UC Irvine students said they remain determine to stay on campus with their pro-Palestinian encampment until the university meets their demands though a violent clash overnight at UCLA raised fears.
The students are protesting for the university to divest itself from businesses with ties to Israeli and weapon manufacturers and to grant amnesty for demonstrators.
For a few hours Wednesday afternoon a few dozen people carrying Israeli flags had set up near the Langson Library, more than a quarter mile from the encampment. Organizers there said they wanted to have a peaceful gathering of solidarity and there were currently no plans for further actions.
“We didn’t want to go and provoke (the encampment) like what was happening at UCLA,” Sevan Minassian-Godner, a political science freshman, said. “What brought me out here was to celebrate with my Jewish community, to show my position and my faith and my love for everyone here in this community at this school. Even the people in the encampment, I disagree with them, I believe they are misguided, but I still do love them as people.”
Campus Rabbi Daniel Levine said he’s gotten about 10 emails and texts from students who didn’t feel comfortable coming to campus.
University officials posted a sandwich-board sign near the encampment saying “it is unlawful and violates university policy,” according to photos posted on social media. A university spokesperson confirmed the sign is real and the information had also been handed out to people in the encampment.
“The university is willing to meet with students and discuss the list of demands if the encampment is immediately disbanded and tents are taken down,” the message says. “The university is committed to working with any students to find a suitable place to participate in lawful protest and demonstration.”
Students who voluntarily leave the encampment “will not face discipline,” the sign says, but those employees and students who remain “will face…
Read the full article here
