Pro-Palestinian protesters at UC Santa Cruz forcibly removed from encampment
Pro-Palestinian protesters who created an encampment and blocked entrances to University of California, Santa Cruz campus buildings for days were forcibly removed Friday morning and many were arrested, the university said.
Officers with the California Highway Patrol and other agencies began clearing the encampment, detaining protesters and making arrests sometime after midnight, according to UC Santa Cruz Assistant Vice Chancellor Scott Hernandez-Jason. About 80 protesters were arrested, the university said.
"For weeks, encampment participants were given repeated, clear direction to remove the encampment and cease blocking access to numerous campus resources and to the campus itself," Hernandez-Jason said in an emailed statement to CBS News Bay Area. "They were notified that their actions were unlawful and unsafe. And this morning they were also given multiple warnings by law enforcement to leave the area and disperse to avoid arrest. Unfortunately, many refused to follow this directive and many individuals are being arrested."
Most of the protesters had either left the area or been detained by about 9 a.m., although some remained on site after the main law enforcement activity was over.
The campus entrance at Bay Drive and High Street was still closed as of about 11:30 a.m. Friday but the West entrance was open.
In an email to the campus community, Chancellor Cynthia Larive said the protesters rebuffed her administration's efforts to end the encampment voluntarily and instead "sought conflict, actively escalating tensions within our campus community, harming those who are simply trying to learn, teach, and do their jobs in support of our educational mission."
Larive said that in one confrontation Tuesday, protesters stopped an emergency medical vehicle from entering a facility where a toddler was in distress. She also said that the protesters' demands are beyond her authority to grant, like divesting from companies affiliated with Israel, or don't align with the university's values, like ending relationships with organizations that support Jewish students.
"Most worryingly, they demanded that we curtail the foundational right of academic freedom by condemning the use of funding from select federal agencies," Larive said. "Functionally, the encampment wanted to prevent our researchers from pursuing research related to topics with which they disagree."
The protests began nearly a month ago on the UC Santa Cruz campus, with students demanding a cease-fire in the war in Gaza and the divestment by the university from Israeli institutions.
The UC Santa Cruz campus has also seen disruptions at the Physical Sciences Building, dining halls and classrooms, along with an encampment that moved from Quarry Plaza to the Barn Theater area.
In another message Thursday from several administrators, including Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Lori Kletzer, faculty and students were told that classes would again remain online Friday because of the protest. On Wednesday and Thursday, UC Santa Cruz classes were held online as they were last week because of the ongoing protest blocking the two main campus entrances.
"We fully recognize the fatigue and frustration many feel at the continued disruption by a small group of protesters to access, instruction, performances, and other essential and scheduled and long-planned campus activities," the statement reads in part.
The UCSC protest has coincided with dozens of such actions at college campuses around the state and nation, including at UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UCLA and San Francisco State.
On May 20, academic workers at UC Santa Cruz went on strike to protest the use of police to clear pro-Palestinian protesters from UC campuses as part of a systemwide protest against the university. Other strikes were held at UCLA and UC Davis, academic workers also planned to strike at UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego starting Monday, and at UC Irvine on Wednesday, according to union officials.
This will bring the total number of striking workers to roughly 31,500 throughout the UC system.
The union says it's striking over unfair labor practices related to, among other things, punishments handed down to students and workers involved in the protests.
"For the last month, UC has used and condoned violence against workers and students peacefully protesting on campus for peace and freedom in Palestine," said Local 4811 President Rafael Jaime. "Rather than put their energies into resolution, UC is attempting to halt the strike through legal procedures. They have not been successful, and this strike will roll on."
Bay City News contributed to this report.