Pro-Palestinian rallies held but no disturbances seen on Southern California universities' 'day of action'

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Pro-Palestinian protesters urged students throughout California State University’s Southern California campuses to take part in a CSU-wide day of action on Wednesday as tensions continue to flare over the Israel-Hamas war.

No major outbreaks were reported in the greater Los Angeles area, however. Across a number of college campuses, including non-CSU campuses, students held teach-ins and other activities while calling on university officials to divest from Israel and businesses with ties to Israel, and related demands.

Meanwhile, at USC, the first set of more than 100 planned graduation events took place Wednesday without disruptions, to the relief of the graduates and their loved ones who had traveled near and far to celebrate their achievements.

Additional events are planned through Saturday for graduating USC students, who for weeks wondered if there would be any celebrations at all. In mid-April, the university announced that this year’s valedictorian, a pro-Palestinian student, would not be allowed to speak at commencement. Subsequent protests led to the arrest of 93 pro-Palestinian demonstrators on April 24, prompting USC administrators to call off the university’s main-stage commencement ceremony, which would have taken place this Friday.

Across town at UCLA, it was unclear whether a decision to change the venue of the law school’s commencement ceremony – announced the day after an April 30 clash that turned violent between pro-Palestine and pro-Israel demonstrators – was in direct response to the rising tensions on campus. The ceremony will now take place Friday in Pauley Pavilion, starting at 12:30 p.m.

UCLA has continued to deal with fallout stemming from protests that began April 25. After clashes between pro-Palestinian demonstrators in the encampment and pro-Israel activists who came onto campus turned violent last Tuesday the university called in law enforcement who arrested over 200 people early Thursday.

About 45 more arrests were made Monday during another gathering on campus.

On Tuesday night, the Undergraduate Students Association Council passed a resolution calling for UCLA Chancellor Gene Block to resign if he did not agree to the demands of the Palestine Solidarity Encampment, according to the Daily Bruin, UCLA’s campus newspaper.