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Gaza protests roil universities from California to New York; tensions grow at Humboldt, Berkeley

Jenny Jarvie and Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times on

Published in News & Features

Protesters inside also held signs that urged supporters outside to resist law enforcement: “There are more of u than them” and “PUSH THEM OUT!”

Around 11 p.m., law enforcement officers left the front of Siemens Hall, according to Lost Coast Outpost.

Asked if students may face academic consequences for occupying the building and taking part in the protest, Yoo said: “If students are found in violation of student conduct policies, they may be subject to disciplinary action.”

Buildings were locked down Tuesday, and in-person classes were canceled. Students were advised to check in with their instructors or supervisors for instructions on remote classes.

According to Humboldt for Palestine, the protesters are demanding that Cal Poly Humboldt disclose all holdings and collaborations with Israel, cut all ties with Israeli universities, and drop all “charges and attacks” on student organizers as well as an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.

“Students are requesting support as follows: Bodies to join them in the occupation of Siemens hall,” Humboldt for Palestine said in a statement on Instagram. The activist group urged students and faculty to call on the university for a de-escalation: “Demand these students are allowed to express their first amendment rights!”

 

Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, universities such as Columbia, Stanford and Berkeley have faced intense pressure to restrict pro-Palestinian protests and encampments that accuse Israel of genocide and call for a cease-fire. Some Jewish students and faculty have complained protesters have blocked their movement and harassed them.

In February, Columbia implemented interim rules for demonstrations that included a requirement of two days’ notice, prohibition on protests in academic spaces and consequences for violations.

At Stanford, after activists set up a sprawling encampment on White Plaza for months, administrators enforced a camping ban February “out of concern for the health and safety of our students.”

Berkeley’s university president announced last month she was setting up a group to re-examine the university’s rules on protests after pro-Palestinian students blocked the middle section of Sather Gate, the entrance to Sproul Plaza, for months with yellow caution tape and banners.

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