It has been a full week since the UCI Gaza Solidarity Encampment was erected by student protesters at the Physical Sciences Quad. Negotiations between UCI administration and students are currently on hold for the weekend and may resume on May 6.
An encampment protester, who requested anonymity, told New University that medical and jail teachings were scheduled today. They’re in collaboration with the mutual aid organization Abolition Now OC for students at the encampment in preparation for any emergencies. A Christian Sunday service was also scheduled by Randa Swees, who gave a talk about their unique experiences as a Christian Palestinian activist.
Swees invited an additional Christian Palestinian student to speak at the afternoon service.
“The key is to love one another. The key is to defend one another,” the student said.
Over 10,000 UC alumni pledged to deny financial donations to the University of California until divestment is reached, according to an Instagram post by UC Alumni for Palestinet.
“All the UC’s are the same programs, same investments, same money,” the encampment protester said. “So it’s really amazing that , not just UCI and UCLA and UC Berkeley but also all of the UCs and all of the alumni is [sic] having a stand. They’re standing up against a genocide.”
Earlier this morning in Los Angeles, USC student protesters evacuated their encampment after university administration and police escalation — protesters were told to either leave or face arrest. The USC Gaza Solidarity Occupation was the second encampment on campus erected by protesters after the LAPD arrested 93 people on April 24 and broke up the previous encampment.
A community member, who requested anonymity, expressed disappointment with the reaction of UCI leadership to the encampment protest on campus in an interview with New University.
“I think the school needs some de-escalation classes. They should be a better example… supposedly they’re the adults [school administration] but they’re not acting like adults,” they said.
Skylar Paxton is an Opinion Apprentice for the Spring 2024 quarter. She can be reached at paxtons@uci.edu.
Edited by Beatrice Lee, Jaheem Conley and Lillian Dunn
