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Law enforcement dismantles encampment and arrests protesters on Library Walk, students and community members demand release of arrestees

Students and faculty call on Chancellor Khosla to resign

Monday, May 6

11:40 a.m.

UAW 4811 announced at 11:05 a.m. that they will hold a strike authorization vote on May 13-15 over the UC’s actions toward peaceful protestors. In their written explanation, the union specifically cited this morning’s events at UCSD and UCLA.

11:24 a.m.

An organizer calling for mobilization claimed that arrestees will remain at the jails for 8-12 hours.

11:16 a.m.

Organizers have announced that police have maced a protest leader.

11:15 a.m.

SJP at UCSD announced that they will post details of the intended jail mobilization on their Instagram account. 

11:14 a.m.

A speaker is mobilizing protestors to go to the jails that people are being held at — for men, the Central County Jail, and for women, Los Colinas.

11:12 a.m.

A reporter for The Guardian heard an officer cock his gun.

Student protestors have barricaded the doors to Price Center West with chairs and gates so the police are unable to get out.

11:10 a.m.

A group of protestors from the Tapioca Express crowd have looped back past the Matthews Loop entrance to Starbucks. 

11:08 a.m.

Protestors with fences are pressing closer and banging against the exterior of Price Center. Police are armed with rubber bullet guns and battering sticks.

11:04 a.m.

Armed police forces are entering Price Center West, near Tapioca Express, and blockading the stairs. Police are yelling at protestors to “get off the stairs.” 

11:02 a.m.

Protestors are continuing to walk up toward Price Center and circle the police forces, who are holding batons. 

10:59 a.m.

Police have gathered by the Visual Arts Building and protestors have followed them past the Epstein Family Amphitheater. Police formed a blockade to prevent students from going past the Visual Arts Building. Student protestors yelled “both sides,” “drop the charges,” and “shame on you,” and moved to circle the building.

10:55 a.m.

Protestors have forced the Structural and Materials Engineering Building doors to open. They have flooded the building and crossed over toward the Epstein Family Amphitheater.

10:53 a.m.

Police have closed the doors to the Structural and Materials Engineering Building on the student protestors, who are banging on the doors.

10:51 a.m.

The buses have departed from the Voigt Drive intersection.

10:50 a.m.

Police are continuing to get on the buses.

Protestors are chanting “put away the gun” and following other police officers into the Structural and Materials Engineering Building.

10:45 a.m.

A medic has said that that people are getting maced. They are providing water.

10:43 a.m.

Police are getting on the bus.

10:42 a.m.

Medics near Price Center Loop are treating a protestor who was sprayed in the eyes with an irritant.

The university has sent out a press release noting that 64 individuals have been arrested. 40 were students and 24 were unaffiliated. The arrested students will all be placed under interim suspension, according to the university.

10:39 a.m.

At this point there are three groups in the area: one outside of Matthews Lane being blocked by a line of riot police, another one at the intersection of Voigt and Matthews, and another one following the bus as it leaves campus via Voigt.

10:28 a.m.

The bus is moving and additional forces have entered the vicinity. People are yelling at the bus, cheering for the arrested protesters, and following and recording the bus. 

10:26 a.m.

Police are pepper spraying protesters.

10:23 a.m.

Protestors are banging against the bus, causing it to shake.

10:21 a.m.

UCPD and SDPD are armed with batons and forming a line. The bus has turned on with sirens blaring to try to get student protestors to disperse. In response, the students have started clapping. Police at the back of the bus have formed a perimeter with batons, blocking off access from the doors of Price Center.

Protestors are holding up two fingers as a sign of peace while they block the bus.

10:20 a.m.

Arrested faculty and students at the encampment are being put on the bus. Protestors have moved away from Price Center toward the front of the bus, in attempt to block it from leaving. 

10:16 a.m.

Protestors have rushed toward the east end of Price Center to block the entrance in order to prevent police from leaving the building. The Guardian observed one student falling and getting trampled. Amid chanting and clapping, students and faculty who were arrested are being led out of Price Center.

10:18 a.m.

Police with batons are pushing protestors aside and taking students onto the buses. Protestors are zip tied.

10:08 a.m.

Protestors are still gathered. A new bus from the San Diego County Superior Court has arrived.

10:05 a.m.

The buses that were parked on Matthews Lane left at approximately 9:50 a.m. Officers are telling protesters to go home; many are refusing. Police with riot gear have entered Price Center, with protesters moving back from Price Center.

A speaker reminded protesters that the protest is peaceful and that they have people trained to deal with media and police.

9:20 a.m.

Buses from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department are lined up next to the Structural and Materials Engineering Building along Matthews Lane. In response, student protesters have circled around the Price Center East entrance, near the Burger King. Police can be seen inside Price Center in front of the ballroom entrance.

