USC Pro-Palestinian Demonstrators Set Up Camp Again As College Officials Warn Of 'Further Action'

Topline:

The backstory: Last week, the protesters established an encampment at USC's Alumni Park over a list of six demands, including divestment from companies linked to the Israeli occupation in Gaza and U.S. weapons manufacturers. After being cleared out late Wednesday, protesters reestablished an encampment at Alumni Park this weekend.

What's next: USC has indicated they plan to respond to the new encampment, citing graffiti of a statue at Alumni Park as well as alleged harassment of students. "We are hoping for a more reasonable response Sunday before we are forced to take further action. This area is needed for commencement set up early this week," USC spokesperson Joel Curran said in a statement.

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Police actions: In addition to the arrest of over 90 people on Wednesday, Los Angeles police officers issued a tactical alert and visited the reestablished encampment at the school Saturday night. According to LAPD spokesperson Drake Madison, officers left without making any arrests.

Negotiations: The protest group, the USC Divest from Death Coalition, said they will continue to camp out until their demands over divestment are met. Curran wrote in a statement that students declined requests from USC President Carol Folt to meet with the students. The group, however, said they have not heard from Folt directly, and that negotiations between protesters and the administration broke down late last week.

Commencement speakers withdraw: Booker Prize nominated author C Pham Zhang and UCLA professor and MacArthur Fellow Safiya Noble have withdrawn as speakers USC’s Rossier school satellite commencement ceremony.

In a letter first published on Literary Hub, the two said they are withdrawing because “to speak at USC in this moment would betray not only our own values, but USC’s too.”

“We stand with Asna, USC student protestors, and an increasingly vocal contingent of the American public in expressing our support for Palestinians and condemn Israel’s ongoing genocidal campaign in Gaza,” wrote Zhang and Noble.

Go deeper: For background on the reasons behind the protests, read LAist's coverage of the arrests at last week's protests at USC, as well as the demonstration across town at UCLA.