What is Poppy Press?
Poppy Press is an independent, student-run community publication. At the heart of our mission is a commitment to centering voices from the front line of the movement for the liberation of Palestine – from Palestinians under occupation and in exile to the student resistance here at UCLA. We aim to provide news and content that disputes colonial narratives and is grounded in the lived experiences of our community and those in joint struggle for freedom around the world.
Who are we?
We are a collective of writers, artists, photographers and creatives who stand firmly with the demands of the Palestine Solidarity Encampment and are joining together to keep alive (in print) a part of the Liberated Zone.
Poppy Press is not the product of an organization, but is a living archive made by and for movement organisers, participants, and allies. We aim to break down concepts, facts, and events in ways that are clear and empowering.
Our editorial work stands in protest to the mainstream media’s stenography of state power and their complicity in manufacturing consent for the ongoing genocide in Palestine.
We refute the notion that facts should be packaged in ways that prioritize comfort, uphold the status quo, or bury contradiction. We wholly reject the false premise that quality news should be detached and impersonal.
our Principles
We stand categorically against the attempts to desensitize us to violence against Black and Brown communities on this occupied Tovaangar land just like we stand against it in occupied Palestine, in Sudan, Congo, Haiti and everywhere around the world. We commit to never normalize the utterly inhumane imperial machine or legitimize systems of oppression, especially closest to home at this settler colonial institution.
We oppose the University of California’s funding of the Zionist occupation of Palestine and the UC’s role in the US-Zionist genocide of Palestinians. We also know that divestment is not a fantasy; it is achievable. It has been done before, and the students are resolved to achieve it again. Poppy News seeks to support this movement.
We recognize the need for the movement and its participants to have a space that archives our universities’ descent into an increasingly repressive corporation, willing to go to any length in order to protect their assets. We acknowledge that the repression of the student movement is only a consequence of the broader agenda: conceal and justify the Zionist state’s crimes against humanity.
We denounce the ease with which mainstream media and the Daily Bruin conceal and justify this university’s violence. We see this collusion magnified on the global stage. For the past year, newsrooms have escalated their violent abetment of the united states’ genocidal hegemony. Not only have they condoned it, they have incited it.
It is when we look away that they win; it is with our silence that they escalate and deliberately presume our consent. We refuse to look away. We find strength in the valiant people of Palestine, who remain steadfast with unwavering resilience and resistance despite everything.
In narration lies power to shape the future of a story. Do not wait to be granted permission. None of us are free until Palestine is free.
Committed to Liberation, from the sea to the river.
Join us,
Poppy Press Team
Poppy Press 