2024 University of Southern California pro-Palestinian campus occupation

Last updated
2024 USC pro-Palestinian campus occupation
Part of the 2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses
DateApril 24 – May 5, 2024
(1 week and 4 days)
Location
Los Angeles, California, United States
Casualties
Arrested93

On April 24, 2024, an occupation protest began at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, California. The protest was a part of pro-Palestine protests on university campuses campaigning for divestment from Israel. [1] USC cancelled their main commencement ceremony over safety concerns about protests. [2] The encampment was cleared by the Los Angeles Police Department on the morning of May 5. [3]

Contents

Background

Earlier in the month on April 17, protesters as Columbia University began an occupation protest on its campus to protest the university's investments in Israel amid the Israel–Hamas war. The protest, as well as the police response, sparked nationwide protests at university campuses. [4]

On April 15, USC announced they would cancel the upcoming commencement speech by pro-Palestinian valedictorian Asna Tabassum, citing security concerns. Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Andrew T. Guzman stated the decision came after debate over Tabassum being chosen to give the speech took on an "alarming tenor", saying it would have posed a security risk. The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the speech's cancellation. [5] Days later the school also cancelled the planned commencement speech by director Jon M. Chu, as well as the planned granting of honorary degrees to Billie Jean King, Maria Rosario Jackson, and Marcia McNutt. [6]

Timeline

April 24

The encampment was set up at Alumni Park on April 24. Officers from the USC Police and the Los Angeles Police Department arrested 93 people on the first night of the protest. In addition, USC closed off campus to the general public. [7] [8]

April 25

USC announced they would cancel their main graduation ceremony. [9] The university later announced they would hold a "Trojan Family" event for graduates at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The event was set for May 9, a day before when the graduation was scheduled. [10]

May 5

Around a hundred LAPD officers raided and cleared the encampment at approximately 4:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 5. [11] [12] No arrests were made. [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Southern California</span> Private university in Los Angeles, California

The University of Southern California is a private research university in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1880 by Robert Maclay Widney, it is the oldest private research university in California. The university is composed of one liberal arts school, the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, and 22 undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools, enrolling roughly 21,000 undergraduate and 28,500 post-graduate students from all fifty U.S. states and more than 115 countries. It is a member of the Association of American Universities, which it joined in 1969.

Gene David Block is an American biologist and academic administrator who has been serving as the current and 6th chancellor of the University of California, Los Angeles since August 2007. Previously at the University of Virginia, Block served as executive vice president and provost from 2001 to 2007, vice president for research and public service from 1998 to 2001, and vice provost for research from 1993 to 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minouche Shafik</span> Egyptian-American economist (born 1962)

Nemat Talaat Shafik, Baroness Shafik, commonly known as Minouche Shafik, is a British-American academic and economist. She has been serving as the 20th president of Columbia University since July 2023. She previously served as president and vice chancellor of the London School of Economics from 2017 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carol Folt</span> American academic administrator (born 1951)

Carol Lynn Folt is an American academic administrator who is the 12th president of the University of Southern California. She is also the first female president in the university’s 142-year history. She assumed her duties on July 1, 2019. She was previously the 11th chancellor, and the 29th chief executive, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, being the first woman to hold the post. Prior to that, she was provost and interim president of Dartmouth College. On January 14, 2019, she announced her resignation as UNC chancellor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Students for Justice in Palestine</span> Pro-Palestinian BDS activism organization

Students for Justice in Palestine is a pro-Palestinian college student activism organization in the United States, Canada and New Zealand. It has campaigned for boycott and divestment against corporations that deal with Israel and organized events about Israel's human rights violations. In 2011, The New York Times reported that "S.J.P., founded in 2001 at the University of California, Berkeley, has become the leading pro-Palestinian voice on campus."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Berkeley protests</span> Political protests in Berkeley, California

The 2017 Berkeley protests were a series of protests and clashes between organized groups that occurred in the city of Berkeley, California, in the vicinity of the University of California campus. Violence occurred predominantly between protesters opposed to then-President Donald Trump, including activists such as antifa groups and socialists; and pro-Trump groups such as Republicans, members of the alt-lite and alt-right, neo-Nazis, and white nationalists. The majority of the participants were peaceful.

Columbia University in New York City, New York, has seen numerous instances of student protests, particularly beginning in the late 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Israel–Hamas war protests</span> Protests relating to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas

The Israel–Hamas war has sparked protests, demonstrations, and vigils around the world. These events focused on a variety of issues related to the conflict, including demands for a ceasefire, an end to the Israeli blockade and occupation, return of Israeli hostages, protesting war crimes, and providing humanitarian aid to Gaza. Protests against Israeli action in Gaza were notably large across the Arab world. Since the war began on 7 October 2023, the number of dead has exceeded 30,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Israel–Hamas war protests in the United States</span> Protests relating to the Israel–Hamas war

Protests, including rallies, demonstrations, campaigns, and vigils, relating to the Israel–Hamas war have occurred nationwide across the United States since the conflict's start on 7 October 2023, occurring as part of a broader phenomenon of the Israel–Hamas war protests around the world.

