Sac State allows pro-Palestinian demonstrators to remain on campus as long as they remain peaceful

SACRAMENTO — A pro-Palestinian camp set up on the Sacramento State University campus initially had to leave by midnight Wednesday but can stay for now after receiving an extension on Tuesday hours before that original deadline.

Sac State said that the demonstrators will be allowed to remain on campus until midnight on May 8 and as long as they remain peaceful. During this time, the campus will remain open and classes will be in session.

Tuesday night will mark the second when dozens will sleep outside in an area near the library on campus. A demonstrator told CBS13 they plan to be there until their demands are met.

Those demands echo similar calls from other college campus protesters that urge universities to divest from Israel in the wake of the war in Gaza.

Some of those other schools are in the California State University system. At Cal Poly Humboldt, dozens of people were arrested Tuesday and the protest that had been occurring since last week came to an end.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators there were occupying two campus buildings and prompted the university to put a hard closure of the campus in place and transition to remote learning.

At Sonoma State, demonstrators over the weekend had pitched dozens of tents.

Out east in New York, dozens more protesters were arrested at Columbia University on Tuesday after demonstrators forced their way into a campus building and locked themselves inside.

Back at Sacramento State, one student worried about what could happen next.

"[I'm] worried that the encampment here would similarly devolve into hate crimes, violence, antisemitism," Ilai Sirak said.

On Monday night, participants in the camp notified university police of non-encampment students vandalizing the property, Sac State said. Those three students were cited and released.

We approached the university with questions about whether students or non-students participating in the protest could face consequences if they continue participating whenever the extension ends, and the president's general stance on the demonstration. Sac State has not yet responded to our questions.