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Several Syracuse University students and alums gathered on the Shaw Quadrangle Monday to protest the ongoing government crackdown in Iran.

The protest, organized by the Iranian Student Association, denounced the Iranian government’s actions against protesters, criticizing the country’s economic conditions and further anti-government messaging.

Monday’s SU protesters, many declining to give their last names for fear of retaliation from the Iranian government, formed a semicircle around an incomplete list containing 1,500 names of people killed by the Islamic Republic on Jan. 8 and 9.

“We are here to be their voices,” said Meti, a third-year Ph.D. student who helped organize the protest with the ISA. “For two weeks, their internet shut down, so they didn’t have any voices to come out.”

Meti said many Iranian protesters are still in prison, and in danger of getting the death penalty despite having no trial. She said her reason for protesting is to demand they be freed.

SU alum Sina Dinparvar, who graduated in 2020 and lives in the city, said he had mixed feelings about being back on campus, with his positive campus memories being overshadowed by the “current situation” in Iran.

“I think many Iranians here at least know someone who, unfortunately, got killed or arrested,” Dinparvar said.“My own aunt has been arrested.”

Students chanted “Democracy for Iran” and held signs, one of which read “My favorite season is the fall of the Islamic Republic.”

Zoe Xixis | Asst. Photo Editor

Protesters hold a poster displaying the faces children killed Jan. 8 and 9 by the Islamic Republic.

One demonstrator and SU graduate student, Susan, also held a poster displaying the faces of over 80 children who were killed by direct gunfire in just two days. Many protesters also carried or wore the former Iranian flag featuring a lion and sun, which predates the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

“This flag, the lion and sun flag, has been our flag for centuries, or thousands of years, at least,” Dinparvar said. “We are trying to unite under this flag to show our opposition to the Islamic regime.”

Protests in Iran originally began in late December. In response, the Iranian government shut down internet access for over 20 days and deployed military weapons against civilians, sparking global protests.

Jasmine, a Ph.D. student studying physics at SU, said she is protesting to turn her anger about what’s happening in Iran into constructive action. She said her friend, a medical student in Iran, witnessed the aftermath of the government retaliation against protests firsthand.

“The night that they brought people inside the hospital, the injured people, the color of the floor was red because of all the blood,” Jasmine said. “They kill innocent people in the street, and if they survive and they go to hospital, they finish them off in the hospital with a bullet in their head.”

Zoe Xixis | Asst. Photo Editor

Protesters asked for support from the Syracuse community as they surrounded a list of 1,500 of people killed Jan. 8 and 9 by the Islamic Republic.

Ghonche, an SU student pursuing a doctorate in finance, said the scale of the casualties is hard to comprehend. She compared the vast number of deaths to SU’s JMA Wireless Dome at max capacity, which holds over 40,000 people.

“It’s like you fill the dome with all those people, and then you murder all of them. It’s so horrible, it’s so terrifying,” Ghonche said.

The students emphasized their opposition to actions of the sitting Iranian government, distinguishing it from the religion of Islam.

“People don’t want to contribute because they think this is something related to religion, but it’s not that,” Jasmine said. “It’s about human rights.”

Sina Jarahizadeh, another SU Ph.D. student, called on other countries to support protesters and take action against the regime.

“We’re here to ask other countries, like the U.S., Israel, Saudi Arabia and all other countries to take military action against the regime, because they’re all supporting terrorism over the world,” Jarahizadeh said. “And supporting them by funding them, providing them guns and everything that they need.”

With similar demonstrations occurring in major cities including Los Angeles, Toronto and Vancouver, and tens of thousands of Iranians taking to the streets, the SU students asked their fellow community members to spread awareness and stand in solidarity.

“We know we don’t have a big society in Syracuse, but we just wanted to show other students that don’t have any idea what’s going on, to alert them and be the voice of Iranians in this country,” Jasmine said.

The students asked for understanding from SU faculty as they cope with ongoing violence in Iran. Jarahizadeh explained many Iranians weren’t able to talk to their family for weeks during a 300-hour internet blackout.

Protesters urged the broader Syracuse community to educate themselves about Iran’s history and the current situation, and encouraged others to stay informed.

“Just keep spreading the word,” Ghonche said. “Support your Iranian friend. Spread the word and try to be on the correct side of history.”

Published on February 3, 2026 at 12:55 am