Students and faculty protest in response to the Wexner Center for the Arts canceling their “Director’s Dialogue”, which was set to include Palestinian artist Jumana Manna. Credit: Christian Harsa | Senior Reporter

At least 100 students and faculty gathered for a protest Wednesday afternoon after the Wexner Center for the Arts canceled its annual Nov. 14 Director’s Dialogue where Palestinian artist Jumana Manna was set to speak. 

The group marched from the Oval to the center chanting, “In Columbus let’s be clear, Manna’s art is welcome here” before entering an exhibit where her work is currently displayed. Jay Quetifan, a third-year in psychology and a speaker at the protest, criticized the center’s decision.

“Today I am standing here with you all to express that it is unethical, unjustified and a violation of human rights to censor and limit freedom of speech, especially in an educational institution,”  Quetifan said. “Seeking to limit freedom of thought and expression by restricting spoken words, printed matters, votes, art and other forms of expression is when First Amendment rights are threatened, this is called censorship, and it is dangerous.”

The Wexner Center stated it canceled the event due “to current world events” and it did “not feel this is the right time to have conversations about a region at war,” according to its website. The center will look to reconvene the panel at a future date. 

The center did not respond to a request for further comment by the time of publication. 

Students gather on the oval to protest the Wexner Center for the Arts’  canceling of their “Director’s Dialogue” due to “current world events”, where Palestinian artist Jumana Manna was set to speak. Credit: Christian Harsa| Senior Reporter

Pranav Jani, associate professor of English and Students for Justice in Palestine’s faculty adviser, said there is a need to emphasize the balance between protesting the Wexner Center for canceling the event while still hosting Manna’s art in the face of scrutiny. 

“We are in this complicated situation. We have to protest censorship and strengthen their ability to stand up against even further censorship and further silencing,” Jani said. “Slogans go one way and don’t sometimes have that nuance. What we are going to do is something complicated. We are going to protest the censorship and see the exhibit.” 

Quetifan expressed similar sentiment while speaking, connecting the protest to the war on the other side of the world.

“[Censoring] freedom of speech not only leads to injustice, it leads to a narrow worldview,” Quetifan said. “This sets up the perfect condition for oppressors.” 

According to the Wexner Center’s website, the annual Director’s Dialogue is meant to support the role contemporary art has in “sparking meaningful discussion of today’s issues: social justice, identity politics, race and police violence in America, climate change, health care, expressive freedom, and more.”

While the event was canceled and its page has since been taken down, Manna’s exhibit “Break, Take, Erase, Tally” is still on display through Dec. 30, according to the center’s website. 

On Oct. 7, Hamas, the militant group that governs the Gaza Strip, stormed into nearby Israeli towns on a major Jewish holiday, Simchat Torah. Their surprise attack killed hundreds of civilians.

Israel declared war the next day and launched airstrikes on Gaza, destroying entire neighborhoods and killing hundreds of Palestinian civilians in the days that followed. The war has become the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides, according to the Associated Press. 

At least 199 people were taken by Hamas into Gaza, according to the Associated Press. 

Three weeks have passed since the initial attack, and Israel is now carrying out a ground invasion in the Gaza Strip.

This is a continuation of a 75-year conflict with previous Israel-Hamas wars in 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2021. Hamas’ military leader said the most recent assault was in response to Israel’s 16-year blockade of Gaza, according to the Associated Press.