By Jerald Jimenez
May 5, 2024, 2:00 PM EDT
A student camp at the University Park Campus (UPC) of the University of Southern California (USC) was evicted by the police, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) reported, while university authorities had warned on their networks that protesters who did not leave the campus would be arrested.
The eviction occurs after the students established the camps in order to express their discontent with the Joe Biden government’s support for Israeli forces in the midst of the war in the Gaza Strip that began after the Hamas attack last year. October 7.
In addition to the recent incidents at USC, police cleared a similar protest on campus on April 24, resulting in more than 90 arrests. Tensions escalated further when USC Chancellor Carol Folt canceled valedictorian Asna Tabassum’s speech at the graduation ceremony due to security concerns.
Likewise, the rector announced the cancellation of the entire graduation ceremony, which was to be held on May 10 with more than $65,000 attendees at the Los Angeles Coliseum stadium. However, the ceremony was finally called with reinforced security measures.
Folt stated in a statement last Friday that “freedom of speech and assembly does not include the right to obstruct equal access to campus, damage property, or encourage harassment, violence and threats.”
In the same state, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) had similar protests where police forcibly broke up a protest encampment, resulting in about 200 arrests.
Across the United States, pro-Palestinian protests at public and private universities have been broken up by police. The operations have resulted in more than 2,500 students being detained.
Protesters demand that universities cut any ties with institutions linked to Israel. On Saturday, police removed tents and arrested 25 people at a protest at the University of Virginia. In addition, dozens of students shouted and interrupted the big graduation event at the University of Michigan.
With information from EFE