When DePaul students with a cause gather, their first act as student activists is fighting for the right to exist as a recognized group on campus. Before DePaul’s LGBTQ student group could work toward social gatherings or rallies, it first had to fight to even exist as an LGBTQ group at a Catholic institution.

“So even the ‘non-political’ activities had their roots in political struggles,” Matt Muchowski, DePaul alum and student activism researcher, said.

Muchowski has been researching DePaul students with causes since his years here from 2002 to 2006. It started as a credited independent study, but grew into a passion that kept Muchowski at the library well past class time.

“I would spend whole days without breaking for lunch,” Muchowski said. “I blasted past their limit on photocopies, and eventually had to buy a laptop so I could take notes on what I could not take out of the room.”

The library held the history of student activism from the 1910s Irish struggle for independence to 1960s Civil Rights to 1980s Anti-Apartheid. He even reached out to alumni involved in these movements.

“It was great to meet with some of the people I was reading about, many of whom were still active in progressive activism,” Muchowski said.

He found that all their causes stemmed from the very identity of the school.

“What is the role of a Catholic University in a Capitalist society?” Muchowski said.

Former student activist and alum, Ben Meyer, sought to answer this question by forming a committee to make sure DePaul’s investments were for the greater good.

“Through our conversations with DePaul administration we got them to set up a Fair Trade Committee,” Meyer said.

Meyer was not only a FTC member, but an active student organizer for nine years, starting as an undergrad in 2001 till he graduated from Law School in 2010. His resume extends from Students Against the War in Iraq, to the Coca-Cola Boycotts with Muchowski, to Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).

“I knew a lot of people, and a lot of people knew me,” Meyer said.

Meyer and Muchowski are currently working on their own causes, but still have ties to DePaul activism, forming new connections with the current hot button on campus, the Israel-Palestine conflict.

The focus is on DePaul investment funds, and the debate on whether or not to pull money from companies funding Israel has revved up the spirit of activism in even the most unlikely of students.

“I like science, that’s my thing. I’m not into politics,” Sarah Scheinman, Vice President of Students Supporting Israel at DePaul (Demon PAC), said.

Scheinman is a psychology major concentrating in neuroscience. Her passion for Demon PAC stems from a desire for DePaul to continue investing in Israel’s medical achievements and advancements.

“DePaul is evolving as health education goes, and really building up this science program, so there is potential to partner up with some of these organizations in Israel,” Scheinman said.

Leila Abdelrazaq, President of SJP, is an Arabic Studies major who wants DePaul to divest in order to end human rights abuses in Palestine.

“Our big goal is to get DePaul to pull its money out of these mutual funds that are invested in corporations that profit from Israeli human rights abuses,” Abelrazaq said.

DePaul’s chapter of SJP has been active for seven years now, but officially launched its Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign and petition March 31, the same day Demon PAC was first formed.

The main misconception about both groups is that each are pushing peace for only one state. Abdelrazaq and Scheiman denied that their organizations were pro- Palestine or pro-Israel, respectively.

The ultimate goal for both groups of course is peace, but just how to achieve “peace” is the main issue on the table.

Demon PAC is pushing a two-state solution that doesn’t involve DePaul or the U.S. in general from pulling funds from Israel.

SJP is pushing for divestment in order for Palestinians to move towards self-determination. The organization’s lens is fixed on human rights abuses.

This kind of misinformation is what Meyer warns students about before becoming active in a group.

“It’s important to educate yourself about the issue and find resources that solidify your stance,” Meyer said.

Muchowski hopes to create such a resource by compiling all his research into a book for students who want to know how DePaul and its community progressed to where it is today.

“Today I have 500 pages of notes, and well over 1,000 citations in what I’ve been calling ‘A People’s History of DePaul University’,” Muchowski said.

New history is being made as student activists across the U.S. are pushing their campus communities to make a decision about divestment. University of Michigan: Ann Arbor and Loyola University have already held a Student Government vote, with Loyola for and Michigan against.

Abdelrazaq said these actions are finally waking up college campuses to the abusive reality of this issue.

“When in the history of the United States have you seen entire college campuses talking about what’s happening in Palestine?” Abdelrazaq said. “That’s dangerous for any structure that wants to oppress Palestinians.”

Scheinman agrees that students should be well-versed in the Israel- Palestine conflict, but doesn’t see the campus talking about BDS as entirely beneficial. Demon PAC is pushing a petition that focuses on student leaders taking a stance on the divestment issue.

“We as leaders of the DePaul campus community identify this BDS campaign as a very divisive issue that is really hindering our campus community,” said Scheinman.

Scheinman said that Demon PAC can gain numbers in support of stopping divestment by approaching student leaders who will then address their members. Demon PAC itself only runs off the power of a small group of committed members, mainly Scheinman and Erickson, but Scheinman said she’s happy with her team.

“You don’t really need the numbers, just the commitment from those few individuals,” Scheinman said.

Both groups will be making their presence known around campus to gain enough signatures to turn into the Student Government Association before voting begins on May 19.

SGA requires a minimum of 1,000 signatures from currently enrolled students, all of which must be legible and correctly spelled with the corresponding student ID number in order to be valid. This strict count of supporters means SJP and Demon PAC want to achieve more than the minimum to safeguard against invalid signatures.

This above and beyond attitude is a focal point of student activism. No one can guess what the student population needs as accurately as the students themselves.

“The interests of DePaul’s Board of Trustees, made up of businessmen, are different from student’s interests on a range of issues – student debt, health care, jobs and solidarity with oppressed people the world over,” Muchowski said.

Muchowski said students will always have this attitude so long as there is a cause worth fighting for.

“As long as there is injustice, students will want to take action,” Muchowski said.