“Gaza, Gaza, you will rise, students are by your side.” Organizers called the chant out to the crowd of over 250 supporters in the Quarry.
Amidst the May Day rally, UC Santa Cruz students joined thousands of others nationwide in building encampments in solidarity with Gaza, calling on the University to divest funds away from companies and institutions operating in cooperation with Israel.
Photo by Cecilia Schutz.
UC Divest organized the rally, and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) of Santa Cruz, with the support of SJP National, are operating the encampment. Although the events were not explicitly linked, there was overlap among participants, with the workers’ rally expressing unity with Palestine.
“We are just here in love, solidarity and peace. Any escalation that happens, I can guarantee will not be on our end,” said Savvy, an SJP media liaison. “We’re not here to be violent in any manner.”
Demonstrators filled the Quarry, holding signs and wearing keffiyehs and other face coverings, amplifying the organizers’ chants into a roar as they arrived at the encampment. Protestors gathered around speakers standing on a boulder, watching as others raised dozens of tents between the Bay Tree Bookstore and the Redwood Building. As of the evening of May 1, 42 tents stand in the Quarry.
“Our SJP local is answering a call which came down from the SJP National, which came down from organizers in Palestine and in the Palestinian Youth Movement,” said Dax, a participant and media representative for the encampment.
Photo by Keith Gelderloos.
The encampment comes at a time when other student-led occupations are popping up nationwide. Many students and other attendees face severe repercussions from university administrators and law enforcement. At Columbia University, the New York Police Department arrested dozens of students after they occupied a campus building for over 20 hours on the night of April 30.
“[It’s] the fact that our university and country have invested so much into this genocide [of innocent civilians] and won’t acknowledge it [or] break our ties with a genocidal government,” one UCSC student said when asked what brought them to the rally.
The encampment intends to spur activism at the university level in response to Israel’s actions against Palestinians, particularly since Oct. 7th.
Photo by Sarah Ball.
“Our principal target is divestment of the University from imperialism and, in particular, Zionism,” Dax said, pointing out that although the SUA passed a limited divestment resolution, their goal is much larger. “The Regents have explicitly stated their opposition to any kind of divestment. We’d like them to change that position.”
In addition to divestment, protestors are calling for the removal of police from campus and a living wage for all workers. According to SJP media representatives at the camp, the Divest Coalition has been pursuing discussions with the University, but has been thus far “stonewalled.”
No law enforcement was present at the time of the May Day rally when City on a Hill Press reported. Preparations are being made in the event that police appear at the encampment. Wooden pallets have been erected around the tents, and organizers have practiced barricade and arrest training in advance of the encampment. Several educational sessions are scheduled on self defense and constitutional rights while protesting, per SJP’s instagram.
“We know [the police] are aware of us. We have reason to believe they’re going to come for us at some point,” Dax said. “Our intention is to be here for the long haul.”
Photo by Sarah Ball.
Editor’s Note: Out of concern for privacy and safety, some sources chose to be identified by a pseudonym.
Additional reporting by Caly Plowman and Colleen Barrett.
