A student protester with a banner reading ?Hind Hall? at a Harvard University building. Student protesters at several universities have unofficially renamed campus buildings in response to the war in Gaza. (Frank S. Zhou/The Harvard Crimson)
As protests have swept across university campuses calling on higher education institutions to break ties with Israel over the war in Gaza, one tactic that protesters used to raise awareness of the war?s devastating human cost has been renaming campus buildings.
When protesters occupied Hamilton Hall at Columbia University in April, they displayed a banner renaming the building ?Hind?s Hall,? which is also referenced in rapper Macklemore?s protest song of the same name. This name recognizes Hind Rajab, a Palestinian child whose story went viral after her killing in Gaza. Israel denied responsibility, but the death sparked international outcry after Palestinian paramedics released audio of a desperate phone call as gunfire erupted. Student protesters at Harvard University, the University of California at Berkeley, McGill University and the University of Melbourne also unofficially renamed campus buildings in response to the war in Gaza.

Yesterday morning, an inspiring wave of student activism swept through McGill as courageous students reclaimed over 30 buildings on campus. Each renamed edifice now stands as a powerful testament to the Palestinian villages erased in the shadow of settler colonialism. pic.twitter.com/y9Jy18vbcV
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