The students of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) are back at it. On Monday afternoon, a group of protesters tried to set up the pro-Palestinian camp again in the heart of the academic center. By the time it got dark, the police had once again repressed this effort to expose what was happening in Gaza. University authorities have reported the arrest of 25 people for allegedly having “voluntarily disrupted operations” within the university. They are prohibited from entering UCLA for the next two weeks.
It is the third time that the students try to set up the solidarity camp with Palestine. Judging by the number of students who were arrested last night, the movement within the university is beginning to lose steam. At the beginning of May, in contrast, more than 200 people were detained by the authorities after an ultimatum was ordered from the rectory to lift the camp installed outside Royce Hall, one of the emblematic sites of UCLA. It had been standing since April 28 and its presence had been mostly peaceful until an ultra-pro-Jewish group came to provoke the protesters and beat them at dawn. The next day, law enforcement came in to tear him down.
This Monday, the students dyed the water red in the Shapiro fountain and called for a protest around 2:00 p.m. in honor of the martyrs. “UCLA has blood on its hands,” some shouted. “We will not sit idly by while Rafah is under fire,” exclaimed other members of the student movement. Others read the names of Palestinians who have died in the Israeli offensive.
The police presence began to be reinforced minutes after the demonstration began. In a short time, the number of security agents far exceeded that of the students. They turned to social networks in search of reinforcements and thus be able to increase their numbers.
Police pressure caused the students to leave the fountain area and move to another university courtyard, where they began to set up tents. This was prevented by the agents, who surrounded the young people. Police say that during Monday’s events, some brick walkways, vehicles, part of the Shapiro fountain and electrical equipment owned by UCLA were damaged.
Videos from social networks show the moments of tension experienced in the evening. In one, a police officer dressed in riot gear can be seen forcefully snatching a megaphone used by one of the protesters. In other images The agents are seen charging against the barrier of students, protected with helmets and construction glasses.
Police began detaining protesters shortly after that. The scene was appreciated by a group of university students, who shouted “Let them go!” behind the crash line.
Graeme Blair, a professor who is part of the group of academics linked to the protest, assured Los Angeles Times that a student had to be taken to a hospital to be treated for injuries caused by a rubber bullet fired by the uniformed officers. Other university teachers have complained again about the actions of the UCLA authorities. They believe that they should not have issued orders to dissolve the protest and let it pass peacefully.
The University of California system’s leadership’s response to campus protests in Palestine solidarity has been widely criticized by faculty. Last week, several teachers joined strike days in repudiation of the repression of expressions that express a political point of view that is not welcomed by the authorities. The university declared the strike illegal. This, however, was supported by the United Auto Workers, the national union to which several teachers at the most important university in California belong.
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