Pro-Palestinian students have erected an encampment at Occidental College and are demanding that the school’s Board of Trustees divest from any financial ties with Israel, weapons manufacturing and private prisons.
Dubbed the “Rafah to Jenin Liberated Zone,” the encampment sprung up Friday at the private liberal arts college, located at 1600 Campus Road, south of Eagle Rock.
“We have established a people’s university in solidarity with oppressed peoples from Tongva to Palestine,” one of the encampment leaders posted on social media Friday. “Two years ago, the Occidental College Board of Trustees voted to reinvest in genocide. We have drafted a new divestment proposal. We’ve submitted it to the board.
“We’ve also gathered over 600 student and community member signatures in support of divestment, and yet the board still refuses to put the proposal on the agenda for the upcoming board meeting on Monday.
“We demand that the board of trustees give us back the power,” the message continued. “The students, the staff and the community members have demanded that we divest from weapons manufacturing, private prisons, ICE detention centers and Israel. U.S./Israeli military strikes have been directed at over 30 universities in Iran in the last several months. The genocide has also expanded into southern Lebanon, with air strikes continuing, and ongoing at the moment.
“In our encampment, we will study the history of anti-genocide movements. We will connect with the community and we will practice the values of social justice that Occidental College claims to live by, yet neglects so often in practice … We welcome you to come and sleep in a tent with us. We welcome you to come have a meal with us, or bring us food and supplies. We need all of the people we can get to be in community together in order for the Occidental Board of Trustees to divest from Israel and the ongoing genocide in Palestine.”
Officials for the college released the following statement on Saturday:
“Occidental College has a long-standing commitment to free and peaceful expression. At the same time, the safety of our campus community is our top priority. On Friday morning, approximately 50 individuals, including students and eight non-students, gathered in the quad and began setting up tents and other semi-permanent structures. Some of these actions violate the College’s Student Code of Conduct and content and viewpoint-neutral Time, Place, and Manner policies, which are in place to ensure the well-being of the entire campus community.
“Throughout the day, Campus Safety officers and college staff engaged in peaceful discussions with individuals to communicate these policies and how the college would hold students accountable. The college has also begun conducting processes.
“A recently submitted divestment proposal has been cited as the purpose for this encampment. As stated in community-wide messages today, there is an established process for such proposals, which includes a 45-day comment period for the Occidental community. That comment period was initiated today, and the Board of Trustees will evaluate the proposal in accordance with policy stipulations.
“The college has augmented its on-campus security and will follow its policies and practices. College leadership continues to monitor the situation,” the statement concluded.
A similar encampment was erected at the campus two years ago and lasted for nine days.