This past Sunday UC San Diego Police responded to a call reporting that unknown parties had vandalized the Groundwork Books Collective located in the Old Student Center. The unknown perpetrator(s) broke the glass window on the door of Groundwork’s location, and upon forced entry, knocked over books and shelves. The unknown suspect(s) attempted arson inside of the space, but upon failure, resorted to setting a bookcase outside the location on fire.
The Groundwork bookstore released a statement regarding the incident, which resulted in $500 worth of damage and was deemed by the collective to be a political attack on the store’s image and political character.
“This comes in the wake of a series of right-wing and white supremacist activities: banner drops by these organizations, attempted intimidation in critical gender studies and ethnic studies classes, constant flyering not only at UCSD but also at [San Diego State University], and threats of violence made against Revolution Books at UC Berkeley,” the statement said.
The bookstore is home to books regarding social justice for various undermined communities such as the LGBTQ, Black, Indigenous, and Latino communities. Its workers are calling on student leaders of UCSD to stand with the collective to resolve the issue at hand, which they believe to be is lack of support for an organization being targeted for its image as a collective advocating for the causes of such minority groups.
“By this violence they are trying to strike at the heart of the university itself, as a space for direct, open, political polemic and criticism,” the statement said. “They seek to undermine our confidence and demoralize us. But our resolve and commitment to our political motivations and the student body remains strong. They have not succeeded, and we will make sure they won’t succeed.”
In an email sent to students, UCSD Police mentioned that it has yet to apprehend any potential suspects and are currently investigating the incident.
The UCSD Guardian reached out to Groundworks regarding further information and has yet to receive a response.
