One person was arrested at UCLA Monday night after police dispersed a pro-Palestinian demonstration on campus.
It started just before 10:30 a.m. when the Graduate Students for Justice in Palestine set up a “Gaza solidarity Sukkah” on Dickson Court North, the Daily Bruin, the university’s student-run newspaper, reported.
A sukkah, according to Merriam-Webster, is “a booth or shelter with a roof of branches and leaves that is used especially for meals during the Sukkoth.”
The protest began at 11:45 a.m when about 40 demonstrators also called on university officials to stop investing in companies that work with Israel and called for an end to the war in Palestine.
In a series of statements posted on X, the UCLA Police Department called the demonstration “unauthorized.”
“They are assembling in an area not designated for public expression, using unauthorized structures, and they have used amplified sound, all of which are against UCLA’s current interim Time, Place and Manner policies,” according to a statement by the department posted on X around 3:17 p.m.
The Daily Bruin reported that at 5:12 p.m., security guards tried to take down some signs that were hung outside Perloff Hal that read “UCPD is Fascist. Abolition Now.” Protestors tried protecting the sign and police officers in riot gear eventually showed up.
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Counter-protesters showed up later in the evening and at 8:30 p.m., the UCLA Police Department announced a dispersal order.
“One person was arrested tonight for failure to disperse at Dickson Court North following a dispersal order for an unauthorized demonstration involving about 40 people,” according to the department.
Prior to the beginning of the school year, UCLA’s Administrative Vice Chancellor Michael Beck and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Monroe Gorden Jr. revealed the updated “Time, Place and Manner” policies. One of the new rules included UCLA closing off areas, including “Areas for Public Expression,” between midnight and 6 a.m. Exceptions include those who are going to and from buildings.
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