On Jan. 21, approximately 200 students attended a walkout organized by Students for Justice in Palestine at UC San Diego. The walkout had two aims: to protest the inauguration of President Donald Trump and to march in solidarity with Palestinians following the announcement of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza. The rally included speeches by representatives from various student organizations, including Jewish Voices for Peace, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx por Activismo, and Students for Socialism.
SJP advertised the rally on Jan. 18 in a now-deleted Instagram post that read, “No amount of repression—whether from Trump, Congress, or our own campus administrators—will stop the student movement. Join us for our first protest.”
The group is not currently authorized by the Center for Student Involvement since being placed under investigation last academic year. They are not officially sanctioned by the University to organize events as a UCSD student organization.
At 1 p.m., students gathered outside of Geisel Library where the rally began with a speech by an anonymous member of SJP speaking on the ceasefire agreement. They also voiced their frustration on the role the University has played in the conflict in Gaza.
“Let us not forget how the UC system manages $175 billion investments … of which $32 billion is invested in the assets that support the Israeli apartheid, occupation, and genocide of Palestinian people,” they said.
“This includes $3.3 billion in weapons, $2.4 billion in BlackRock, the world’s largest investor in weapons manufacturing, fossil fuels, and private prisons,” they added.
In May 2024, Jagdeep Singh Bachher, chief investment officer, disclosed the dispersal of the UC system’s investments in response to student protests and demands for divestment. According to EdSource, the University had no intention of meeting any demands for divestment, including billions of dollars invested in weapons manufacturing and BlackRock, an investment firm that manages assets for companies that support Israel.
Despite the University not meeting student demands, the SJP member highlighted the recent divestment of several college campuses.
“Three college councils at UCSD have divested from Israel: Marshall College, Warren College, and Revelle College,” they said. “They’ve seen the power of the students, and they’ve seen that this is what the students truly want.”
An unidentified group of bystanders in opposition to the rally disrupted the speeches, talking over and invading the speakers’ space. Those participating in the rally did not engage.
Aya Abdullah, an SJP member, shared the challenges the organization faces from students.
“There’s some challenges from other organizations on campus to try to intimidate us, challenge us, and stop our fight for liberation, but we’re not gonna let administration or any organization stop us from trying to achieve liberation for our people,” Abdullah said
Abdullah explained the motivations behind the organization’s first protest of the academic year.
“With Trump’s inauguration and the prospect of a ceasefire beginning, although a ceasefire is a step in the right direction, our work is not even nearly done; we’re just getting started,” she said. “We’re hoping for a ceasefire today, liberation tomorrow.”
Abdullah also voiced her concern for those who may be affected by the new administration.
“We already saw [on Monday] how many things [Trump] already put into place. … We fight for Palestine, but we also fight for the humanity of all — immigrants, displaced people, people who seek refuge,” she said.
Over the past 15 months, SJP and other student organizations have come together to host rallies on campus to spread awareness of various pressing issues, such as the conflict in Gaza. As a result of this, Michael Drake, president of the University of California, signed a letter on Aug. 19, 2024, banning encampments and limiting student protests.
In the letter, Drake called for stricter enforcement of existing regulations on UC campuses regarding protests, such as policies restricting their time, place, and manner. Some of the policies Drake emphasized were the banning of masking and inability to refuse to reveal one’s identity, as well as the restriction of free movement. Campuses that did not already have such policies in place were advised to establish or amend them as soon as possible.
“If you look at the policies placed on UCSD’s campus compared to other campuses, their policies that are in discussion are two pages long,” the anonymous speaker from SJP said. “At UCSD, that same page is 54 pages long.”
The UC Board of Regents met at UC San Francisco on Jan. 22 to Jan. 23 to discuss the matter of student protests. In response to this, the speaker from SJP expressed their frustration.
“They’re targeting students at UCSD because we are making change. We’ve seen the Associated Students divest almost $9 million annually from Israel. We’ve seen the college councils divest,” the SJP member added.
Following the speeches, the crowd of students and faculty made their way up to Ridge Walk and marched towards John Muir College, making a left toward Sun God Lawn.
The crowd made it down to Library Walk and through the dining area of Price Center, where members of SJP hung a Palestinian flag and a banner that read, “Largest Mass Disabling Event Funded By Your $$ Tax $$.”
“Down down with occupation, up up with liberation,” the crowd chanted. “Free, free Palestine. Long live Palestine.”
The crowd circled back to Library Walk where three final speeches were given. An anonymous student from the crowd shared her perspective on what the rally meant to her.
“So much is at stake, and for me … it doesn’t feel like a choice to be here, it feels like the right thing to do because it is,” she said. “Your classmates will say, ‘what’s the point of showing up here, nothing will happen,’ but things do happen and that matters.”
Another anonymous member of SJP concluded the rally with a speech recalling the University’s decision to clear the encampment.
“Right here, on this very lawn that you sit on, your school allowed police officers to brutally beat up your peers,” she said. “If you accept hundreds and thousands of people to die at your funding, at your hands, then you accept whatever violence comes here, and we, as students and people with consciences, do not accept that.”
She further elaborated on the aftermath of the occurrence.
“We’re so powerful that the school is willing to change its architecture and pay — I don’t know how much — to put in hammocks,” she added. “Your campuses are willing to pay thousands, probably even millions of dollars, to hide our protests. That’s how powerful students are.”
A representative from Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine at UCSD shared their concern on the effect Trump’s presidency will have on the university community.
“We’re very concerned for the students who have the most marginalized identities on campus, our immigrant students, our LGBTQ+ students, our students who are criticizing Israel and the genocide; we’re very concerned for their wellbeing,” they said.
Jonathan Chavez, member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation and SFS, shared this same sentiment and highlighted the impact the administration may have on the conflict in Gaza in a speech he gave at the rally.
“No doubt, Trump will continue the support of the genocidal, fascist regime of Israel,” Chavez said. “The far right has begun their attack on the most vulnerable of us all, which only means it is now our time to fight back. ”
Representatives from FSJP also disapprove of the University’s efforts to limit student protests after the Gaza Solidarity Encampment during Spring Quarter 2024.
“We hope that the administration will drop the time, place, and manner restrictions, which are unconstitutional and prevent students from protesting,” the first representative said. “We also hope that the University will hear our demands and will divest from occupation, colonialism, and genocide and apartheid in Palestine.”
Another representative went on to elaborate on the consequences students who participated in the encampment have faced and its lasting effects.
“Our students who are exercising their First Amendment right deserve to be able to protest the genocide and another government’s policies of occupation and genocide,” the second representative said.
“They should not be punished for that; this punishment has lasted months and months. Students who have graduated can no longer receive their transcripts, can’t find jobs, can’t continue with their lives,” they added.
An anonymous member of JVP shared the obstacles the University has imposed on the organization as a result of past protests organized by SJP.
“[The University] has stopped us from being able to host any on-campus events, even during our high holiday, the most holy time in the year for us,” she said. “Their new policies and acts of unequal discipline have actively stopped Jewish students on campus from practicing their religion in the name of protecting us.”
