The last time I reported on the University of California – San Diego, the institution had cancelled its famous Sun God Festival because security had to be redirected to its “Gaza Solidarity” camp.
It appears that the Sun God may have exacted some revenge.
UC San Diego issued an updated statement Monday afternoon following the dismantling of the “Gaza Solidarity” encampment on campus, saying one additional arrest has been made after an earlier statement from the university reported 64 arrests as of Monday morning.According to a statement from Chancellor Pradeep Khosla at 4:45 p.m., the encampment was cleared because it “violated campus policy and the law and grew to pose an unacceptable risk to the safety of the campus community.”According to an earlier statement around 10:45 a.m. Monday, UC San Diego Police reported 64 arrests during the event. The university said 40 of those were students while 24 were unaffiliated or their relationship to the university unknown at this time. Two minor injuries were reported.Specifically, Khosla said authorities found wooden stakes, propane tanks, metal and plywood shields, aerosol spray cans and a sword at the campsite, posing risks to health, fire safety and security.
The plywood shields and sword are an interesting addition to the campus experience. UCSD demonstrators clearly took protest LARPing toward a disturbing direction. I had hoped the protest around the Geisel Library was going to remain peaceful, but the evidence suggests that may not have been the end-game of some of the particpants
The administrators at UCSD were clearly unhappy with the antics at the camp. In fact, some students are facing interim suspension.
Leticia Guzman, UCSD student and Assistant Vice President of the Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion for A.S., received notification of her interim suspension on May 2. On May 5, her predecessor in the role, Cristian Fuentes Hernandez, received the same notification. The emails informed the students that the administration had received information that they were present at “the encampment that violates university policy.”The emails further stated, “The information described above, if true, provides cause to believe that your continued presence at UC San Diego is reasonably likely to lead to physical harm to any person or property, threats of violence, conduct that threatens the health or safety of any person, or other disruptive activity incompatible with the orderly operation of the campus.”As far as Guzman knows, herself and Fuentes Hernandez are the only students who’ve been notified of disciplinary action thus far. She said that she considers the decision to suspend students involved in A.S. as “strategic” and targeted.
I sure hope their suspensions were strategic, targeted, and effectively stopped the antisemitic antics and prevented potential violence at the university. That the students were advocates of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion confirms just how toxic those policies are to a healthy, productive, and rewarding college experience.
However, it turns out all the students arrested are facing suspension…so UCSD is really only targeting those who chose to ignore the warnings about illegal camping around the Geisel Library. And it must be noted that two dozen of those arrested were either not students, or their exact affiliation with the university is not known.
Of the arrestees, the school said 40 were students and 24 “were unaffiliated or their status is unknown at this time.”Officials noted the students that were arrested “have been or will be placed under immediate interim suspension.”The camp made up of pro-Palestine supporters has been on the campus for at least six days.
The clear process begin with a great deal of drama, but fortunately concluded quickly.
Shortly before 11 a.m., protesters had pushed sheriff’s deputies back against the Structural & Materials Engineering building. Deputies wore helmets and protective armor while holding batons.”Shame on you, put it away!” a protestor chanted. “We’re unarmed!” another shouted.At press conference later in the day, Imam Taha Hassane, Director Islamic Center of San Diego, said he was pepper sprayed. Video posted on Instagram by San Diego chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement shows deputies spraying pepper spray into the crowd of protesters.Shortly after 11 a.m., protesters encircled the doors of the UC San Diego Price Center food court, barricading them with some law enforcement inside.
Some video taken during the take-down of the encampment:
The comments on posts decrying the action today have not gone the way their posters intended.
The students who participated today may end up with no useful degree and lots of regrets.
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