California universities ban campus encampments after chaotic anti-Israel protests
The UC president called on leaders of the UC system to enforce regulations against disruptive protests.
CSU’s leader also said that CSU schools must ‘maintain an environment where its work can be conducted without disruption.’
The University of California system leader called on UC schools to enforce existing school regulations against disruptive camps and protests.
On Monday, UC President Michael V. Drake instructed the chancellors of UC’s 10 universities to enforce rules that ban disruptive protests ahead of the start of the fall semester. Students will also be stopped from wearing masks during protests in order to hide their identities.
In a letter also sent Monday to UC students and faculty, Drake wrote that UC is “proud” to uphold the “tradition” of students being able to express their views freely through protest on campus, but added that “[w]hile the vast majority of protests held on our campuses are peaceful and nonviolent, some of the activities we saw this past year were not.”
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He added that the UC system seeks to take several steps to maintain free speech while stopping disruptive protests, including “[c]larifying and reinforcing requirements for policies impacting expressive activities, including policies that prohibit camping or encampments, unauthorized structures, restrictions on free movement, masking to conceal identity, and refusing to reveal one’s identity when asked to do so by University personnel.”
One of the steps is “[l]aunching a UC Campus Climate Initiative to help all UC locations develop campus climate action plans for fall 2024 and beyond.”
California State University (CSU), America’s largest public university system, has also taken similar measures.
California State University Chancellor Mildred A. García wrote a message to the university community, saying that the CSU system schools must “maintain an environment where its work can be conducted without disruption,” and linking to a CSU website FAQ page that lists parameters regulating protests on campus.
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A CSU spokesperson told EdSource: “Encampments are prohibited by the policy, and those who attempt to start an encampment may be disciplined or sanctioned. Campus presidents and their designated officials will enforce this prohibition and take appropriate steps to stop encampments, including giving clear notice to those in violation that they must discontinue their encampment activities immediately.”
Earlier this year, California legislators introduced a bill that aimed to promote free speech on university campuses within the state, after protesters disrupted an Israeli speaker at a university-hosted event.
Campus Reform has contacted California State University and the University of California for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
