Eight protesters arrested Thursday morning at California Polytechnic University SLO

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Eight people were arrested Thursday morning after protesters chained themselves together at the California Boulevard entrance to the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus.

“Cal Poly Police, along with law enforcement officers from numerous other local agencies, arrived on the scene and issued a dispersal order on the grounds that the demonstration was illegal by blocking the street,” Matt Lazier, Cal Poly’s assistant vice president of communications and media relations, said in response to inquiries from Your News Channel.

The image above, provided by the California Highway Patrol in the San Luis Obispo area, shows two of the protesters holding a sign that reads “Stop Funding Genocide” and an image of what appears to be an official flag of Palestine.

According to Cal Poly communications staff, the protesters were arrested by police and removed from the street when they refused to leave.

Four of those arrested are Cal Poly students, one is a faculty member and the other three have no affiliation with the university, Cal Poly Communications said.

“Cal Poly supports lawful protests and demonstrations, but does not tolerate illegal activities. As a public institution, the University is obligated to uphold the First Amendment rights of all members of the campus community in a content-neutral manner and in accordance with the law and University policies. Ensuring the safety and well-being of all members and visitors of the campus community is a priority for the University, and Cal Poly will fully enforce the laws and rules applicable to its campus to uphold this standard. Anyone who jeopardizes or undermines this through unlawful activities or violations of University policies must face the consequences of their actions. These standards were not created by the University, but are simply the basic rules of society by which we all live.”

Matt Lazier, assistant vice president for communications and media relations at Cal Poly