On Sunday, three days before commencement, USC campus police and Los Angeles Police Department officers in riot gear moved quickly before dawn to clear a pro-Palestinian square in the center of campus as protesters beat drums and chanted. Camp.
A university spokesman said no arrests were made during the police sweep and no violence broke out.
Earlier today, the USC Department of Public Safety (DPS) successfully dismantled an illegal encampment that had been reestablished on the university campus. It was necessary to require the LAPD to respond to provide safety as this was conducted peacefully,” Joel Curran, senior vice president of communications, said in a statement.
“We would like to thank the Los Angeles Police Department for assisting DPS in clearing the encampment and returning students and the community to normal life as quickly and safely as possible,” he said. “We will share more information with the community later today.”
A pro-Palestinian supporter waits outside the USC gates after being kicked off campus as police protect the USC campus.
(Jason Almond/Los Angeles Times)
At 4:17 a.m., USC issued an alert, the Los Angeles Police Department had arrived and people were asked to leave the park area in the center of campus. Officials gave demonstrators the option to leave before being arrested. About 30 protesters left the encampment and the Los Angeles Police Department pushed them toward the university’s Jefferson Avenue entrance.
“Free, free Palestine,” demonstrators chanted as they faced off with police outside the perimeter, beating drums as helicopters circled overhead.
“Please go to USC immediately. They won’t let you in, but we can mobilize people around here.
At around 5 a.m., police entered the center of the camp and began dismantling tents, leaving behind posters and makeshift roadblocks. A cordon was set up outside the University Park area where media and protesters gathered. At 6 a.m., the campground seemed empty and quiet. Los Angeles police have mostly left, with about 33 campus police officers patrolling the area as trucks and workers haul away the camp’s debris. Police Chief Lauretta Hill gave the remaining officers a fist bump.
“We will come back. Free Palestine,” the protesters said on their Instagram account.
It’s the second sweep of the USC camp, with graduation events set to begin Wednesday and thousands of guests starting to arrive on campus. Los Angeles police arrested 93 people on April 24 on suspicion of trespassing late last month and cleared the encampment in the center of campus.
Los Angeles Police Department officers cleared the USC encampment at Alumni Park at 6 a.m. Sunday.
Devin Griffiths, associate professor of English and comparative literature, said, “The LAPD being invited back to campus comes after many faculty members expressed strong anger and concern over the LAPD’s invitation more than a week ago. People are disappointed.
Griffith, who participated in a faculty march last week in support of student activists, is one of more than 380 faculty and staff who have recently called for a vote of no confidence in USC’s top leadership over its handling of campus tensions.
“He was very relieved to hear that apparently no one was injured and no one was arrested,” he said. “This will obviously not end the ongoing conflict in Gaza, nor will it stop teachers from trying to get our government to hold them accountable for their graduation responsible for serious mistakes made in the ceremony and handling of campus protests. There is more work to be done.
USC President Carol Folt said in a statement after protesters rebuilt the campground last weekend. A school-wide letter was released on Friday Campsites are not allowed to stay too long.
“Universities have a legal obligation to ensure that students, faculty and staff can move freely around campus while studying, working and researching,” Folt said. “Every part of our campus, including Alumni Park, must be fully accessible and Free from disruption and harassment.”
The camp at Alumni Park has grown to at least 40 tents and about 50 people, according to student organizers.
USC Annenberg student journalists reported that USC Rural Residential College Associate Dean Nancy Alonzo visited the edge of the camp Saturday afternoon and read another letter aloud to members of the student movement.
“As we mentioned before, the encampment must be removed, your encampment and vandalism and theft of university property violates policy and the law,” Alonzo reportedly said. “These policies are actually designed to protect our community. For the safety of every member, we have to enforce these policies as consistently as we always have. And then we’ve also set up an alternative free speech zone that’s available to all of you and you can move your camps there.
A tent set up by a pro-Palestinian protest camp at Alumni Park on the University of Southern California campus on May 4.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
Members of the student union said they were not allowed to take photos of Alonzo’s letter or receive physical copies.
Students in the encampment, who call themselves the Freedom from Death Alliance, said they were not interested in moving to a designated free speech zone, an inaccessible area of campus behind Levy Library south of West 34th Street.
“The location of the protest cannot be decided by those in power, because then there would no longer be freedom of protest and assembly,” said the camp spokesman, who would not reveal his location for fear of retaliation from the USC administration and students who oppose them. identity.
The spokesman described Saturday night as “calm” and “cold”. During the interview, cheers from students could be heard from time to time. An Instagram story posted by Trojans for Palestine showed students sitting in Alumni Park on picnic blankets and sitting on orange paint buckets from Home Depot, clapping and singing, “We will not be moved.”
But the spokesman said protesters were prepared to be arrested.
“There is fear in the air. There is confidence. There is passion. We have the courage to stand up for the people of Gaza,” they said. “No matter how this occupation worsens, it is still a victory for us because we have caused disruption and unease to the USC administration. It has been business as usual for the past few weeks.
The decision to clear the first camp sparked outrage after USC barred valedictorian Asna Tabassum from speaking at its May 10 commencement ceremony, citing unspecified security threats. This is the first time in the school’s 143-year history. The move comes after pro-Israel groups criticized links on Tabassum’s Instagram profile for directing people to pro-Palestinian websites.
That led officials to cancel graduation ceremonies altogether.
But on Friday, USC announced plans to host the “Trojans” graduation at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. USC announced Thursday that the event will be held Thursday at 8:30 p.m. The university promises drone displays, fireworks, surprise performances and the Trojan marching band. The university has also promised special gifts to the Class of 2024.
USC is the latest university to take action against the encampment.
At least 25 people were arrested at Cal Poly Humboldt University early Tuesday. That same night at UCLA, a large group of people dressed in black and wearing white masks attacked pro-Palestinian protesters, throwing objects and trying to dismantle barricades surrounding the camp. The violence sparked criticism of the university’s handling of the protests.
As of Thursday, more than 200 people had been arrested after police moved into UCLA’s Westwood campus to clear out protesters and begin dismantling the encampment.
Pro-Palestinian protesters have called on Israel to halt military operations in Gaza and withdraw its troops from Israel.
Camp activities are still in full swing at University of California, Irvine, Occidental College, Sacramento State, San Francisco State and other California campuses.
At least two other USC universities — Chapman University and Cal State Los Angeles — joined the movement this week. Students at Cal State Long Beach held a rally Thursday but said there were no plans to camp out.
