say that they like us, but I also wouldn’t say they hate us.”
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