(Rightallegiance.com) – On Friday, police in riot gear surrounded protesters at the University of California, Santa Cruz, to dismantle an encampment blocking the campus’s main entrance. The pro-Palestinian demonstration led to the arrest of dozens, according to university officials.
Campus, local, and state police collaborated to disperse the protesters. Video footage showed officers instructing people to leave, removing signs, and dismantling barricades. Tensions escalated with some pushing and shoving between police and protesters. Officers used zip ties to detain several individuals.
Scott Hernandez-Jason, a university spokesperson, stated that protesters had been repeatedly warned to clear the encampment and unblock access to campus resources. Despite multiple warnings from law enforcement to disperse, many protesters refused and were subsequently arrested.
University spokesperson Abby Butler reported approximately 80 arrests. In a letter to the community, Chancellor Cynthia Larive mentioned that some demonstrators remained at the entrance, and the barricades had disrupted campus operations and threatened safety.
The university held classes remotely on Friday. Graduate student workers at UC Santa Cruz have been on strike since last week, protesting the university system’s treatment of pro-Palestinian demonstrators. The strike is set to expand to three more campuses next week.
The protests, which began on May 20 at UC Santa Cruz, have spread to UCLA and UC Davis, with additional strikes planned at UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, and UC Irvine. Union members, including graduate teaching assistants and researchers, accuse the UC president’s office of violating a no-strike clause and disrupting year-end activities.
Protest camps have emerged across the U.S. and Europe, with students demanding that their universities cease business with Israel or companies supporting its actions in Gaza. Organizers aim to amplify calls to end what they describe as a genocide against Palestinians.
The Associated Press has reported at least 84 incidents of arrests at campus protests since April 18, with over 3,117 people arrested at 63 colleges and universities. These figures are based on AP reports and statements from universities and law enforcement.
The confrontation at UC Santa Cruz follows similar incidents, including arrests at a Detroit campus and a student walkout during commencement at MIT. On Thursday, police dismantled a pro-Palestinian encampment at Wayne State University in Detroit, arresting at least 12 people. President Kimberly Andrews Espy cited health and safety concerns for the removal.
At MIT, an outdoor commencement ceremony proceeded without interruption on Friday, although a walkout disrupted another ceremony the previous day. Protesters wore keffiyehs, chanted “free, free Palestine,” and held signs in solidarity with Palestinians. Some attendees responded with hostility, calling the protesters “Hamas terror fans.”