9:19 a.m.

The university issued the following statement:

At approximately 6 a.m. today, University of California San Diego Police, CHP and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department successfully and peacefully dismantled an illegal encampment on the UC San Diego campus. The decision to vacate the site was based on the danger arising from a prolonged event in terms of health, fire, safety and security. One minor injury was reported. No official number of arrests is available at this time. The campus is still an active police operation.

8:50 a.m.
An increasing number of protestors have gathered near a line of approximately 36 police officers outside the Target entrance on Library Walk. Chants such as “shame” and “the students united will never be defeated” could be heard from the Old Student Center as protestors held up peace signs. An estimated 75 arrests have been made, with members of the encampment being detained in Price Center West.

Cleanup crews have brought in a truck to haul away tents and personal belongings from the encampment. 

7:00 a.m.

At around 5:00 a.m., Students for Justice in Palestine at UCSD reported that police officers in riot gear had begun sweeping the camp. As of 7:00 a.m., the police have started to make arrests. San Diego police have formed a man-made barricade preventing students from entering the area on Library Walk, where other students are gathered to protest.

The UCSD North Campus is now closed, and all nonessential operations have closed. Classes are now remote for today.

Sunday, May 5

The events of Sunday included a counter-protest in the afternoon. To read more, visit this story.

Saturday, May 4

10:15 p.m.

Participants formed a Dabke line, which was followed by a chant, “Free, free Palestine” and an announcement of the next day’s itinerary.

9:00 p.m.

Students and community members started playing soccer outside the encampment.

7:55 p.m.

Maghrib Prayer began on the green between Price Center and Library Walk. This was followed by words from Imam Tom about tensions surrounding the protests for Palestine.

6:22 p.m.

Asr Prayer began on the green between Price Center and Library Walk.

6:15 p.m.

The chanting stopped and people began to disperse. An organizer thanked students for protecting the liberated zone: “With the power of the people, I swear Palestine will be free.”

On Instagram, @sjp.ucsd released a statement explaining the expansion of the camp. Prompted by continued threats of arrest, suspension, and physical harm, the group determined the encampment was too small to protest safely. They also said the violence they had seen at the hands of the UCPD at UCLA was another reason to expand. They also stated that UCSD initiated this escalation by canceling Sun God.

“The cancellation of the Sun God festival was a naked attempt to foster frustration and discord among the students,” the post read. “This attempt has failed, however, as more people have joined the Encampment than ever before.”

5:45 p.m.

The chants had been going on for nearly an hour. Administrators were no longer in the area. 

5:35 p.m.

The demonstration continued with various chants, such as “UCSD, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide,” and “bombs and missiles we don’t need em, what we want is total freedom.”

4:59 p.m.

Members of the administration backed away from the encampment towards the southeastern side of Student Health Services due to the crowd reaching the entrance of the encampment where faculty and organizers were discussing. Chanting from the crowd continued, “We are the intifada.” Administrators eventually moved away, toward Target.

4:54 p.m.

An organizer announced that the administration was attempting to dismantle the encampment. Members of the administration were visibly at the entrance of the encampment talking with participants. The organizers encouraged the crowd to gather near the camp’s entrance and chants began, “Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest.”

In a later statement on Instagram, @sjp.ucsd said, “Fire marshals escorted by the police attempted to enter the encampment, claiming they need to conduct inspections.” This was followed by students and community members gathering at the camp’s entrance and chanting as mentioned.

4:35 p.m.

Community poetry reading began. The first student performer recited “If I Must Die” by Dr. Refaat Alareer, followed by her original poem “To Be Palestinian.” A second student performer performed an original poem and recited “On This Earth What Makes Life Worth Living” by Mahmoud Darwish. A third speaker recited “I Am You” by Dr. Refaat Alareer and then read an original poem. Finally, a fourth speaker recited “This is Why We Dance” by Mohammed El-Kurd.

3:45 p.m. 

An organizer announced that the Black Panther Party members are hosting a self-defense lesson for those in the encampment.

3:12 p.m.

Protestors created circles to do Dabke, a traditional Palestinian line dance. They performed it in the middle of Library Walk.

3:05 p.m.

An anonymous student protestor criticized UC San Diego in a speech at the rally in front of the encampment. 

“This cancellation of Sun God today was made to divide us and was made to make us upset, and we got even more people in the liberated zone, we are going to show up and advocate,” they said.

The Guardian witnessed a notable increase in the presence of law enforcement — at least 16 additional police officers — at the corner of Library Walk and in front of Geisel Library, near the encampment expansion. 

2:55 p.m.

Protestors were asked to pull out their phones to follow specific social media accounts and to record a statement. 

The next speaker was a member of Healthcare Workers for Palestine – San Diego who spoke about the violence present at the UCLA protests.

