Pro-Palestine demonstrations ramp up on San Diego college campuses
UPDATE: ‘Gaza Solidarity’ encampment at UC San Diego enters second day
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Pro-Palestine demonstrations ramped up on college campuses in San Diego on Wednesday, with an encampment forming on UC San Diego’s campus and University of San Diego students walking out of class for a memorial of those killed in Gaza.
Both demonstrations began around noon on Wednesday. The USD students’ memorial took place at the the Paseo De Colachis plaza and ended at 2 p.m., while the UCSD encampment formed along Library Walk outside Geisel Library.
According to a report from The USCD Guardian, the campus newspaper, a campus police presence gathered around the encampment about 20 minutes after the camp formed.
In an Instagram post at 5 p.m., student organizers said UCSD administration threatened an “imminent police response” to dismantle the encampment despite it appearing to have remained peaceful, according to a FOX 5/KUSI crew on the scene.
In a statement earlier in the day, UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla alluded to possible law enforcement action against the encampment, saying that the site is “in violation of campus policy.” He added that students could be met with sanctions, such as suspension or legal action.
However, Khosla also said the university “fully supports the right to peacefully protest and express views on campus.”
“We are encouraged that the protest activities on our campus have been peaceful to this point – and reiterate the importance of adhering to our campus Principles of Community,” he continued. “Our focus remains squarely on maintaining a safe campus environment free from discrimination and harassment and continuing the operation of our academic mission without disruption. We implore all campus community members to treat each other with dignity and respect.”
The protests came less than a day after hundreds of San Diego State students staged a walkout, calling on the university’s administration to cut financial ties with Israel and better support Palestinian members of the campus community.
All three build off of movements mounted by students at college campus across the country against the conflict in Gaza and U.S. involvement in the war. Protesters have specifically pressed for their schools to divest from Israel and condemn its ongoing military offensive, which they describe as an unfolding genocide.
In a post on Instagram, Students for Justice in Palestine at UC San Diego, who helped organized the encampment, echoed these demands, asking for the university administration to “Affirm Palestinians’ right to life and safety” and call for an immediate cease-fire in the war.
They also called on the university to “permanently sever” all institutional ties to Israel, both financial and academic. They specifically demand UCSD end “research partnerships with the Israeli Defense Ministry, U.S. [Department] of Defense, and private defense contractors.”
Specific demands have not been made by the organizers of the USD demonstration, instead describing Wednesday’s action as a way to “remember the dead and dying in Gaza.”
FOX 5/KUSI also reached out to USD administration for comment on the protest.
Pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses have become a flashpoint in the U.S. surrounding its involvement in the conflict, prompting crackdowns on the rallies by local law enforcement and university administration that have resulted in over 1,000 arrests nationwide.
The demonstrations began with an encampment that was set up on the lawn of Columbia University on April 17, harkening back to other consequential protests at the campus against segregation, the Vietnam War and South African apartheid. The action prompted student activists at other universities to create similar sites.
On Tuesday one such encampment at UC Los Angeles turned violent, when pro-Israel protestors attacked the students’ site with fireworks and what appeared to have been bear or pepper spray in an attempt to dismantle it.
The clash, which left numerous people injured, marked one of the greatest escalations to date in the the antiwar demonstrations, as the Los Angeles Times reported.
Other California universities where encampments have popped up include: UC Irvine, UC Berkeley, Stanford University, Sonoma State and University of Southern California.
However, opponents of these protests at universities, including many Jewish students and alumni, argue it has veered into displays of antisemitism, instilling what they describe as a sense of fear in members of the campus community supportive of Israel.
The movement comes as the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 34,000 people, the majority of whom the United Nations says are civilians, in the midst of a dire humanitarian crisis that is inching parts of the enclave near famine.
Since the fighting began, about 1,200 Israelis have died — the vast majority being civilians killed in the unprecedented raid by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 that led to the Israeli military incursion — and at least 100 hostages remain in Gaza.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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