Early Monday morning, UC San Diego became the epicenter of a forceful altercation between police and pro-Palestinian protesters, leading to more than 30 arrests and the dismantling of an encampment that had stood for five days. As reported by Patch, the protest began last week and quickly escalated, prompting a police raid ordered after a university announcement cited safety and security hazards.
Following the takedown, protesters regrouped at the student union, denouncing the police action which saw officers from the university's police department, the California Highway Patrol, and the San Diego County Sheriff's Department engage in the early hours clearance. The encampment, part of a national wave of protests supporting Palestine and opposing Israel's actions in Gaza, was addressed by UCSD Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla with a call for peaceable dispersion the previous day, as documented by The San Diego Union-Tribune.
The clash not only led to numerous detainments but also wrought significant operational disruptions on campus. Non-essential staff were urged to switch to remote work, while the central campus trolley and Gilman Transit Center were shut down, and buses rerouted. UCSD advised students and staff to avoid the west campus area altogether, transitioning all classes online for the day, an indication of the protest's impact on the University's routine activities.
In the aftermath of the clash, David FitzGerald, a seasoned sociology professor at UCSD, was critical of the university's handling of the situation. "A cynical lie" was how he described Khosla's public statement the day prior to the crackdown, arguing that the intervention by "heavily armed police" was a violent reaction to students engaging in peaceful speech. FitzGerald, who told The San Diego Union-Tribune of the expectation set for students to become changemakers, questioned the university's response considering the global significance of what's unfolding in Gaza.
The UCSDivest coalition, spearheading the encampment, has been demanding the university cut ties with weapons manufacturers like General Atomics and Lockheed Martin and denounced dealings with the Israeli Ministry of Defense. As they voiced their concerns, Israel readied for a ground invasion in Rafah, advising around 100,000 Palestinians to evacuate, demonstrating the global implications at the heart of the student-led outcry.
