UCLA resumes in-person classes after Palestine protests

There were no tents, barricades, or plywood barriers on UCLA’s campus as students walked to class Monday. After weeks of pro-Palestine demonstrations , one senior told KNX News’ Pete Demetriou the lack of activity was “a little eerie.”

“It almost feels like there wasn’t a proper conclusion to it, especially considering so many of the students had a goal in mind,” she said. “Not seeing that goal met must make a lot of students feel very disappointed.”

The university resumed in-person classes Monday after weeks of going remote due to the pro-Palestinian encampment in front of Royce Hall. Following a violent attack by counter-protesters two weeks ago, police raided the encampment , arresting over 200 people. Another 40 people were arrested in a campus parking garage last Monday.

There were mixed feelings about the campus’ return to normalcy among students walking through the Dixon Plaza quad area.

“I had no problem with the protesters and I had no disruptions going to class, so I think the sense of normalcy was disrupted by the administration and the police, not by students,” one  student said.

UCLA Chancellor Gene Block came under fire for his handling of the protests. More than 800 UC faculty and staff signed a petition calling for Block’s resignation and echoing the demonstrators’ demand for the university to divest from "all military weapons production companies and supporting systems."

UC President Michael Drake also announced an independent investigation into UCLA’s response to the violence by counter-protesters, which continued unchecked for several hours while police and campus security officers stood by.

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About half the people Demetriou spoke to on campus felt there may be more protests before commencement ceremonies begin in June.

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