On the UCLA Encampment, May 2, 2024
As Political Scientists, we study the politics of Israel/Palestine, the greater Middle East, and conflicts throughout the world. We do not hold a single view on Israel/Palestine and aim to engage with each other respectfully. We also study the importance of free speech and protest in creating and protecting democracy. Therefore, regardless of our views on the current situation in Israel/Palestine, we are together in our desire to protect the right of everyone in our community, including students, faculty, and staff, to protest without suffering violence at the hands of armed mobs, and at the hands of our own police force or police forces called in on our behalf.
The signatories below join with other faculty on campus in asking the administration to:
First, stand by the students, faculty, and staff who were forcibly removed from the encampment through:
- A commitment on the part of the university to not take any disciplinary or other action against peaceful protesters (such as student suspensions and expulsions or retaliation against employees).
- Advocacy on the part of the university in support of the students, faculty, and staff within the legal system, including requests for charges to be dropped, help securing and paying for legal representation.
- Assistance with medical expenses associated with injuries sustained by student, staff, and faculty protesters.
Second, provide a complete, transparent, and truthful account of its actions and decision- making regarding the encampment through:
- An independent investigation of the administration’s activities from the time the camp started until the clearance of the camp on May 2nd.
- An independent investigation of the role of the police on the campus, including their seeming unwillingness to protect students on the night of April 30th-May 1st and their clearing of the encampment on May 2nd.
Third, we call upon the administration and faculty to work together to develop strategies that allow protests and counter protests to occur safely and to ensure that the terrible events of May 1st and May 2nd are never repeated.
Signatories:
Davide Panagia, Professor and Chair of Political Science
Maggie Peters, Professor of Political Science & Chair of the Global Studies Major
Efrén Pérez, Professor of Political Science and Psychology
Mark A. Peterson, Professor of Public Policy, Political Science, and Law
Richard Davis Anderson, Jr., Professor Emeritus of Political Science
Michael Chwe, Professor of Political Science
Michael Ross, Professor of Political Science
Salma Mousa, Assistant Professor of Political Science
Michelle Torres, Assistant Professor of Political Science
Jonathan Homola, Assistant Professor of Political Science
Darin Christensen, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Political Science
Natalie Masuoka, Associate Professor of Political Science and Asian American Studies
Daniel N. Posner, Professor of Political Science
Martin Gilens, Professor of Public Policy, Political Science, and Social Welfare
Gary Segura, Professor of Public Policy, Political Science, and Chicano/a and Central American Studies
Cesi Cruz, Associate Professor of Political Science
Barry O’Neill, Professor of Political Science
