University of California bans encampments in wake of pro-Palestinian protests

FILE PHOTO: A boy waves a Palestinian flag at an encampment on the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

LOS ANGELES – The president of the University of California has directed the leaders of UCLA and the system’s nine other campuses to enforce a ban on protest encampments and the wearing of identity-concealing face masks by demonstrators.

The ban comes after this spring’s pro-Palestinian demonstrations at UCLA, in which Jewish students reportedly were prevented from accessing classrooms, the library and other campus locations.

The university was subsequently sued by two law students and an undergraduate alleging UCLA allowed a group of students and outsiders to set up the pro-Palestinian encampment that forcibly kept Jewish students and faculty from accessing critical parts of campus.

A Los Angeles federal judge last week blasted as “unimaginable” and “abhorrent” UCLA’s hands-off policy regarding the encampments. The judge issued a temporary injunction ordering UCLA to prevent alleged antisemitic zones such as the encampments in April. Attorneys said it is the first such ruling in the nation against a university.

UCLA allegedly reinforced the zones — both by providing metal barriers and by sending away Jewish students — while taking no effective action to ensure safe passage for the students, the suit said. In response to the complaint, UCLA disavowed any obligation to protect its Jewish students, the judge wrote.

The university is appealing the judge’s order.

In a letter to the chancellors of the 10 UC campuses on Monday, UC President Michael V. Drake wrote of required policies that ban putting up tents and campsites on university property, blocking access to university buildings and masking to evade being recognized.

“As we prepare to begin a new academic year, it is important that we reaffirm our commitment to fostering an environment that encourages free expression and debate while protecting the rights of all community members to teach, study, live, provide and receive clinical care, and work safely,” the letter reads.

Drake wrote that existing policies cover the issues at most of the system’s campuses but ordered chancellors to develop or amend policies where they don’t.

The letter covers:
— Camping or encampments: Policies must clarify that no person shall camp, set up or erect a campsite, or occupy a tent or other temporary housing structure on university property, unless specifically pre-approved;
— Unauthorized structures: Policies must clarify that no person shall erect, build, construct, set up, establish and/or maintain unauthorized structures on university property;
— Restricting free movement: Policies must clarify that no person shall restrict the movement of another person or persons by, among other means, blocking or obstructing their ingress or egress of roadways, walkways, buildings, parking structures, fire lanes, windows, doors or other passageways to university property, or otherwise denying a person access to a university facility or space;
— Masking to conceal identity: Policies must clarify that no person shall wear a mask or personal disguise or otherwise conceal their identity with the intent of intimidating any person or group, or for the purpose of evading or escaping discovery, recognition, or identification in the commission of violations of law or policy; and
— Refusal to reveal identity: Policies must clarify that no person shall refuse to identify themselves while on university property to university officials who are acting in the performance of their duties in situations where assistance or intervention is needed.

Drake issued a separate letter addressed to the UC community in which he said that campus leaders had spent the summer reflecting on the events of the past year and that consistent policies and laws were key to achieving a balance between free speech and the need to maintain safety and university operations.

“While the vast majority of protests held on our campuses are peaceful and nonviolent, some of the activities we saw this past year were not,” he wrote.

Mary Osako, UCLA vice chancellor for strategic communications, said in a statement last week that “UCLA is committed to fostering a campus culture where everyone feels welcome and free from intimidation, discrimination, and harassment. The district court’s ruling is improper and
would hamstring our ability to respond to events on the ground and to meet the needs of the Bruin community. We’re closely reviewing the judge’s ruling and considering all our options moving forward.”

The regional directors of ADL California, the state branch of the organization dedicated to stopping the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all, issued a statement welcoming Drake’s directive.

“We hope that all UCs take this directive seriously and prioritize protecting students on campus and all universities and colleges in California show similar leadership (and) follow this example as students return to campus,” the statement said. (CNS)

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