UCLA Chancellor Gene Block released a letter to the campus community Thursday afternoon following the chaotic events of recent days, including overnight drama that unfolded when police cleared a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on Royce Quad.
“Our community is in deep pain. We are reeling from days of violence and division. And we hope with all our hearts that we can return to a place where our students, faculty and staff feel safe and, one day, connected again,” Block said in his campus message.
He said the university had planned to allow protestors and community members to voice their opinions about the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas as long as students and educators were not placed in harm’s way. But following violent conflicts between demonstrators and counter-demonstrators, the decision was made to clear Royce Quad.
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Workers clean up the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus after police evicted pro-Palestinian students, in Los Angeles, California, early on May 2, 2024. Hundreds of police tore down protest barricades and began arresting students early Thursday at the University of California, Los Angeles – the latest flashpoint in an eruption of protest on US campuses over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images) -
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 02: A California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer detains a protestor near encampment graffiti while clearing a pro-Palestinian encampment after dispersal orders were given at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, on May 2, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. The camp was declared ‘unlawful’ by the university and over 100 protestors who refused to leave were detained during the operation. Pro-Palestinian encampments have sprung up at college campuses around the country with some protestors calling for schools to divest from Israeli interests amid the ongoing war in Gaza. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) -
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – May 2: Police officers clash with pro-Palestinian protesters as a fire extinguisher is deployed at UCLA early Thursday morning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
“Demonstrators directly interfered with instruction by blocking students’ pathways to classrooms. Indirectly, violence related to the encampment led to the closure of academic buildings and the cancellation of classes. And frankly, hostilities were only continuing to escalate,” Block wrote. “In the end, the encampment on Royce Quad was both unlawful and a breach of policy.”
The university chancellor said those who remained in the encampment into the late hours were given multiple warnings to disperse prior to law enforcement entering. He said about 300 demonstrators left voluntarily, while about 200 remained and were arrested.
Block said he wanted the university to be a place where students and faculty are encouraged to make their voices heard, but said violence would not be tolerated.
He also called the mounting deaths in Gaza “devastating,” and said the school would continue to support pro-Palestinian demonstrators and their First Amendment rights to protest, as well as Jewish students and faculty who are still reeling from the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas, as well as rising antisemitic sentiment across the globe.
He added that UCLA would continue to investigate the violent incidents that took place on campus, particularly those sparked by a “mob of instigators.” In the meantime, counseling and support resources are being made available to all students and staff.
“I also hope we can support one another through this difficult moment and reaffirm the ties that unite us as a community of learning,” Block concluded.