Dozens of protestors decide to stay on Cal Poly Humboldt campus, occupation continues

by Dezmond Remington

Resolute hope mixed with a tinge of fear and anxiety have been the dominant emotions today on Humboldt’s campus after officials sent an email saying protestors participating in the ongoing Siemens Hall occupation should leave before 5 p.m. to avoid being arrested. 

Though only a few people have been arrested, many more than that have received interim suspensions today. 

Administration set up a “check out” booth next to the library circle, where activists who got a suspension could make a case that they didn’t deserve one and attempt to get it wiped. 

According to Dean of Students Mitch Mitchell, the decision was made by an emergency operation committee with over 30 people on the board. They thought it was the best way for students to vacate without being physically harmed. Mitchell believed it was highly likely that many people would take the opportunity to leave. 

“This is not a person’s normal dwelling,” Mitchell said. “Students walk out, same way they walked in.”

Most of the activists are staying, and won’t leave until the university meets their demands.  Many of them say it’s worth getting arrested.

“A lot of us have known that the university has problems caring about students,” one protestor who asked to remain anonymous said. “This just confirmed what I suspected.”

Another protestor, who gave the pseudonym “Rosie”, thought the check out booth and insinuation that everyone else who didn’t use it could be arrested was an unnecessary scare tactic. To leave, Rosie said the CSU would have to commit to a system-wide divestment policy to stop investing in Israeli interests, a statement a lot of protestors echoed. 

“If we stay here long enough, we can get the CSU to divest,” said one speaker in the UC quad with a megaphone. “We can be a thorn in the side of Genocide Joe [Biden] as long as it takes.”

Although the vast majority of protestors have decided to stay, at least one who asked to go by “Tord” left because of the threat of violence. Tord had been staying on campus since Monday, and could not condone the possibility of physical harm coming from either law enforcement or protestors. 

“I’m leaving for my own safety,” Tord said. “I want to be 100% peaceful and I won’t associate with violence. I just wanted community.”

Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal showed up to campus at around 4 p.m. to try and work with activists to devise a plan to get everyone to leave campus. He also said the sheriff’s office had no plans to breach the barricades and enter the occupied portion of campus, but only if the police and protestors could come to some agreements.

“The last thing we want is violence,” Honsal said. “If we continue down this road, that [could] happen.”

The occupation continues to disrupt campus life as in-person classes have been shut down for the rest of the semester. Many of the activists have little sympathy for students who are mad at the developments. One alumni said the protests are “land-based learning.”

“If our demands are not met and if all we’ve done is show hope, I am happy,” one speaker said. “To those who have said this was a waste of time, or unproductive, or just a lot of needless destruction of property, I say we inspired hope.”

Dean Mitchell doesn’t agree.

“I think there’s been a lot of light shed on the situation [the war in Palestine],” Mitchell said. “My focus is the student body. What about the other students? There is no access to the cultural centers or study halls. How are we showing support for all of our campus? How do we restore our campus? I believe in disruption, not destruction. Don’t take it [destruction] home.”

Protesters have been moved to Nelson Hall while university officials currently survey the damage in Siemens Hall.