Progressive activist Cornel West joined the rally at the encampment inside Schenley Park on Thursday. Those gathered were mostly students protesting what they say is genocide in Gaza. They are calling for the University of Pittsburgh to divest from investments involving Israel."We wanted to stop here and just be in solidarity with the brothers and sisters and siblings here at the University of Pittsburgh. University of Pittsburgh stands for truth and virtue, supposedly. Well, we'll see," West said.West said he was recently at the protests on other campuses."I was at Columbia a couple of days ago, and it was peaceful and the police came anyway. So, I mean, it's these brothers and sisters and siblings, they're peaceful, and I thank God they can send them a message that people can see their witness and still, at the same time, not have to engage in the kind of, ugly clashes that we've seen," West said.Allegheny County Councilwoman Bethany Hallam joined the rally as well."There is not one ounce of hate that I have seen come out of anyone here, except for maybe a hatred towards being ignored by the government, not being listened to and not feeling like your voice matters, and it really does," Hallam said. "I'm glad that they have a platform to be able to do that again. I've seen the videos of what's happening at other universities with, you know, riot gear, police escalating situations, making peaceful situations turn unsafe and turn violent. And I'm so glad we haven't seen that here, and I just hope it stays that way."West said, "The compassion for those who are suffering is so very important. And it's just good news when you see people standing up for truth and trying to do it in a courageous way."In a statement, the press secretary for Mayor Ed Gainey wrote: Protecting people’s civil rights, including the rights to free speech under the first amendment, is one of the most important things that we can do as a city. Everyone has the right to peacefully assemble and now more than ever we need to do what we can to preserve that right.The City will not tolerate any harassment or violence, and at this time there has been no reports of violence and no evidence of hate speech at the demonstration and sit in taking place at Schenley Plaza.We have met with residents with a wide range of opinions, and they are all telling us the same thing. They want to feel safe where they worship, they want their kids to feel safe in school, and they want to feel safe as they go about their day to day lives in our city. That is what we as a city are committed to doing.This means ensuring the safety of those who are engaging in protected first amendment activities, and Schenley Plaza is a place where first amendment activities can take place, and there is no permit needed by those who wish to exercise this fundamental right.