Wednesday marked the third day students continued to occupy Siemens Hall at Cal Poly Humboldt. Barriers were reinforced, more tents were put up Tuesday and students collected gear for facing tear gas.
A couple of dozen people are estimated to be barricaded inside the building while others have joined them outside, at some points in the hundreds.
Students outside speculated Wednesday night would mean another conflict with police, who initially responded in droves to drive out the protesters Monday evening. Cal Poly Humboldt on Wednesday announced the campus would be closed through the weekend, extending the first closure set to end Wednesday.
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“The occupation of Siemens Hall causes complex operational challenges that require the closure of other facilities on campus. In particular, there is a risk of other buildings being occupied, as protestors have shown a willingness to enter unlocked buildings and either lock themselves in or steal equipment. The occupation is also having a negative impact on other students, who are trying to complete classes at the end of the semester,” a news release from the university said.
The other building the release said is “occupied” is being used for its public bathrooms, propped open with a cardboard box and duct tape. Protesters initially took furniture from Nelson Hall to form barricades. Someone was working on a desktop computer in an office in the building, as seen through a window Wednesday morning and people were walking in and out of the door. Other buildings with restrooms across campus have been locked due to the closure.
The release said the university is making various contingency plans, including possibly keeping campus closed beyond the weekend.
The activists, who are occupying the building in conjunction with nationwide actions at universities, have five demands: for Cal Poly Humboldt to disclose all holdings and collaborations with Israel, to cut all academic ties with Israel, to divest from all ties to Israel, to drop all charges on student organizers and for an immediate ceasefire. CSU and Cal Poly Humboldt Foundation investment accounts are being pointed to as linked to military manufacturing, though neither the CSU Chancellor’s Office nor Cal Poly Humboldt’s spokespeople responded to emails requesting information about these accounts.
Students outside the building said communication with the administrators was fraught from the beginning.
“To be honest, like the barricades would not be here. We originally planned on having an open occupation where students would be in the building but other people would be allowed to enter and exit, classes would still be held. However, when the university heard what was happening, they immediately declared the situation was dangerous. They evacuated the building. They called the police without consulting with the students,” said Jackie Zeibert, a student at Cal Poly Humboldt.
Guy Aronoff, a history professor, has been trying to foster meetings between the student protestors and administration to de-escalate the situation. He called on administrators to meet with the protestors.
“I want the administrators to show up. They need to have a conversation,” he said.
Protesters outside the building said there have been no meetings. The Times-Standard was not permitted into the building Wednesday to check with the occupiers. The Cal Poly Humboldt news release said “campus officials are communicating with protestors and continuing to encourage them to leave as soon as possible.”
A California Faculty Association teach-in was underway Wednesday. Hundreds of teachers at the university have signed a letter addressed to administrators deploring the police response Monday night.
“We call on all CPH administrators to reflect on the real harm that this crackdown on free speech inflicts and the message it sends to current and future students, their parents, faculty, and staff, and our communities within and beyond Humboldt. Brutalizing students who raise urgent protest according to their consciences is shameful,” the letter said.
Students and faculty largely pointed to the police response which resulted in injuries to several students after a clash between police wielding batons and shields and students wielding an empty water cooler jug at the building’s entrance. Three students were arrested Monday.
Bench vandalism
A vandalized bench at the center of the protest activity. The bench has a memorial for two then-Humboldt State professors. A son of the couple said the vandalism, is antisemitic. (Sage Alexander/Times-Standard)
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A memorial bench for two long-term professors at Cal Poly Humboldt has been painted with the graphic phrases and expletives including “f–k zionists,” “land back,” “no one is free until we are all free,” “free Palestine from the river to the sea,” and “end all occupations.” The bench is physically closest to the hall’s entrance and signs were propped up along it Wednesday.
The memorial was installed on the bench in 2022 for the two professors, one of whom is a Holocaust survivor, and a son of the couple said the vandalism is antisemitic.
“These kids should not be allowed to stay in school,” said David Oliner, a son of the professors, on Wednesday from New York.
He said the pair’s long-term work was about altruism and ending racism.
“This is the equivalent of people going through a Jewish cemetery and kicking over tombstones to single out a bunch of people who have given their whole lives to Humboldt state,” he said.
Cal Poly Humboldt acknowledged the vandalism.
“In recent days, hateful graffiti has been painted on university property. The university condemns in the strongest terms all forms of hatred, bigotry, and violence. Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, hatred, and bigotry in all forms have no place at Cal Poly Humboldt. The university is actively offering support to all students and has been in touch with local Jewish community leaders,” a Cal Poly Humboldt news release said.
Oliner said he hasn’t heard back in his efforts to reach the president’s office.
Students on campus Wednesday said they’d clean up messes after their demands were met.
Sage Alexander can be reached at 707-441-0504.