Within Our Lifetime - United For Palestine (WOL), is a pro-Palestinian and anti-Zionist activist organization primarily active in New York City. The group, which expresses support for the Palestinian right to resist against Israel, has been one of the key organizers in the city's Israel-Hamas war protests, alongside Jewish Voice for Peace, Palestinian Youth Movement, and Democratic Socialists of America.

The year 2024 in California involved and is expected to involve several major events.

A series of pro-Palestinian protests were held in the United States on April 15, 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Columbia University pro-Palestinian campus occupation</span> 2024 occupation protest at Columbia University, New York City

A series of occupation protests by pro-Palestinian students occurred at Columbia University in New York City in April 2024, in the context of the broader Israel–Hamas war related protests in the United States. The protests began on April 17, 2024, when pro-Palestinian students established an encampment of approximately 50 tents on the university campus, calling it the Gaza Solidarity Encampment, and demanded the university divest from Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses</span>

Pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses escalated in April 2024, spreading in the United States and in other countries, as a part of wider Israel–Hamas war protests. The escalation began after mass arrests at the Columbia University campus occupation, led by anti-Zionist groups, in which protesters demanded the university's disinvestment from Israel over its alleged genocide of Palestinians. As of May 9, over 2,900 protesters have been arrested, including faculty members and professors, on over 60 U.S. campuses, with protests spreading across Europe. Some protesters have dubbed the movement the "Student Intifada".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 University of California, Los Angeles pro-Palestinian campus occupation</span> 2024 occupation protest in Los Angeles, California

On April 25, 2024, an occupation protest began at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to protest the administration's investments in Israel. The occupation, self-titled as the 'Palestine Solidarity Encampment', was a part of pro-Palestine protests on university campuses campaigning for divestment from Israel. The encampment was attacked multiple times by counter protestors, leading to clashes. On May 2, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) raided and dismantled the encampment, arresting the protestors and ending the occupation.

In May 2024, pro-Palestinian student protesters at the University of Virginia demonstrated on the campus. The protesters organized an occupation on university grounds in support of Palestinian nationalism in the context of the Israel–Hamas war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hind's Hall</span> 2024 single by Macklemore

"Hind's Hall" is a protest song by American rapper Macklemore released as a single on May 6, 2024. It expresses support for the pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses that call for divestment from Israel and a ceasefire in the Israel–Hamas war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McGill University pro-Palestinian encampment</span> Ongoing occupation protest in Quebec, Canada

The McGill University pro-Palestinian encampment is an ongoing occupation protest which has been taking place on the downtown campus of McGill University, in Montreal, since 27 April 2024. It was the first notable Canadian demonstration in the 2024 movement of pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses, which call for universities to cut ties with Israel amid the country's assault on Gaza in the Israel–Hamas war. Like many of its predecessors, the protest at McGill takes the form of an encampment, a group of tents occupied day and night by protesters.

References

  1. ↑ Arzán-Montañez, Bianca (April 25, 2024). "Pro-Palestinian protesters occupy Alumni Park". The Daily Trojan. Archived from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  2. ↑ Silva, Daniella (May 25, 2024). "As USC cancels commencement, Columbia students worry theirs could be disrupted". NBC news. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  3. ↑ Orellana Hernandez, Angie; Smith, Hayley; Kaleem, Jaweed; Fry, Hannah (May 5, 2024). "Police remove tents, clear USC pro-Palestinian encampment; no arrests made". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 5, 2024. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  4. ↑ Anderson, Brooke (24 April 2024). "Columbia University students galvanise worldwide pro-Palestinian demonstrations". newarab.com. New Arab. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  5. ↑ Antczak, John; Watson, Julie (April 16, 2024). "Citing safety, USC makes rare cancellation of speech by valedictorian who supported Palestinians". The Associated Press. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  6. ↑ Dunn, Jack (April 20, 2024). "Jon M. Chu's Commencement Speech Canceled by USC Amid Valedictorian Controversy". Variety. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Dozens of pro-Palestine protesters arrested at USC following demonstrations". NBC 4 Los Angeles. April 24, 2024. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  8. ↑ Sharp, Julie; Rodriguez, Matthew (April 24, 2024). "USC closes its campus as LAPD arrests at least 93 pro-Palestinian protesters". CBS News. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  9. ↑ Dazio, Stefanie (April 25, 2024). "USC's move to cancel commencement amid protests draws criticism from students, alumni". The Associated Press. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  10. ↑ Solis, Nathan (May 3, 2024). "After cancelling commencement, USC will host event at L.A. Coliseum, rolls out new campus security". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 3, 2024. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  11. ↑ Yang, Maya (May 5, 2024). "Police dismantle Palestinian solidarity encampment at USC". The Guardian. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  12. ↑ Aggarwal, Mithil (May 5, 2024). "Campus protests: LAPD officers gather to clear USC campus; university warns of possible arrests". NBC News. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  13. ↑ McKay, Rich (May 5, 2024). "L.A. police clear USC pro-Palestinian encampment, make no arrests". Reuters. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.