By Sierra Lopez, Jason Green and Caelyn Pender headline news online news
The Mercury News
(The Mercury News) – Less than 24 hours after UC Berkeley administrators and protestors concluded negotiations, a small clean-up crew dressed in white jumpsuits was busy scrubbing away the remnants of a pro-Palestine encampment that ballooned to dozens of tents over the past few weeks and seemingly disappeared overnight.
Demonstrators began taking down most of the camp around Sproul Plaza on Tuesday afternoon, and by the next morning, a protester was packing up the last tent.
The quiet end to UC Berkeley’s encampment came in stark contrast to others around the state and country that have seen protesters clash with law enforcement and counter protesters, instead reflecting a generally peaceful handling of demonstrations on Bay Area campuses.
“I am greatly relieved that we were able to bring this protest to a peaceful end,” Chancellor Carol T. Christ said in a letter to the Academic Senate. “We stand ready, as always, to also meet with any students from any community who wish to present requests and ideas for institutional action in support of their needs, interests and/or values.”
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At San Jose State University and the University of San Francisco, meanwhile, encampments remained intact on Wednesday despite deadlines to pack up on Tuesday. Tents at a San Francisco State University encampment started coming down Wednesday, a day after demonstrators and administrators also reached an agreement.
Like at many universities, UC Berkeley students, staff and faculty have been protesting for months against Israeli’s military response to an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas and its general treatment of Palestinian’s over the past 75 years. Gaza’s Health Ministry estimates that more than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military response to the Hamas-led attack that left 1,200 Israelis dead and 250 people taken as hostage.
Protestors first took over the Savio Steps of Sproul Hall on April 22, growing their encampment to more than 150 tents, with a list of demands.
They included that the university disavow the war in Gaza and call for a permanent and immediate cease-fire, a divestment of all financial holdings supporting Israel’s military operations, an end to academic partnerships with Israeli universities, and greater support of Palestinian students, including the establishment of a Palestinian studies program.
As of Tuesday, demonstrators agreed to disband their encampment in exchange for a campus commitment to two points, according to a public letter sent from Christ to the encampment.
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Administrators said a full divestment was off the table, echoing comments made by UC Regents during a meeting Tuesday, but agreed to expedite the UC Berkeley Foundation’s process for reviewing concerns regarding investments in weapons manufacturing, mass incarceration and surveillance industries. If the foundation signals support for divestment, the university will establish and convene a divestment task force by June 30. The task force will be expected to issue a report on industry-specific divestments.
If divestment is not supported, a task force of students, faculty and staff will be established by July 14 to develop industry-specific or company-specific divestment recommendations to be presented to the foundation chair.
Secondly, administrators agreed to review existing complaints regarding anti-Palestinian discrimination at Israeli universities and to establish a formal transparent process for reviewing similar complaints by the end of this year. Administrators also agreed to pursue termination of partnerships with programs that violate discrimination policies if no other remedies are available, according to a public letter sent from Christ to the encampment.
Christ also expressed support for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, recognized the “extraordinary death and destruction in Gaza,” and rejected the assertion that criticisms of Israel are antisemitic, according to release.
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Demonstrators committed themselves to fighting for full divestment of Israel, asserting results from the initial terms of the agreement are only the “next terrain of struggle.” By 8:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, students and alumni from across the UC system were imploring regents to pursue divestment during a meeting at UC Merced.
“For three weeks, our encampment has been one node in the global student revolt for Palestine which has reinvigorated our people on the ground,” read a statement from the encampment. “Long live the Palestinian people. Long live the Palestinian resistance. The revolution continues.”
Across the Bay Bridge, members of a pro-Palestinian encampment at SF State announced they had reached an agreement with President Lynn Mahoney, 15 days after first setting up their encampment.
“We have won a commitment by the university to divest from weapons manufacturers and a commitment to create a workforce that will develop new screenings for investments that violate human rights and divest from those investments,” Students for Gaza said in a statement.
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The university has agreed to make its investment strategy more transparent with the involvement of representatives from the student encampment alongside other university stakeholders, according to a letter released by Mahoney. SFSU will also support the creation of a human rights-based investment strategy, divest from direct investments in weapons manufacturers and limit indirect investment.
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Demonstrators at other Bay Area universities, meanwhile, are defying deadlines to disband and are continuing to camp out while negotiating with administrators. San Jose State University administrators gave students until 6 p.m. Tuesday to remove their encampment on the grounds that it violated the university’s Time, Place and Manner policy. Protestors at an encampment at the University of San Francisco had until 3 p.m. Tuesday to clear out, or face possible code of conduct violations.
Both campus remained up, as of Wednesday afternoon. SJSU administrators do not currently have plans to remove the estimated 20 tents that remain and has not taken disciplinary action against the students but is “leaving that door open,” said university spokesperson Michelle Smith McDonald.
USF similarly will not tear down the encampment or involve law enforcement “as long as the encampment is peaceful and nonviolent,” Kellie Samson of USF’s Office of Marketing Communications said Wednesday.
UCSF has already committed to calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and establishing a Socially Responsible Investment Task Force with at least one representative from the encampment, according to a May 13 announcement from university President Paul J. Fitzgerald. He added that the university has no academic connections with Israeli institutions but is looking into academic opportunities and trips that may exist.
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