Dartmouth community members are mobilizing to bring Omar Rashid ’29, an incoming student from Gaza, to campus “as soon as possible,” according to a Change.org petition titled “Bring Omar to Dartmouth.” The petition was launched on Dec. 25, 2024 by three incoming members of the Class of 2029 — Rima Alsheikh ’29, Lila Li ’29 and Trace Ribble ’29 — and has amassed more than 33,400 signatures.
Rashid has been trapped in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war and, since his acceptance to the College on Dec. 13, 2024, has been uncertain that he will be able to join the Class of 2029, he said in an interview with The Dartmouth on Jan. 9. On Wednesday — after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire and hostage deal — Rashid posted to his Instagram story that “we can celebrate when we make it alive to Sunday.” The ceasefire agreement, which will last for six weeks and allow some trucks to carry humanitarian relief into Gaza, will be implemented on Sunday, according to The New York Times.
According to the U.S. State Department, pedestrian crossings from Gaza to Israel and Egypt have been closed since October 2023 and May 2024, respectively. Under the ceasefire deal, Israel is “meant to gradually withdraw its troops eastward,” according to the New York Times.
The “main obstacle” for movement out of Gaza will be “restrictions on egress from Gaza into Israel,” Dickey Center for International Understanding visiting fellow Steven Simon wrote in an email statement to The Dartmouth.
“It is possible Omar might be able to exit into Egypt and travel by road to Cairo and leave for the U.S. from there,” Simon — a Middle East studies professor at the University of Washington — wrote. “But that too is an uncertain route given Egyptian restrictions on movement of refugees from Gaza.”
“At the very least,” the ceasefire will give Rashid “more opportunities to look at more paths” to get in touch with the U.S. embassy, according to Li.
In an email statement to The Dartmouth on Jan. 15, College spokesperson Jana Barnello wrote that it is “inspiring” to see “the Class of 2029 looking out for one another” and that Dartmouth has been “in touch” with Rashid about his immigration process.
“His case will be a priority for the Office of Visa and Immigration Services,” Barnello wrote. “Dartmouth is committed to supporting all international students throughout the visa process, particularly those facing similar challenges.”
Rashid said he has been displaced more than 10 times since the war started in 2023 and lost his best friend in the conflict. He added that he had to travel to the Egyptian-Palestinian border to access an Egyptian eSIM in order to work on his college applications. The opportunity to study at Dartmouth was a “dream,” he said.
“And now that it’s so close, just steps away, I’m still fighting to find a way out,” Rashid said. “The closure of the borders means that no Gazans, no students, no cancer patients, no people with severe injuries, with sickness, no one can leave.”
By U.S. immigration law, students on an F-1 visa can only enter the United States up to 30 days before the starting date of their program, which is typically the starting date of freshman orientation. This would mean that Rashid, who described his situation as “always minutes away from death,” would not be able to enter the United States until August. In a guest column published in The Dartmouth on Jan. 9, Alsheikh, Li and Ribble called for the College to file an expedited visa processing request and work with embassy officials to allow Rashid to enter the United States earlier than currently allowed on humanitarian grounds.
According to Simon, it is “unlikely the U.S. government can do much to assist at this point” given Rashid is not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
“The key factor will be Israeli cooperation since they control entry and exit from Gaza,” Simon wrote.
According to Li, bringing Rashid to Dartmouth should not be “procrastinated until August.” She added that getting Rashid out of Gaza is only “the first step” before addressing the task of “keeping him here” through funding and housing.
“Even though [the petition] is framed around getting him to come to school for fall semester, we should treat it as a more urgent issue,” Li said.
Although the petition writers have not “heard anything specific” from the College about any additional efforts beyond the “typical international student visa procedure,” their main goal is to “get [Rashid’s] story out there and have as many eyes as possible,” Ribble said.
“We want to bring in the Dartmouth community and other supporters to push the College to essentially advocate for Omar because there’s a lot of technical aspects for getting a student visa,” Ribble said.
Sukhmani Nijjar ’29, an incoming student who supported the petition, said she believes “the general consensus” is that “everyone’s just on Omar’s side” and “really [wants] him to be on campus.” She added that she thinks “now is truly the time” for the College to listen to the public support for Omar and do “what they have the power to do.”
“Right now, it’s kind of disappointing, but I think I’m going to remain hopeful — hopeful for Omar and hopeful for the future of [the College’s] responses,” Nijjar said.
Noah Herrera ’29, another incoming student who supported the petition, said the petition is “the best way” to advocate for Omar and “help another one of our family members.”
“The fact that the amount of signatures on it is almost six times the student body at Dartmouth just proves that it’s truly getting to places where people who had no idea who Omar was just two months ago seem to be very concerned for someone who we feel deserves to be in a place where their education should proceed,” Hererra said.
Daniel Seog ’29, another incoming student in support of the petition, said Omar’s case made him realize how important it is to “make sure that higher education is accessible.”
“I wish I was more knowledgeable about more nuances about what is happening,” Seog said. “But … I don’t think it takes that much to know that this is something very important, something that should raise alarms.”
He added that the support for Rashid reminded him of “how amazing our community is.”
“We’re not even on campus, and we’re already trying to work on something big together,” Seog said. “… I think that’s something really special.”
