Violence and arrests at the UC Santa Cruz Gaza protest was inevitable, writes Colm Fitzgerald, a 2023 graduate who served as chair of the Undergraduate Student Assembly from 2021-2022. That’s because UCSC students don’t believe – and are not being taught – that listening to arguments they disagree with is necessary, he says. The students believe compromise shows weakness. This, he says, is a dangerous trend for academia and democracy.
Israel-Hamas war
Posted inEducation
UCSC rescinds some campus bans for pro-Palestine protesters even as criminal charges linger
UC Santa Cruz students and faculty that were cited by police May 31 at a pro-Palestine encampment say their arraignments have been postponed from July to September. The District Attorney’s Office hasn’t yet received police reports from the incident.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Pop quiz: My UCSC students understand free speech — do you?
UC Santa Cruz lecturer Ryan Coonerty has spent the year teaching on newsy topics, including antisemitism and free speech. Coonerty, a former Santa Cruz mayor and member of the county board of supervisors, says he’s buoyed by his students’ attitudes and aptitude. He also offers his final exam. Could you pass it?
Posted inEducation
Court grants UC restraining order to stop graduate student strike
An Orange County Superior Court judge granted University of California its request for a temporary restraining order Friday forcing the graduate student union to stop its strike, three weeks after workers began walking off the job for free speech rights and in support of Palestine.
Posted inEducation
Facing backlash, UCSC chancellor defends police raid on protesters as ‘necessary decision’
UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Cynthia Larive defended her decision to call in police to clear a pro-Palestine encampment, saying it was necessary to maintain campus safety even as she faces a backlash from some of the school’s faculty and students.
Posted inLatest News
UC Santa Cruz main entrance open following 16-hour standoff as school issues penalties
A UC Santa Cruz spokesperson said that there will continue to be more law enforcement officers on campus following the standoff between pro-Palestine protesters and more than 100 police officers overnight Thursday into Friday.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
UCSC strike: How much should we worry about lost learning?
UC Santa Cruz graduate students have entered their second week of strikes. That has left some in the community worrying about lost learning and the effect on grades. Emily Robertson, a doctoral candidate in philosophy and a strike supporter, unpacks that argument and asks, “How pressing a concern should lost learning really be?”
Posted inLatest News
Protesters blockade UCSC entrances as classes head back online through Thursday
Pro-Palestine protesters blocked both entrances to the UC Santa Cruz campus on Tuesday, continuing their monthslong push for UCSC to divest from weapons-manufacturing companies and cut ties with organizations associated with Israel. The university sent out a statement Tuesday evening, saying that instruction will be online through at least Thursday.
Posted inEducation
Hundreds arrested and suspended: How California colleges are disciplining faculty and students over protests
Students and faculty protesting the Israel-Hamas war at universities throughout California are facing a range of consequences from arrests to suspensions and bans from campus. Meanwhile, students and faculty have also had to endure campus closures, canceled events and classes moving online. What are the academic and legal costs of civil disobedience for California’s college protesters?
Posted inEducation
Labor board rejects UC bid to end student strike over crackdown on pro-Palestine protests
Thursday’s decision clears the way for graduate student workers at UC Santa Cruz to continue their four-day-old strike over what they say was the unfair treatment of student protesters in pro-Palestine encampments at other UC campuses. UCSC officials said they planned to resume in-person instruction on Tuesday.