“It is our voices that are going to demand an end to the silence, and a campus-wide boycott, amnesty for all,” they said, adding that “the power is in the people” and “this is a liberated zone.”

2:55 p.m.

Protestors were asked to pull out their phones to follow specific social media accounts and to record a statement.

2:42 p.m.

A speaker from the Black Panther Party in San Diego spoke next. Earlier, members of the Black Panther Party had passed out fliers to protest participants. The speaker discussed “The 3D’s and 3P’s through the lessons of a panther.” This was also written on fliers that the Black Panther Party members passed out.

2:36 p.m.

A speaker from Filipinos for Palestine spoke, drawing parallels between Palestine and the Philippines.

2:24 p.m.

The encampment expanded north toward Geisel Library and into the trees while the chants continued. The encampment now covers twice the area it did previously.

An anonymous student protestor explained the rationale behind the encampment expansion to The UCSD Guardian. 

“There was an escalation by administration by canceling Sun God, and now, we have a higher influx of students interested in participating in the liberated zone,” they said. “And in order to accommodate everyone in a safe manner, we need to expand.”

2:21 p.m.

Protestors and supporters participated in chants, some of which included “Free Palestine,” “Down with occupation,” “Long live Palestine,” “Netanyahu you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide,” and “Long live the Intifada.”

2:19 p.m. 

The program of speakers commenced with the first speaker reminding the crowd of the encampment’s mission.

2:10 p.m.

Music began playing over speakers outside of the encampment.

1:56 p.m.

An organizer asked encampment participants to clean up their belongings inside the tents. The organizer stated the request was due to upcoming rearrangements of the encampment to accommodate rain guards.

1:30 p.m.

The Dhuhr prayer began on the green between Price Center and Library Walk.

1:00 p.m.

Students and community members began gathering on the opposite end of Library Walk, across from the encampment, in support of the protesters.

Friday, May 3

10:30 p.m.

The day concluded with a movie night on the green between Price Center and Library Walk. The film shown was “The Battle of the Algiers,” a French war documentary from 1966. The film ended at around 12:30 a.m. Saturday morning.

9:30 p.m.

A martyr memorial and vigil took place. It was preceded by speakers, one of which was Imam Tom Facchine from New York.

8:15 p.m.

Protestors started playing an unreleased Macklemore song about Palestine. They cheered when the lyrics “Palestine be free,” “Free Palestine,” and “[F—] the police” were performed. Following the song, the protestors chanted “free, free Palestine.”

7:45 p.m.

For a scheduled evening Maghrib prayer, a group gathered on the green across from Library Walk. Due to space constraints from the addition of new tents inside the encampment, the prayer had to be relocated. 

7:00 p.m.

Jewish Voices for Peace of San Diego held an “Anti-Zionist Shabbat” service on Library Walk in front of the encampment. A large crowd circled around a rabbi who incorporated themes of liberation and healing within prayer and song. Speakers from JVP of UCSD and JVP of San Diego shared remarks on Jewish people’s imperative to condemn occupation and genocide.

5:30 p.m.

In the Price Center courtyard outside the Bookstore, Tritons for Israel held a Shabbat service where they prayed, sang, and danced in celebration of “Jewish Israeli Pride,” as stated in their Instagram post. They held up Israeli and American flags. Chants were heard from Library Walk, where the teach-in was still taking place.

5:20 p.m.

A teach-in on the military-industrial complex was held in front of the encampment on Library Walk. The speaker critiqued UC San Diego’s relationship with and investment in members of the military-industrial complex. Discussion amongst teach-in participants ensued.

3:00 p.m.

Protestors held a “Gaza Solidarity Press Conference,” where various speakers in support of the movement shared messages of solidarity with the crowd. Speakers included representatives of the Palestinian Youth Movement, Christian Church Disciples of Christ, the Islamic Center of San Diego, and American Muslims for Palestine. Bobby Wallace of the Kumeyaay people also spoke.

“We called this press conference today as community organizers and students, alike, and faculty to speak on the importance of what our students are doing here and to make sure that our demands are clear,” Jeanine, an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement, said during the press conference. “The demands for campus to end the silence, for administration to speak on what’s happening in Palestine and how it’s impacting all its students.”

12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Encampment organizers gave a “Gaza Update” and held two Jummah prayers, according to the schedule posted on SJP at UCSD’s Instagram account

Thursday, May 2

To read updates about day two of the Gaza Solidary Encampment please visit this link.

Wednesday, May 1

11:40 a.m.

A group of UC San Diego students and community members gathered on the green across from Geisel Library to set up an encampment in response to the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and the UC’s failure to divest funds from and condemn Israel. To read more about the first day of the encampment, please visit this link. 

This article is the hub for live updates and is subject to change.