Muhammad said her father’s goal was to show those outside Ali’s and those driving down the street the other side of the story.

“It’s not about your religion. It’s not about what country you’re from. It’s not even about your ethnicity. Are you a human? Yes. Do you want to see a woman or a baby, a one day old baby, die? Do you support that? No. So you’re on Palestine’s side,” she said.

More than 200 people gathered at the protest on campus that Muhammad was on her way to. Like earlier in the day, the crowd was a mixture of Emory students and people with no affiliation to the university. Police presence was significantly heavier on campus, with a line of troopers standing in front of the Candler School of Theology building and later surrounding the quad as protesters stood in a circle in front of the half-built Commencement stage.

Stephanie Kohler, who came to campus to stand alongside students, said she doesn’t think they should have to speak up in isolation. Though the crowd was chanting and beating drums throughout the evening, Kohler said the protest was peaceful.

“I felt completely safe all afternoon and the only thing that’s made me uncomfortable is that there was a police perimeter over here and there was a helicopter going for a while. It just felt like there was this heavy handed intimidation,” Kohler said.

A smaller crowd gathered on the Kennesaw State University midday Thursday. The event sparked tensions but no police response.

“I’ve only been here a few minutes and someone already called me a Jihadist,” said Ali Dabdoub, a Palestinian KSU student studying software engineering. He arrived late to the demonstration because he was taking an exam.

Carrying a Palestinian flag and wearing a black and white keffiyeh, Dabdoub said he was impressed by the turnout, not just on KSU’s campus, but at colleges across the country.

“Falastin hurrah,” he said in Arabic, meaning, free Palestine.

“I believe the world is waking up,” he said. “I know it’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of time.”

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