Palestine protests: UCLA opens inquiry, USC president in talks with protesters

On Wednesday, UCLA announced it was investigating alleged attempts by protesters to block student access to class, while at USC President Caroline Folt entered the second day of talks with student protesters.

University leaders at UCLA have ordered protesters to take down the metal barriers they were using to control foot traffic in and around Royce Quad, where the ‘Palestine Solidarity Encampment’ is now, on April 30, in its sixth day.

UCLA Vice Chancellor Mary Osako released a statement saying attempts to block student access “could lead to severe disciplinary action including expulsion or suspension” of the protestors and that “this kind of disruption to our teaching and learning mission is abhorrent, plain and simple.”

Osako also said that campus security is being expanded following altercations that occurred last night, including “adding greater numbers of campus law enforcement, safety personnel and student affairs monitors.”

At USC, President Caroline Folt is scheduled to meet for a second time with student leaders from the “Divest From Death Coalition” at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

Tensions have been running especially high at USC following the administration’s decision to bar a Pro-Palestinian valedictorian from delivering a commencement speech and LAPD’s arrest of 93 protesters at the campus’ Alumni Park last Wednesday.

USC’s campus is closed to the public, and students have reestablished a tent encampment in Alumni Park. Folt initially met with protest organizers to discuss their demands on Monday.

In a statement on Instagram, the Divest From Death Coalition said the talks were “deeply disappointing” and “indicative of a larger pattern of the administration’s failure to address the needs of its student, faculty and surrounding community.”

Folt told the USC student newspaper the Daily Trojan that she understands students “wouldn’t have considered this meeting a win from their perspective.”

“I think we need to continue to have those conversations, and I’m pleased we all agree on that. We’ll go day by day,” she added.

Also on Tuesday, encampments entered their second day at UC Irvine and Riverside and 300 students staged a walk-out at Pasadena City College.

“This is class. We are leading people out of ignorance,” said Grant Bridges, a theater arts major and protester at Pasadena City College.

The crowd’s chants to “free Palestine” echoed through the campus. They waved flags and DIY cardboard banners as many others looked on, some applauding, some just witnessing it all in silence.

Violet Stoeker, a political science student leader at Pasadena City College, told fellow students that the demands “will not stop.” And Kat Clark, a sociology student, said the action was important, even at a smaller school.

“Doing nothing doesn’t make a difference,” Clark said, adding that the diversity of voices at a smaller public campus amplifies the voices.

While student demands vary slightly from school to school, most follow the principles of “disclose, divest, defend.” Students are asking their administrations to disclose all financial ties, divest from companies that do business with Israel, defend protesters by allowing activism to take place and defend the Palestinian people by calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

“We will keep our tents up for as long as it takes for the UC to recognize our demands,” said Vincent Doehr, a third-year PhD student at UCLA and a protest organizer. “We’re here to keep the moral pressure up and make sure the UC does the right thing, because we know that without student organizing the UC won’t.”

Daily News photographer Sarah Reingewirtz contributed to this report