Police Again Clear Pro-Palestinian Encampment at U.S.C.
The university has been in turmoil following the decision not to allow its valedictorian to speak at graduation.
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Los Angeles Police Clear Pro-Palestinian Encampment at U.S.C.
Several dozen people were pushed out of the campus gates of the University of Southern California by police officers in riot gear.
Officer: “Keep going. Keep going. Keep going.” Protester: “Who do you protect?” Crowd chanting: “Who will you protect? Who do you protect? Who will you protect? Who do you protect?”
Los Angeles Police Clear Pro-Palestinian Encampment at U.S.C.
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Several dozen people were pushed out of the campus gates of the University of Southern California by police officers in riot gear.CreditCredit...Alex Welsh for The New York Times
By Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs and Jonathan Wolfe
Reporting from Los Angeles.
May 5, 2024
The Los Angeles Police Department and campus police removed a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Southern California early Sunday morning, pushing several dozen people out of the campus gates in the latest crackdown on student protesters there.
The encampment had sprouted up nearly two weeks ago in Alumni Park, a central quad on U.S.C.’s campus in Los Angeles. Shortly after it did, the university called the police to the campus, where they arrested 93 people, but the protest returned soon after. Los Angeles police said on Sunday morning that they had made no arrests while clearing the encampment for the second time.
The university has been in turmoil for several weeks following its decision not to allow its valedictorian, who is Muslim, to speak at graduation. The university cited security concerns, but the valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, said she believed she was being silenced. A group that supports the U.S.-Israel relationship had said Ms. Tabassum “openly traffics antisemitic” rhetoric. U.S.C. later canceled its main graduation ceremony altogether, though it will hold a modified celebration this week.
On Sunday, police officers in riot gear entered the campus before dawn, pushing about 25 protesters out of the campus’s metal gates. After the police sweep, the quad was littered with blankets, sweatshirts, coolers, snacks and overturned canopies.
Only a few of the tents were still standing, barricaded by wooden pallets and decorated with messages and Palestinian flags. Signs taped to trees carried messages such as, “every Palestinian has a right to live just like you and I,” and “disclose, divest, defend.”
In recent days, officials had tightened security around the private campus, allowing in only those with a university I.D.
Carol Folt, the U.S.C. president, said in a message to students and others on Friday that “there must be consequences” when people flout campus rules. She said the university had started the disciplinary process for people who had violated laws or campus policies.
Ms. Folt said that although the university valued freedom of expression, the protest had reached a tipping point.
“Free speech and assembly do not include the right to obstruct equal access to campus, damage property, or foment harassment, violence and threats,” Ms. Folt wrote. “Nor is anyone entitled to obstruct the normal functions of our university, including commencement.”
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Protesters viewed the police operation on Sunday as an unnecessary escalation. Among the demonstrators’ demands are that the university call for a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas, detail its investments and divest from companies that they view as enabling “Israel and U.S. colonialism, apartheid, genocide and violence.”
U.S.C.’s move to clear the protest encampment comes as the University of California, Los Angeles, continues to face scrutiny over its handling of protests. Police officers did not intervene for hours at that campus last week as a group of counterprotesters — many of whom wore pro-Israel slogans on their clothing — attacked a pro-Palestinian encampment. The next night, the police arrested about 200 people at the protest there.
Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs reports on national stories across the United States with a focus on criminal justice. He is from upstate New York. More about Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs
Jonathan Wolfe is a senior staff editor on the newsletters team at The Times. More about Jonathan Wolfe
See more on: Israel-Hamas War News
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