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| Police Watching Encampment & Counter Demonstration 4-28-2024 |
Waiting out those protesting in the encampment might work at Berkeley, although there is still a graduation to worry about. It seems less likely to work at UCLA (which also has a graduation to deal with).
In both cases, of course, there is the background of the Regents having rejected the protesters' demands last Friday.
NY Times columnist David French had this comment on the wait-it-out approach:
...At this moment, one has the impression that university presidents at several universities are simply hanging on, hoping against hope that they can manage the crisis well enough to survive the school year and close the dorms, and praying that passions cool over the summer.
That is a vain hope. There is no indication that the war in Gaza — or certainly the region — will be over by the fall. It’s quite possible that Israel will be engaged in full-scale war on its northern border against Hezbollah. And the United States will be in the midst of a presidential election that could be every bit as contentious as the 2020 contest.
But the summer does give space for a reboot. It allows universities to declare unequivocally that they will protect free speech, respect peaceful civil disobedience and uphold the rule of law by protecting the campus community from violence and chaos. Universities should not protect students from hurtful ideas, but they must protect their ability to peacefully live and learn in a community of scholars. There is no other viable alternative.
Full op ed at https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/28/opinion/protests-college-free-speech.html.
Obviously, Chancellor Block would like to be remembered for, say, the research institute that will be developed at the Westside Pavillion or having navigated the COVID pandemic. But you have to play the cards you have been dealt.
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