On Thursday morning, the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles, reflected the aftermath of a defeated protest. The lawn was littered with trampled tents, sleeping bags, pizza boxes, blankets, and poles.
Just hours earlier, pro-Palestinian police officers in riot gear had occupied a distinctive section of the university for a week as protesters shouted chants and fired fire extinguishers. Demolished human encampments.
About 200 people were arrested and charged after standoffs with authorities, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Nicole Nishida said. He said most were charged with minor offenses such as unlawful assembly, and most had been released by mid-morning.
According to the university, about 300 protesters left voluntarily.
Law enforcement officers with cameras recorded the aftermath of the attack early Thursday, while other officers took photos in front of protest signs about Gaza.
Students and faculty grappled with days of turmoil that disrupted what was initially thought to be a tolerant campus.
Earlier this week, a violent overnight brawl between those at the encampment and dozens of counter-protesters ended only when Los Angeles authorities finally arrived. No arrests were made in this case.
“Given the delayed and inconsistent response, we need some level of transparency within the administration and within law enforcement,'' he said, although he was not an active protester, but briefly joined the camp on the 19th. said Jeremy Zwick, a third-year history major at UCLA. The scene will be observed on Wednesday night. “It was a frustrating strategy to witness and definitely caused a lot of confusion.”
But Zwick also believed there was some legitimacy to the police intervention early Thursday morning.
“From a public health perspective, there was feces and urine everywhere,” he says. He also said he was aware of the “obvious potential for violence”. But his biggest issue was with how protesters blocked public sidewalks.
The incident forced the cancellation of in-person classes and various events until Friday.
“I obviously support the right to assembly,” Zwick said. “But we paid for a semester's worth of tuition and still haven't received it for at least the past week. At the end of the day, this is not a place for activity. It's a space for students.”
By early afternoon, UCLA President Gene Block sent a lengthy email to the campus community stating that the university's approach to the camps supports both freedom of expression and community safety while minimizing disruption to society. He said that this was guided by the need to limit the learn.
“The events of the past few days, particularly Tuesday night's horrific attacks on students, faculty and staff, have challenged our efforts to uphold these principles,” Block said.
Administrators contacted protest leaders but were unable to reach an agreement to voluntarily disband the encampment, he said.
Block said that when violence erupted on Tuesday, campus leaders immediately directed the UCLA Police Chief to seek outside law enforcement assistance. He said the university was investigating “incidents of violence over the past few days” and was also looking into its security processes.
“This past week has been one of the most painful times our UCLA community has ever experienced,” he said. “It will tear apart our sense of community, unravel our bonds of trust, and will surely leave a scar on our campus.”
University officials initially avoided calling law enforcement, following University of California practice, unless “absolutely necessary to protect the physical safety of the campus.”
UCLA leaders abruptly changed their tune Tuesday afternoon, calling the camp an unlawful assembly.
Upon arrival on Wednesday night, authorities warned pro-Palestinian demonstrators to “leave the camp or you will be arrested.”
Around 3 a.m. Thursday, police broke through one of the barricades at the encampment and began tearing away plywood and other materials protesters were using to build a wall. A row of students took their places arm in arm.
Police again warned the protesters to disperse. They surrounded people who refused to leave, tied their wrists, took them away, and began arresting them.
Police officers set up tents and one of them removed a Palestinian flag and threw it aside. The officers were equipped with a variety of what police called “non-lethal” tools, including flashbang devices, which several officers used to fire at protesters at various points.
Bharat Venkat, a professor of human biology and sociology at UCLA who has expressed support for the pro-Palestinian protesters, was on campus when violence broke out between those at the encampment and counter-protesters. . They included fist fights, chemicals being sprayed into the air and people being kicked. Or get beaten with a stick.
The events of the past two days have been alarming, Venkat said, adding that some of his colleagues were arrested and released. He said teachers supporting the protesters were already discussing possible responses, including suspending their work and refusing to submit their grades to universities.
“There has to be some consequence to this,” he said. “You can’t commit brutality to faculty and students and think it’s okay.”
Report contributor: Emily Baumgartner, Sean Huebler and Jill Cowan.
