Officers clean encampment
Officers clear out the pro-Palestine encampment at UC San Diego. Screenshot from 10News broadcast

UC San Diego was scheduled to resume normal operations on Tuesday after the campus was closed Monday and classes moved online while police cleared a five-day-old pro-Palestinian encampment.

The university issued a statement on X that it “will resume normal operations at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, May 7, 2024.”

Campus police, California Highway Patrol officers and San Diego Sheriff’s deputies began clearing the encampment at daybreak on Monday.

“The decision to vacate the site was based on danger arising from a prolonged event in terms of health, fire, safety and security. One minor injury was reported,” officials said later.

There were 64 arrests. Of those, 40 were students and 24 were unaffiliated or their status was unknown.

“The arrested students have been or will be placed under immediate interim suspension,” the university said.

Morgen Chalmiers, a UCSD student and one of the protest organizers, described the arrests as a violent action against peaceful students.

“Today, we saw UCSD administration willfully endanger communities of color, undocumented individuals, and other marginalized groups, whom we know are at a disproportionate risk of state violence,” Chalmiers said.

The police action at UCSD came as universities across the country are ending pro-Palestine protests ahead of graduation.

Chris Jennewein is Editor & Publisher of Times of San Diego.