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Pro-Israel rally on UCLA campus shortly before the scirmish with Pro-Palestinian protestors on 4/29/2024. (Photo: by Michael Sawyer with permission)

Protestors Clash, Arrests Break Out On University Campuses in California

Only four campuses in the state have recorded large scale protests and encampments

By Evan Symon, April 29, 2024 1:09 pm

Pro-Palestinian and Pro-Israel protests continued at several university campuses across California during the weekend, culminating in numerous arrests at USC, with a major fight breaking out at UCLA.

Protests have been taking place at many university campuses nationwide for two weeks now. Tent encampments have formed at campuses from Columbia in New York to USC in Los Angeles. Pro-Palestinian protestors want Universities to divest from Israel, or redirect university funds away from programs in favor of or benefiting Israel into other areas. Protestors are hoping to influence federal policy on Israel over the number of civilians killed in Gaza since October.

Pro-Israel protestors, meanwhile, want universities to hold the line, as some Palestinian supporters have shown support for Hamas, a terrorist organization, or have used antisemitic language. Many are also reminding people that Hamas still has hostages, and that Hamas started the war with the October 7, 2023 attack and murder of 1,200 Israeli citizens.

Frustration over a lack of response by universities led to major protests and encampments to earlier this month. While these began at Columbia and Yale universities, they quickly spread. California, with historically protest-heavy universities like USC and UC Berkeley, soon had  major protests.

The protests grew both large and rowdy at many campuses. U.S. Senate Candidate Steve Garvey denounced the protestors as pro terrorist. At USC last week, protestors refused to move despite warnings from the LAPD, which led to 93 arrests. At Cal Poly Humboldt in Arcata, students occupied several buildings, leading to a campus closure for the rest of the school year. During the weekend, USC and UCLA also cancelled commencement ceremonies this year.

“We condemn the lawless behavior of the agitators and the current [protests have] nothing to do with free speech or freedom of inquiry,” said Cal Poly Humboldt in a statement over the weekend. “It is lawless behavior that has harmed the vast majority of our students whose education has been interrupted, damaged the reputation of our school, and drained resources from the accomplishment of our core educational purpose. As a result, we will be forced to pay millions to repair the facilities.”

Disruptions on campus

That isn’t to say that protests are everywhere. The majority of campuses in California have recorded no protests or encampments. Others have some protestors, but have only recorded a few. Even those with larger protests have not all been disruptive, with UC Berkeley recording a large number of protestors that have not gotten out of hand as of Monday.

“There are some students with strong opinions, but beyond that it has been quiet here,” said Cal Tech student David to the Globe on Monday. “You know, everyone has an opinion on the war, and that’s fine. But we all also want to graduate and work hard studying. We’re looking at Columbia and UCLA and just think that’s crazy. We value education. Many of our parents made sacrifices for us to be here. Many of us took out loans. Many of us are working to make ends meet. If there is a protests and the campus closes down, you know, it harms us and destroys those sacrifices.”

“It’s really just a handful of universities with big problems with protests,” Lisa, a student at CSU Northridge, told the Globe. “We care about the war, one way or another. But protesting isn’t a good way to go about it, and that’s why most colleges are just business as usual right now. We have classes. Education is our priority.”

Despite this, protests continued at Cal Poly Humboldt, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and USC on Sunday, culminating with a huge clash on the UCLA campus in LA. During the late morning, pro-Israel and Pro-Jewish protestors, led by the group Stand With Us, began peacefully protesting on campus. However, a large bloc of Pro-Palestinian students found out and met them on the lawn between Haines Hall and Kaplan Hall. While police and security held a barrier between the two groups, Palestinian protestors quickly slipped through, and both sides began physically clashsing. While no arrests were made, punches were thrown, with many of the students grabbing each other, including some pulling Palestinian scarfs off some of the protestors.

