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Backlash erupts at UC San Diego the day after police raid the pro-Palestinian camp

Unrest continued at UC San Diego on Tuesday. Some members of the campus community condemned the chancellor and university administration, a day after law enforcement dismantled a camp of pro-Palestinian protesters and made arrests that led to skirmishes.

With the tent city gone, business on campus resumed as usual, although there was a rally sponsored by the Student Workers Union that evening that was attended by about 300 people.

The loud but peaceful gathering was a reversal of confrontations on Monday morning after the chancellor declared the camp illegal and police in riot gear dispersed the tent city and arrested 65 people, almost all on suspicion of unlawful assembly. Until then, the campus had avoided the clashes seen at universities across the country during demonstrations against Israel’s war in Gaza.

On Tuesday, the explosions and arrests sparked a backlash. Groups of faculty, staff, and students—including graduate students, members of the Ethnic Studies Department, the Literature Department, the Music Department, and numerous other professors—released statements condemning Chancellor Pradeep Khosla and other university leaders.

Forty of the people arrested at the campground were UC San Diego students. It remained unclear Tuesday whether they would face criminal charges, but all were provisionally suspended from school. The university said it hopes to schedule students’ individual initial administrative hearings as quickly as possible.

The San Diego Faculty Association called for student suspensions to be revoked, no new suspensions to be issued and any possible prosecution of criminal charges to be stopped. They also demanded that there be no retaliation against those arrested and that no statements be made that orderly demonstrations were not permitted.

Pro-Palestinian supporters listen to speakers during a UAW solidarity rally at UC San Diego on Tuesday.

Pro-Palestinian supporters listen to speakers during a UAW solidarity rally at UC San Diego on Tuesday.

(Meg McLaughlin/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

The association, a voluntary group of dues-paying members, and about 200 of UC San Diego’s 3,800 faculty members signed a statement saying they were “shocked and outraged by UC San Diego’s decision to allow riot police, including off-campus law enforcement, to send there.” Arrest student demonstrators on May 6th.”

“The militarized response has only limited free expression, escalated tensions, reduced security on campus, and destroyed the trust necessary for negotiations and shared governance,” their statement said.

Most of the signatories come from the social sciences, such as fine arts, ethnology and literature. Some came from the Faculty of Medicine, which has more than 500 faculty members, making it the largest faculty department on campus, and the Faculty of Engineering, which has nearly 300 faculty members.

More than 450 graduate students signed a statement saying: “The decision to characterize the protest as non-peaceful and to use law enforcement to forcibly clear the camp is a serious violation of the principles of justice, justice and freedom of expression that Our institution pursues “to maintain claims.”

The university declined to comment on the backlash, citing the statement Khosla made Monday night following the riots. He said at the time that the encampment “violated campus policies and the law and had become an unacceptable risk to the safety of the campus community.” Khosla said protesters were repeatedly asked to disperse before it closed Arrests came.

The university’s highly influential Academic Senate has not indicated whether it will seek a vote of no confidence in Khosla, who became chancellor in 2012. He has received much support from the faculty, particularly because Khosla oversaw the largest expansion in the university’s history and led a capital campaign that raised more than $3 billion, much of which directly benefits the faculty.

Last year, the UC Board of Regents doubled Khosla’s salary, increasing it to more than $1 million a year. His biggest supporter was Rich Leib, the San Diego businessman who has been chairman of the Board of Regents for the past two years. Leib did not respond to two interview requests from the Union-Tribune.

San Diego City College students and faculty held a rally in support of Palestine on campus Tuesday.

San Diego City College students and faculty held a rally in support of Palestine on campus Tuesday.

(KC Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

At San Diego City College, about 200 students and faculty took part in a strike in support of Palestinians on Tuesday. Students stood in Curran Plaza demanding an end to the war and calling on the administration to stop selling products on campus that they say are helping to fund violence in the region.

Protesters then hung a “Free Gaza” banner from the campus bridge that crosses B Street in downtown San Diego. Police observed the event from a distance and escorted a counter-protester from the area.

On Tuesday evening, protesters at UC San Diego held signs that read “UAW for Gaza” during the union-led rally in front of the Giesel Library. The union represents about 48,000 academic student employees across the University of California system, including about 8,000 at UC San Diego.

“A campus meant for education and learning has been turned into a war zone,” said one of the speakers. “And for what? Some peaceful protesters demanding justice from the university?”

Pro-Palestinian supporters listen to speakers during a UAW solidarity rally at UC San Diego.

Pro-Palestinian supporters listen to speakers during a UAW solidarity rally at UC San Diego.

(Meg McLaughlin/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

One of the rally organizers, Gwen Frank, head of the local union chapter, said the rally was a resistance to Monday’s action at UC San Diego and last week’s action at the University of California, Los Angeles, when police responded The dissolution of the camp was urgent. There were hours of clashes with demonstrators. More than 200 were arrested. Two days earlier, the UCLA protesters were attacked by a group of pro-Israel counter-protesters, and it took hours before police could intervene.

As rally participants gathered for the protest, students passing by said they were not afraid of the protesters or demonstrations. She and her classmates were more concerned about police officers coming to campus to break up the protest.

“This is a university campus, free speech is encouraged… that’s kind of part of the premise of our foundation,” said Alex, a student who declined to give his last name. “So if it’s not allowed, it’s like going back to taking all those general education classes you forced us to take.”

The grassy area opposite the Geisel Library, where the tent city was once located, was cordoned off. Opposite the site there is now a pro-Palestinian art installation made of large wooden panels depicting the historical conflict.

Staff writers Caleb Lunetta and Kristen Taketa contributed to this report.