Seated on the ground, legs crossed and arms intertwined, students and alumni from the University of California (UC) staged a non-violent sit-in at the UC Board of Regents’ first meetings of 2024. Calls to divest from war profiteering and invest in student and worker welfare rang from behind a barrier separating the public from the regents.

Within minutes, the demonstrators’ arms would no longer be linked but zip-tied behind their backs.

Organizations under the UC Divest coalition, such as Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and concerned faculty came to UCSF’s Mission Bay Conference Center from Jan. 24-25 to confront the regents.

Much of the outcry was directed at discussion item J3, which intends to censor “political” content publicly stated by departments, organizations, resource centers, and University associated websites, specifically related to the genocide in Palestine. Demonstrators also advocated for the “Opportunity for All” campaign (O4A), which pushes for equal employment at university jobs for undocumented students.

On Jan. 25, the UC Police Department arrested and cited 13 UC students and alumni for misdemeanors: failure to disperse, resisting arrest, and unlawful assembly. Five of the arrestees were from UC Santa Cruz. Their court hearing is scheduled for Mar. 25 in San Francisco.

UC Students and alumni are confronted by UCPD while engaging in a non-violent sit-in at an open session of the regents meeting Jan. 25 2024. Photo by Laila Irshad.

“[The arrests] indicate that they are afraid of our voices, afraid of our criticisms,” said one of the arrestees from UCSC. “We’re their students, they’re supposed to look out for our well-being. Arresting and charging us with multiple misdemeanors despite us being extremely peaceful was ridiculous.”

Policy Proposals
Every other month, the 26 voting members of the UC Board of Regents, including one student regent, deliberate policies that directly affect the over 280,000 students enrolled in the UC. The board also has one student regent-designate who works in preparation to take over after their one-year term but does not receive a vote.

Christine Hong, a professor of critical race and ethnic studies (CRES) at UCSC and Director of the Center for Racial Justice attended in protest of discussion items J3 and B1, which proposes the regents control faculty discipline and dismissal.

“The regents play a critical role in the establishment of policy for the entire UC, and this particular configuration of regents is overreaching in terms of their authority,” Hong said. “They’re doing so in a moment of historical crisis, and by their own admission, ideologically motivated by a desire to disallow critique of the genocidal violence Israel has visited on the Palestinian people. In their haste, they are trampling on academic freedom.”

On Jan. 24, Regent Hadi Makarechian specified that J3 was adopted due to faculty’s public support for Palestinians.

“Why we brought this policy to the table […] was because some people were making political statements related to Hamas and Palestinians,” said Regent Makerichian. “They were making, whether we want to call it hate speech, for one side or the other. What we’re saying is, ‘Look, you have an opinion, don’t take it on the department, don’t pretend that’s the University’s stuff.’”

Student regent-designate, Josiah Beharry, who studied CRES at UC Merced, expresses concern about how J3 may affect free speech and the scholarly work of students and faculty. These policies impact humanities and social science departments, such as CRES, which conduct research and issue statements that can be deemed “political” at the UC’s discretion.

“If scientists who generate new knowledge and share findings are not expressing personal viewpoints; when programs like ethnic studies factually rely on research, theory, and data to highlight systematic racism, sexism, or draw comparisons of past and present— our expressions are not rooted in subjective opinions,” Beharry said during the discussion on J3. “This limitation could impede the dissemination of vital information and hinder the University’s role in contributing to informed discourse on societal awareness […] This opens the door to dangerous rhetoric.”

Pressured by the disruptions, the regents postponed decisions for J3 and B1 until their meeting in March. Regent John Pérez suggested more deliberation was needed to make an informed decision.

“The period between this meeting and the next is going to be very crucial,” Beharry said. “The advocacy and the work that students put in these next couple months is really important.”

UC community calls for ceasefire and divestment at UC Regents meeting Jan. 24 2024.

Opportunity for All (O4A)
On Jan. 25, the Board of Regents voted to suspend Policy 4407. Implemented in May 2023, the policy ensured equal opportunities for undocumented students for university employment.
Outcry from undocumented students and supporters of O4A arose immediately after the verdict. Some attendees had been engaged in a three-day hunger strike to pressure the regents to extend the policy.

“Suspending it by one year will negatively impact our undocumented community,” said Celene Aridin, president of the University of California Student Association (UCSA). “They’re not getting the same resources and support other students get.”

The UCSA is a student-led organization that advocates for student concerns within higher education policy. Aridin joined out of a passion to engage with her campus community and explore the impact students have on local, state, and federal politics.

“The hostility that comes with public comments is actually a cry for help,” Aridin said in her public remarks. “There’s a severe disconnect from the top down as student-leaders are rallying students and telling them to use avenues such as public comment and meeting with their administrators.”

Public Comment, Open Sessions, and Student Advocacy
During open sessions, 30 minutes are allotted for the public to make minute-long statements about their concerns. Held once a day, public comment was overwhelmed by calls for the UC to support a ceasefire in Gaza.

“I don’t think any student wants to be on a campus that is so intertwined with the funding of genocide,” said a fourth-year UCSC student organizer. “It won’t foster a community where we feel safe or trust in our universities.”

As frustration with UC governance rises, students are seeking more democracy on the policy-making level, pushing to meet with regents and administration to assess student concerns. Christine Hong says student advocacy is a means of reforming university policy to better serve its students.

“Students often look at the university as a hierarchy,” Hong said. “But when they organize collectively, students have a power in the university that no one has. It’s unsurpassable.”