For most US university students, this is exam week, marking the end of the academic year.
Yasmine, a second-year American student with Palestinian heritage, solely focuses on maintaining the Gaza solidarity camp at George Washington University in Washington, DC.
The 18-year-old girl believes she needs to make every effort to be heard due to her family's origins in Jenin, West Bank.
Yasmine is a member of the Students for Justice in Palestine group in the DMV area and attends Gallaudet University.
A week ago, in support of Gaza, students from eight different universities came together at George Washington University.
They are asking, along with several other students at US academic institutions, that their universities disinvest from businesses and institutions that have connections to Israel.
They are asking President Biden's administration to arrange a truce in the conflict, which has taken over 34,500 lives in Gaza since October 7, as per local health officials.
There were 1,200 fatalities in the strikes in towns in southern Israel.
She has been sleeping in one of the more than a dozen tents erected in the center of the campus of the institution.
A big Palestinian flag and a keffiyeh are draped around the monument of George Washington, the first US president, at the entryway.
Metal obstacles were stacked one on top of the other in the center of the camp, with a Palestinian flag in the center.
The city's citizens have contributed money to the student movement at George Washington University.
Snacks, water, and food were set out in many tents across the camp.
Compared to Tuesday night's events in New York City, when about 300 students and supporters were taken into custody at Columbia University and City College, the situation here was very different.
The two campuses were stormed by riot-clad police officers at the request of the university administration.
Omar claimed that after viewing pictures of kids in Gaza holding posters expressing gratitude to the US student protestors, he made the decision to join the camp.
He wept first, then packed food and equipment into his car and headed to the camp.
He has relatives in the West Bank city of Hebron, and he was raised in Northern Virginia. Furthermore, he said that at least a dozen of his relatives had perished in Gaza.
Arab-American students participating in the demonstrations, according to Will Youmans, an associate professor at George Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs, is a change from the past.
The previous generation hesitated to protest politics due to fear of suspicion and being labeled as radical, as well as concerns about police response.
However, a wide spectrum of students from various backgrounds have been supporting the Palestinian cause over the past 20 years.
The convergence of Palestinians and Arab Americans creates empowerment for Arab-American students.
Nevertheless, he claims to be one of the few George Washington University teachers who are Arab-American.
He said that despite an increasing number of Palestinian deaths, the university president's communication, issued a few days after October 7, only addressed Israeli losses.