The push back is growing against the UC San Diego administration’s violent crackdown on the peaceful Palestine solidarity encampment on Monday, May 6.
65 people were arrested when UC police, Highway Patrol and County Deputies confronted students and supporters and tore down the tents, placing dozens in zipties.
UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla
Also, there are mounting calls for UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla to resign for his role in bringing in law enforcement
One of the more immediate sources of the push back are the student protesters at UC San Diego themselves, obviously, and they called for a walkout from classes at 12:05 p.m. today, Wednesday, which will be followed by a protest on Sungod Lawn, according to a social media post by Students for Justice in Palestine.
Yet, a lot of the negative reaction came from faculty and students who weren’t involved in the encampment or protests.
According to KPBS:
About 200 of UCSD’s 3,800 faculty members signed a statement saying they “were shocked and outraged by UCSD’s decision to send riot police to arrest protesters on May 6. The militarized response has only chilled free speech, escalated tensions, reduced safety on campus, and destroyed the trust needed for negotiations and shared governance.”
More than 450 graduate students signed a statement saying that “the decision to characterize the protest as non-peaceful and to deploy law enforcement to forcefully clear the encampment is an egregious violation of the principles of justice, equity, and freedom of expression that our institution claims to uphold.”
Professors in the UC San Diego Ethnic Studies Department put out a press release listing what faculty supporters wanted, which included Khosla’s immediate resignation. The professors claimed his actions placed hundreds of students in danger from law enforcement.
They also wanted amnesty for all students, faculty and staff associated with the encampment — both those currently detained and any who may be the subject of future investigation.
And there was a demand for all non-university police to be removed from campus immediately and permanently. …The San Diego Faculty Association asked that the suspensions be lifted and any potential pursuit of criminal charges be halted.
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This statement from Congresswoman Sara Jacobs is heartening:
“I’m deeply concerned that the response to peaceful protests at UCSD is to call in riot police. A militarized response further escalates the situation and doesn’t help keep students safe.”