Arrested student protesters face suspension, UCI Divest stages walkout | New university

The UCI Divest organized a walkout on May 22 in response to the suspension of student protesters arrested on May 15 due to the police raid on the UCI solidarity camp in Gaza.

After police dispersed the encampment, the 27 arrested students — part of a group of 47 arrested protesters — were suspended, according to an Instagram post from UCI Divest. The message stated that suspended students were not allowed to attend class or access campus housing. It also said suspended graduate students were required to teach remotely despite not being allowed on campus.

The new university has contacted the UCI Chancellor's Office for comment on the recent suspensions.

“The university is unable to comment on cases of student conduct due to federal privacy law,” said Michael Uhlenkamp, ​​assistant vice chancellor for communications and communications. relations with the media.

During the walkout, members of the UCI community left classes and work at 12:30 p.m. and gathered in front of flagpoles. Students, faculty, staff and community members gathered at the top of the stairs as leaders addressed the crowd and led chants.

“Today we are gathered here to demand that the UC administration drop the suspensions of all those arrested and demand amnesty for all those who were brutalized,” one protester told the crowd.

At the same time, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees 3299 (AFSCME 3299) – a union representing more than 30,000 UC service workers – demonstrated at Anteater Plaza. Members held signs demanding fair labor arrangements and “calling for divesting more than $32 billion of their investments across a range of industries,” the organization said in a news release to New University.

“We're basically picketing for a fair contract. We have been in negotiations with the UC for some time now and they still have not followed through on the negotiations and given the workers what they deserve,” said Mo Villasenor, an AFSCME organizer. 3299, at New University.

As protesters moved from the flagpoles toward the science library, AFSCME and the protesters began clapping for each other as the groups passed each other. On Instagram, AFSCME released a statement supporting the United Auto Workers (UAW) union's decision to strike in protest of the UC's response to the pro-Palestinian encampments.

Third-year student Anica Sherry was among those supporting the walkout and rally. During the walk to the science library, Sherry spoke to New University about her motivation for participating in the walkout and recounted what she saw when the encampment was dismantled.

“I was there and found it to be horribly inappropriate and traumatic for all the students present,” they said. “And just an incredibly immature and irresponsible response on [Chancellor] Gillman's role.

At the Science Library, protesters continued to sing and give speeches. A representative from UCI's Black Student Union (BSU) spoke to show the organization's support for pro-Palestinian protesters. On May 21, the BSU released a statement condemning Chancellor Gillman's decision to call hundreds of police officers to campus to dismantle the camp.

“We urge Chancellor Gillman and the UCI administration to reconsider their approach to handling peaceful protests and engage in constructive dialogue with students rather than resorting to intimidation tactics,” the statement said.

From the library, the demonstrators headed towards the physical sciences district, where the UCI Gaza Solidarity camp was previously located. Assistant Professor of Global and International Studies Christopher Harris spoke as a representative of the Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FJP) to supporters in the middle of the quadrangle.

“We are organizing to leverage all institutions and extra-institutional methods to ensure that Gillman and other directors face the repercussions of their actions on Wednesday, including planning votes of no confidence, votes of center and l “call for campus policy reform,” Harris said.

As speakers continued to shout chants and cite testimonies of those arrested, protesters drew messages and pictures on the floor of the Physical Sciences Quad with chalk. Participants wrote messages such as “Free Palestine” and “More than 40,000 dead.” Others drew birds, flags and watermelons.

A UCI student, who requested anonymity, spoke to New University after writing “Free Palestine” on the floor in cursive. They expressed what it was like to watch live the police raid on the camp on May 15.

Photo by Skylar Paxton / Staff

“It was like a long process of just standing there and watching [the livestream] but I had so much work to do that day, but I just couldn’t,” the student said. “I had a mission to do but I couldn’t. It felt wrong to look away, even though I'm not directly there.

Skylar Paxton is an opinion learner. She can be reached at [email protected].

Edited by Beatrice Lee, Karen Wang and Annabelle Aguirre.