Assembly speaker commits to ‘defending student safety’ amid campus protests. Is there a plan?
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Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas says he’s “committed to defending student safety on campuses.” But he’s got no plan to do so.
“There is no place for violence in protests,” said Rivas, D-Hollister, in a statement Thursday. “We must protect our students from lawlessness while upholding their right to free speech. My colleagues in the Legislature and I are committed to defending student safety on campuses.”
Rivas issued the statement on Thursday, as protests continued on California campuses, and police moved in at UCLA and some other schools.
But he offered no plan to address the demonstrations or react to the police responses taking place at public universities throughout the state.
“As a next step, the Speaker and his Assembly colleagues expect a full accounting of what led to the unacceptable violence at UCLA this week,” said Nick Miller, a Rivas spokesman, in a statement after the story published. “There are serious questions, and Californians deserve answers. The Legislature plans to hold the UC accountable for protecting students.”
Rivas made the commitment after Republican legislative leaders suggested students involved in violence during campus protests should lose their state financial aid, and university administrations allowing the actions should also face financial penalties.
Rivas and Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, also had no reaction to those proposals.
In response to events at UCLA, Gov. Gavin Newsom said, “Those who engage in illegal behavior must be held accountable for their actions — including through criminal prosecution, suspension, or expulsion.”
Other Democrats have offered specific ideas for dealing with the unrest.
Assemblyman Rick Chavez Zbur, D-West Hollywood, whose district includes UCLA, on Thursday issued a statement saying the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights should investigate the university for civil rights violations related to the protests.
“I am alarmed and extraordinarily disappointed that the university allowed the situation to deteriorate with seemingly little regard for Jewish and Israeli-American students’ personal safety and their civil rights as enrolled students,” Zbur said in a statement.
Zbur also said UCLA did not protect students in the protest encampment.
Students have created encampments and occupied campus buildings in an attempt to push university leaders to stop investing in companies and organizations that support Israel and its military, calling attention to the tens of thousands of civilians killed in Gaza during the conflict.
Encampments and demonstrations have occurred nearby at Sacramento State and Cal Poly Humboldt, where police arrested dozens of people after students barricaded themselves inside two administration buildings.
In Southern California, an encampment at UCLA on Tuesday and early Wednesday became a site of violence between pro-Palestine demonstrators at the camp and pro-Israel counter-protesters. Police on Thursday arrested hundreds of people and dismantled the encampment.
