Editor’s Note: This piece is a guest submission and does not necessarily reflect the positions of individuals in The Guardian or The Guardian as an organization. The Guardian’s editorial choice to publish this piece reflects our decision to compile and platform community responses to May 6. Other responses can be read online at ucsdguardian.org. Before publishing, The Guardian made minimal edits for clarity and credibility but otherwise did not change the content of the letter.
As UC San Diego students return from summer break, a coalition of Students for Justice in Palestine and UCSD community members reached out to The Guardian to submit a guest opinion piece calling attention to the events of May 6 and the Gaza Solidarity Encampment. Their open letter is released in The Guardian and on their Instagram, @SJP.UCSD, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, in line with their “Never Forget May 6” campaign.
An anonymous SJP member explained that, over the summer, various student leaders acting in individual capacities met with members of the administration to discuss the fallout of withheld degrees, police-inflicted trauma, and the student conduct hearings that took place after May 6.
“We realized how much [the UCSD administration] truly relies on this cycle — every two years, every four years — of turnover and new students coming in to silence student voices. A couple years from now, no one in the encampment may still be attending UCSD, but that doesn’t mean we have to forget or give up.”
The letter addresses both the UCSD administration and student body. To the administration, the letter calls for concrete commitments to take accountability, reflect, and confront “deep-seated issues” which have preceded and followed May 6. To the student body, the letter encourages and empowers students to enact change within their capacity.
“It is possible — and not radical — to have these goals and wants. Educate yourself and take initiative, encourage the people around you to get involved. As you move to bigger positions and graduate and get a job and eventually make decisions in your life, keep Palestine and complicity in mind. Hold your institutions accountable, [and] don’t let things like this slide. You can say something and do something about it.”
The letter’s authors want to remind students that “at the end of the day, the university should work for us” and motivate them to get involved with campus actions. The letter as submitted can be read in full below:
Dear UCSD Administration,
On May 6, 2024, you chose to send riot police to dismantle a powerful expression of solidarity and humanity — the Gaza Solidarity Encampment. Your decision to prioritize a show of militant force over dialogue and understanding shocked our community and revealed the depths of your disregard for the voices and rights of students.
When you unleashed a heavily armed police presence on our campus, you sent a clear message: dissent is not welcome here. You criminalized our peaceful assembly, characterizing students who sought to raise awareness of an ongoing genocide as threats to be subdued. The brutal tactics you employed that day — batons, pepper sprays, snipers, and threats — were not just violations of our rights, they were a betrayal of the university’s foundational values of free expression and intellectual inquiry. Our university preaches a commitment to social justice and bettering the world, yet your actions suggest that those advocating for change are rather disruptive. This propagandistic perpetuation will not silence us; we are here to challenge injustice and demand accountability.
This open letter is not just a message to you — it is a collective outcry from students, faculty, and community members who refuse to let the events of that day fade into silence. We are here to assert that we will not be silenced, nor will we allow the memory of May 6 to become a footnote in our history.
The protests were sanctuaries of education, solidarity, and healing. Students came together to learn, share, and support one another in ways that you, the administration, have failed to foster. Instead of nurturing this spirit, you chose to repress it. We urge you to engage with us, to truly listen, and to facilitate an open discussion rooted in understanding rather than intimidation and retaliation.
As we stood in solidarity with those suffering, including an estimate of 186,000 lives murdered in Gaza by Israeli war crimes — innocent civilians decapitated, starving & burning to death, and tortured since October — your response only underscored our point. You demonstrated how far you would go to protect your interests, mirroring the militant tactics employed by those we oppose.
Your administration must confront the deep-seated issues that precipitated this moment. The lack of open discussion and willingness to meet with students is not only an academic failure, it is a moral failing. We demand transparency and accountability for your actions, including a public commitment to ensuring that such brutality will never be repeated.
The new policies enacted by the UC Board of Regents starkly reflect a disturbing trend of suppressing genuine free expression on our campuses. Instead of encouraging dialogue and healing, the recent directive banning facial coverings during political activities and mandating that individuals identify themselves to officials embodies an authoritarian crackdown on student protests. This shift towards punitive measures sends a clear message: the administration is more focused on silencing dissent than engaging in meaningful conversations with its students. Historically, oppressive systems often resort to increased violence and repression when they feel the most threatened. This mirroring of tactics in the new UC policies indicates a desperate attempt to maintain indiscriminate control at a time when true engagement is needed.
Not only do these policies stifle rightful dissent, they also enable and encourage intensified doxxing and targeted harassment of students by pro-Israeli groups. The university has yet to take meaningful action to protect students from such threats, further demonstrating your failure to prioritize our safety. Your lack of support has created and continues to exacerbate a hostile environment where students feel vulnerable and unsafe expressing their views, lest they not align with your biased and one-sided narratives. So we find ourselves asking: how can a university that claims to be a haven for free speech allow and promote policies that curb genuine discourse and reinforce a culture where students are not only discouraged from but also afraid of advocating for critical issues?
In another particularly dismissive gesture, you have chosen to install hammocks on the very lawn where our encampment stood over the summer, signaling an attempt to eliminate our ability to assemble peacefully. This covert and scheming maneuver, intended to greet us and incoming students as though the events of May 6 had been conveniently erased, undermines the spirit of open conversation and community engagement that we seek, and it certainly does not go unnoticed.
Furthermore, despite slashing the operating hours of the university’s library due to “funding constraints,” your administration did not hesitate to allocate $2 million for riot police to suppress student protests. This expenditure strongly contrasts with the needs of the student body, raising serious questions about your commitment to education and supporting students. It further underscores a troubling trend of prioritizing militarized responses over essential services and dialogue. This allocation not only reflects a failure to invest in the educational environment but also signals a deeper disregard for the voices and concerns of the very community you are meant to serve.
We are here to remind you that the history of student protests is marked by resilience and moral clarity. From the civil rights movement to the fights against apartheid, students have led the charge for justice when those in power have failed. We will not allow your actions to extinguish or diminish that legacy; instead, we will use it to galvanize and inspire our movement.
We Will Not Be Silenced.
We are calling on you, the administration, to take decisive, heartfelt action. This includes:
- Ending all forms of violent police presence at student protests.
- Committing to genuine dialogue about the issues raised by the Gaza Solidarity Encampment and all other student movements on campus.
- Establishing protections for students who engage in political expression, ensuring that our voices are heard without fear.
- Divesting from any entities that contribute to violence and oppression, including those profiting from the Israeli occupation.
We will not forget May 6. We will continue to demand justice, transparency, and accountability. This letter serves as both a reminder and an invitation: change is not just necessary; it is urgent. And we are ready to stand united in this fight.
Till UC divests, liberation and return,
Students for Justice in Palestine at UC San Diego