“This morning, a group of demonstrators breached a barrier that the university had established separating two groups of protestors on our campus, resulting in physical altercations,” said UCLA Vice Chancellor Mary Osako late on Sunday. “UCLA has a long history of being a place of peaceful protest, and we are heartbroken about the violence that broke out. We have since instituted additional security measures and increased the numbers of our safety team members on site. As an institution of higher education, we stand firmly for the idea that even when we disagree, we must still engage respectfully and recognize one another’s humanity. We are dismayed that certain individuals instead chose to jeopardize the physical safety of the community.”

Meanwhile, USC cleaned up damage and vandalism on campus on Sunday, including removing the graffiti from their Tommy Trojan statue.

Arrests, threats of suspension

Many of those observing the protest events of the past few weeks have said that they will likely die down after both graduation event dates and finals dates have passed by.

“As soon as there isn’t a reason for them to be on campus anymore, then universities will clear them out more forcefully,” researcher Sandy Crane, who studies college protest movements, told the Globe on Monday. “Vietnam protests always went out of campuses between the school years. But the thing with them is that Vietnam was large and overarching. These students with Israel, they narrowed themselves with divestments and ceasefire. Half the reason for them to protest on campus is gone as soon as spring classes end. They can join general protests after that, but those will not be nearly as passionate.”

“Or they can just fizzle out. The occupy protests in the early 2010s did just that. The ones that lasted to the Spring on campuses ended abruptly when the schools said to get off the campus or be arrested. The Palestinian protestors in this one, they are passionate and they are getting attention. But the universities are not listening to them. If anything does happen, it will likely be a token divestment. But that is a big if, because they also know that a bunch of donors would pull out if they did that and hurt their endowment. Schools that have these protests are likely going to string out out until the end of the Spring semester, then boot them. Columbia is threatening suspension right now if students don’t leave, so we may see more of that too, as well as arrests. Expulsion is not in the cards. At least not yet.”

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6 thoughts on “Protestors Clash, Arrests Break Out On University Campuses in California

  1. The average college student could probably care less about what’s happening in the Middle East? It’s the usual Occupy/BLM/Antifa paid agitators funded by Soros who are doing the protesting and most of the don’t attend any college or university. No doubt the criminal Democrat mafia that controls the state are pleased with their performances? Notice there’s not a peep about the protests from members of the Democrat Legislative Jewish Caucus?

  2. The protests won’t die down or fizzle out, as they are funded by outside forces who will pay to keep them going right through the election in November to achieve their political ends to sever American support for Israel and demonize Israeli actions. You must have read the stories about Soros affiliated organizations paying stipends to social justice warriors on college campuses, and a congressman has claimed CCP money is also involved, as well as ANTIFA. None of these people will “go home.” The clueless Biden administration will try to ignore it because they fear the political fallout of arrests, but it will only make it worse.

    Just wait until the Democrat convention in Chicago. It will be 1968 all over again. And Biden will face protests at every campaign appearance.

  3. America’s Radicalized Nonprofit Fifth Column

    A “Fifth Column” is a group of sympathizers or supporters of an enemy that engages in espionage, sabotage or radicalization within national borders. These organized groups promote illegal immigration, illegal drugs, illegal protests, political lawfare, climate hysteria, racial and political polarization; and they thrive as tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations or “NGO” (nongovernment organizations) that undermine America’s freedom, security and prosperity.

    Tax-exempt nonprofits include the institutions of foundations, churches, the arts, social/animal welfare, civic service clubs, sports, education, scientific, unions, financial retirement services and environmental causes. These institutions were afforded tax free operation by the U.S. Revenue Act of 1913 under IRS Code Section 501(c) in twenty-four subsection classifications. These organizations number over 1.2 million, pay no income taxes, and have various, but few, political lobbying restrictions.

    As extensions of government, nonprofits were to be trusted to operate in the public trust and public interest. The late political columnist and psychiatrist Dr. Charles Krauthammer has said, “American nonprofits are out of control quasi-governmental organizations.” Some taxpayer-subsidized “nonprofits” have become slush funds for political mischief, institutional fraud, and today, promote dangerous radical and subversive “social justice” movements.

    Trust the “Fifth Column” No More.

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