Criminology and justice sophomore Sawyer Castle said she got the idea to table in the Danna Center to raise money for medical aid in Palestine after Israel increased its violence against Palestinians in October of 2023.
Castle and fellow Abolition Book Club members table in the Danna Center hallway on Tuesdays and Thursdays in an effort to raise money to send to the Palestine Red Crescent Society, a humanitarian organization providing health services to Palestinians in Palestine.
Castle said, “It’s been really enjoyable to see people care so much.”
Castle collects money via payment apps and direct donations to the Palestine Red Crescent Society.
According to Castle, donors receive a receipt when they donate directly to the Palestine Red Crescent Society verifying that the funds are in transit to the Bank of Palestine where the Palestine Red Crescent Society has an account.
The receipt ends with a message from the Palestine Red Crescent Society that reads: “Your contribution will save lives and assist those affected to be protected and provided with life support including health, shelter, and psychological services.”
Despite Castle’s positive feelings about the people who stop to talk with her and donate, she experienced trouble with maintaining and proving permission from the university to table in the Danna Center.
According to the assistant vice president for student life and ministry Dale O’Neill, HowlConnect experienced a glitch in the system in late February that impacted several campus events registered through them, including the medical aid for Palestine.
O’Neill said initially, Events Coordinator Raven Evans was alerted about a double booking of a table in the Danna Center hallway.
Evans checked for a double booking issue in HowlConnect/Ad Astra and found none, she said.
According to O’Neill, Evans talked in person with Castle on February 29 and asked for proof of her approval to table. O’Neill said Castle showed her approval and was allowed to continue tabling that day.
After discovering the glitch, O’Neill said that Evans talked in-person with Castle and confirmed that tabling was approved.
Castle said, “Three people from the administration came up to me and said, ‘You’re not allowed to be here.’ To which I said, ‘Yes, I am. Here’s my registration.’ And they said, ‘You’re gonna have to move out.’”
According to Castle, she felt this was more than just a system error, and she felt targeted because of the cause she was championing.
O’Neill did not respond to these claims and discussed only the system error.
According to Castle, when Evans approached her, she did not tell Castle that she could continue tabling for that day.
Castle said she had to go back to Student Life and Ministry and ask for her spot back.
Despite these setbacks, Castle remained optimistic.
“We’ve made about $3,000 so far,” Castle said. Her goal is to reach $5,000 by the end of the semester.
“I think it is important to not just be performative and actually contribute to something right. So I’m really excited to be seeing people do that,” she said.
