A group of pro-Israel supporters hold arms as they sing and dance outside a pro-Palestinian encampment on the UCLA campus Friday, April 26, 2024, in Los Angeles. As the death toll mounts in the war in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis worsens, protesters at universities across the country are demanding schools cut financial ties to Israel and divest from companies they say are enabling the conflict.Damian Dovarganes – staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS
By Jessica Flores Updated May 1, 2024 2:54 p.m. (SFChronicle.com)
Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have spread across college campuses in California and throughout the country, with students calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war and demanding that school administrators stop all investments tied to Israel.
Students at more than a dozen universities in California have rallied and set up encampments, holding study groups, prayers, art workshops and more. In some cases, demonstrations — and the response to them — have disrupted academics, campus life and commencement plans.
Violence erupted in the small hours of Wednesday morning on UCLA’s campus between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and pro-Israel counterprotesters. In the Bay Area, all eyes were on UCLA as officials and encampments considered the impact of the violence.
On Monday, San Francisco State University became the latest Bay Area college to join the nationwide movement — one that has resulted in hundreds of student arrests as universities struggle to balance freedom of speech rights and campus safety. The protests have largely been peaceful, but some Jewish students have reported feeling unsafe amid claims of increasing antisemitism.
Protests at universities had been happening since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages, 100 of whom are still being held. In the ensuing war, Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza, the majority of them women and children, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The current movement was sparked by an April 17 protest at Columbia University in New York, during which administrators called in the city’s Police Department to clear student encampments. More than 100 students were arrested, prompting faculty members to rally in support of the demonstrators and condemn the arrests. In solidarity, students at campuses across the country began following suit.
Here are the California colleges where major pro-Palestinian demonstrations and protests are taking place.
BAY AREA
San Francisco State University
Hundreds of SFSU students rallied at Malcolm X Plaza on Monday afternoon, and demonstrators set up a dozen tents outside the student union. Students are demanding that SFSU and the California State University system divest from Israel and “stop investing our tuition in genocide,” organizers said. Administrators said the university will respect the rights of students to peacefully protest while working to ensure the safety of protesters and the campus community.
UC Berkeley
On April 22, students established an encampment with rows of tents on the steps of the administrative building Sproul Hall and pledged to stay outside until the university divests from companies doing business in Israel and creates a Palestinian studies program. No arrests or altercations related to the protest have been reported, according to the student newspaper the Daily Californian. The Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area on X called the protesters’ words “abhorrent” but said they have a right to free speech and assembly, and that administrators were “committed to ensuring Jewish safety and participation in campus life.”
Stanford University
Students erected a “People’s University for Palestine” encampment at White Memorial Plaza on Thursday evening. On Friday, administrators threatened to discipline or arrest protesters who camp overnight, saying free expression is allowed at White Plaza but that overnight camping isn’t. No arrests have been reported.
Sonoma State University
The “SSU Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on Person Lawn was set up at the Rohnert Park campus on Friday evening. In a campus-wide message to the campus community Sunday, Sonoma State President Mike Lee said the protest has been peaceful. The university’s Police Department has been monitoring the protest and “have not found it necessary to take any action at this time,” Lee said.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Cal Poly Humboldt
Police arrested more than 20 people, including students, faculty and one journalist, early Tuesday morning on Cal Poly Humboldt’s campus after issuing warnings to disperse for several hours. The arrests and further attempts by police to clear the encampment of protesters calling for a cease-fire in Gaza and an end to U.S. military support for Israel reflected simmering tensions on the Northern California campus. after days of demonstrations. Students occupied two buildings over the weekend.
The university announced a hard closure of the campus, prohibiting people from being on or entering the campus without permission. All instruction and work has shifted to remote during the closure, which will remain in effect through the end of the semester on May 10.
UC Santa Cruz
The Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at UC Santa Cruz launched an encampment at Quarry Plaza on Wednesday afternoon, according to an Instagram post.
Sacramento State University
The Sacramento State chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine launched an encampment at the Library Quad on Monday. A university spokesperson told the State Hornet, the student newspaper, that protesters will need to disperse by 11:59 p.m. Wednesday.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
University of Southern California
The Los Angeles Police Department arrested 93 people at the University of Southern California on April 24 amid protests against the Israel-Hamas war and the university’s cancellation of the graduation speech of a pro-Palestinian valedictorian. The next day, the university announced it was canceling its main commencement ceremony on May 10. In response, two prominent speakers scheduled to appear at satellite graduation ceremonies dropped out and are calling on others to join them in a boycott, the Los Angeles Times reported.
UCLA
Violence between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and pro-Israel counterprotesters erupted early Wednesday, the LA Times reported. Masked demonstrators dressed in black advanced on an encampment erected by a group protesting the war in Gaza shortly before midnight, tearing down barricades that encircled the encampment and throwing fireworks, pieces of wood and other objects. A group of security guards was seen watching the mayhem unfold but did not step in to stop it, the Times reported. The scene was calm at daybreak, but classes were canceled Wednesday “due to the distress caused by the violence,” university officials announced on social media. On Wednesday evening, the university ordered the protesters at the encampment to disperse or face arrest.
UC Irvine
The UCI Gaza Solidarity Encampment was launched on Monday. Students organized the first day with a rally, teach-ins, art activities and games, meals and a prayer break.
UC Santa Barbara
Students have organized protests around campus, some setting up tents and hosting workshops at the university’s student resource building on Monday, according to News Channel 3-12.
UC San Diego
The UC San Diego chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine launched an encampment Wednesday morning at Library Walk on campus, according to an Instagram post.
UC Riverside
Students launched an encampment at the Belltower Lawn on Monday morning, organizers announced in an Instagram post.
Occidental College
An encampment was set up Monday morning on the campus Quad, according to an Instagram post by the group Students for Justice in Palestine at Occidental College.
Claremont Colleges
Demonstrations at three Claremont College campuses — Harvey Mudd, Pitzer and Pomona — halted alumni festivities over the weekend, according to the Claremont Courier. A pro-Palestinian encampment was set on the Pitzer College mounts, the outlet reported.
Reach Jessica Flores: jessica.flores@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @jesssmflores
April 29, 2024|Updated May 1, 2024 2:54 p.m.
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Jessica Flores is a reporter for The San Francisco Chronicle. Before joining The Chronicle in 2021, she worked for USA Today, NPR affiliate KPCC and Curbed LA. Originally from L.A., she received her master’s degree in journalism from the University of Southern California and a bachelor’s degree from Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles.
