{"id":1401379,"date":"2024-05-31T05:05:22","date_gmt":"2024-05-31T12:05:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pajaronian.com\/?p=1401379"},"modified":"2024-06-05T22:16:02","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T05:16:02","slug":"ucsc-police-dismantles-gaza-protest-campsite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pajaronian.com\/ucsc-police-dismantles-gaza-protest-campsite\/","title":{"rendered":"Police dismantle UCSC encampment, arrest dozens"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This story was updated May 31 at 6:00 p.m.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

UC Santa Cruz Police called upon law enforcement agencies from several jurisdictions from across the state early Friday morning to dismantle a pro-Palestine encampment and secure the entrance of campus, where roughly 100 students were protesting the Gaza-Israel war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of Friday afternoon, 80 protestors had been detained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police enforced a hard closure on High Street at Moore Street, not letting anyone pass, as well as at the university\u2019s other entrances. Santa Cruz Police, California Highway Patrol, San Francisco Police and the Santa Clara County Sheriff\u2019s Office were among the agencies that assisted UC Santa Cruz Police in the dispersals and arrests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Police from numerous agencies were on the UCSC campus Todd Guild\/The Pajaronian<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Students at the scene said that authorities began arriving en masse around 10:30 p.m. Thursday, after which the UCSC chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (UCSC SJP) made a call for support through its Instagram page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon, hundreds of students descended on and packed the area, arriving through a discreet pathway from Nobel Drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around midnight, police began dismantling the tents by smashing them to the ground, students said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey ripped through the camp and destroyed whatever tents and belongings they could find,\u201d said a media liaison from the encampment who called herself \u201cSavvy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are peaceful protestors, but still they feel the need to be in complete riot gear with guns and batons pointed at us,\u201d Savvy said. \u201cWe will hold here for as long as we can and show the police and the university that we are not backing down and there is nothing they can do to scare us away from this movement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police ordered students to disperse over a loudspeaker, telling them that their occupation of the parking lot was unauthorized and that they risked arrest by remaining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The students chanted that they were not afraid, and that they were not going to back down from the line of dozens of law enforcement officials in body armor, carrying police batons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dozens of students were arrested, according to a police officer who was not authorized to speak on the issue. As of Friday afternoon, 80 protestors had been detained. Three faculty members were alleged to have also been arrested, although their names could not be confirmed at this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Rebecca Gross, United Auto Workers (UAW) unit chair, one of those arrests involved a physical altercation, with the protestor being grabbed by the neck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A police officer in the<\/em> flattened tent city looks up at a protestor who had scaled the barn adjacent to the parking lot. Todd Guild\/The Pajaronian<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

University of California President Michael V. Drake released a statement Friday afternoon addressing the administration\u2019s reasoning for the crackdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor the past week, individuals including UC employees represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW) and others protesting the war in Israel and Gaza have intermittently blocked the only two campus entrances and exits at UC Santa Cruz. At various points, members of the campus community have been prevented from entering campus and significantly impeded from exiting it. This resulted in delayed access for emergency personnel and vehicles; childcare challenges for staff, faculty, and students; missed medical appointments; and difficulty accessing jobs, classes, and other educational, health care, and student support facilities and services on campus. In one especially disturbing case, on Tuesday an emergency medical vehicle was prevented from accessing a facility in which a toddler was in distress,\u201d Drake said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Savvy said that the law enforcement action came as no surprise, and will not dissuade the ongoing protest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are not going to be giving up, giving up our camp or giving in to police pressure,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely a great loss losing this community, but that doesn\u2019t mean that this fight is over.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The lines of police officers and protestors drew closer as the morning drew on. Todd Guild\/The Pajaronian<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

College campus protests in support of Gaza and Palestine have erupted nationwide, calling for a ceasefire and that universities divest from companies with ties to Israel. As Israel\u2019s response to the October 7 attack continues, the death toll has risen to over 36,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The Hamas attack left 1,200 dead and over 200 people were taken hostage, according to Israeli officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A student calling himself Two Triops said he has been coming out to support the campers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think there is an obvious need for a disclosure of where they are sending our money, and I think we need a public statement,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I think it\u2019s shameful to have our chancellor and our regents condemning us the students for standing up for something and not the atrocity itself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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