Compiled by Griffin Mancuso
Last year on April 22, dozens of Cal Poly Humboldt students and community members occupied Siemens Hall in support of Palestine for eight days. These eight days resulted in a notable shift in opinion about administration and perspectives on campus activism. The following took place during this occupation.
April 22, 2024
A group of students organized a sit-in in Siemens Hall at 4 p.m. — they brought games, books and art supplies and planned to host a Seder.
At 4:15 p.m., UPD entered the building and asked the students to leave. The students continued to protest and UPD evacuated non-participants out of the building. The students began to lock doors and entrances to the building, except for the door leading to the quad. They constructed barricades in front of doors with chairs, desks and other items in Siemens Hall.
At 5:00 p.m., officers arrived in riot gear and attempted to remove the protestors from the building. The scene drew hundreds of spectators and people started joining in the protest. An alert was initially sent out at 5:57 p.m. of the university closing Siemens Hall for the night, but that status changed to the entire campus being closed until April 24, 2024 by 8:53 p.m. By 10:50 p.m., law enforcement left the area and the protesters inside the building opened the doors. Dozens of outside protestors flooded into the building.
April 23, 2024
Students and community members continued to occupy Siemens Hall and the surrounding area, including the Gutswurrak Student Activity Center (GSAC) quad. Signs and chalk decorations covered the area, and several local bands performed in front of the GSAC. The protestors released a set of demands to the university calling for them to:
-Disclose all ties to Israel
-Cut all ties to Israeli universities
-Divert from companies with ties to Israel
-Drop all charges against protestors and cease the use of law enforcement against them
-Publicly call for a ceasefire and end to the occupation of Palestine
Students, faculty and community members delivered supplies to the protestors in Siemens Hall and a Mutual Aid Kitchen was set up in front of the Siemens Hall main entrance.
April 24, 2024
From 12 to 4 p.m., the California Faculty Association (CFA) hosted a teach-in in the GSAC quad where multiple faculty members spoke and led workshops for an audience of students, faculty and community members.
At 2:12 p.m., a Humboldt Alert was sent out over email announcing the campus to be closed through April 28, 2024.
April 25, 2024
An open forum was hosted between protestors and Provost Jenn Capps and Dean of Students Mitch Mitchell at 4 p.m. in the Goodwin Forum of Nelson Hall. Other admin, such as Dean Jeff Crane, also made appearances.
The University Senate released a Sense of the Faculty Resolution on a Vote of No Confidence in President Tom Jackson, citing Jackson and former Chief of Staff Mark Johnson’s mishandling of the protest and inappropriate use of law enforcement resulting in the injury of students and faculty.
April 26, 2024
At 10:28 a.m., the university released an email response to the protestors’ demands and distributed physical copies of the response on campus. In the email, the university reported that they have no direct ties to Israeli universities and they would continue to uphold the Time, Place and Manner Policy and enforce consequences for violations of university policy and laws. The university also stated that they don’t have any direct investments in defense companies or securities issued by Israeli companies, organizations or defense firms.
“Our estimates put the potential indirect investment in the areas that are asked about at less than 1% of the investment portfolio of more than $51 million,” the email read.
At 12:28 p.m., the university sent out a Humboldt Alert announcing the closure of campus for the rest of the semester and the continuation of remote work and instruction.
At 1:49 p.m., the university sent an email to the campus body opening a check-out option for protestors from 2 to 4 p.m., presenting an option to vacate campus without immediate arrest.
“Voluntary participation in this check-out process WILL be considered as a mitigating factor in University conduct processes and may reduce the severity of sanctions imposed,” the email read.
At 5:20 p.m., protestors opened one of the entrances to Siemens Hall to allow the public to walk inside and document the state of the building.
The same day, the University Senate published a Sense of the Senate Resolution On A Call for a Permanent Ceasefire in Gaza.
At 6:20 p.m., a local rabbi along with students and community members welcomed Shabbat in the GSAC quad in solidarity with the protestors.
April 27, 2024
The university sent out a Humboldt Alert announcing the hard closure of campus at 12:35 p.m., specifying that individuals are prohibited from entering or being on campus without authorization from the UPD. At 1:45 p.m., construction workers placed cement blockades at three main entry points to campus, including the Library Circle.
At 6:30 p.m., protestors and community members hosted a group march and protest, starting at the Arcata Plaza and ending at the Library Circle cement blockades.
April 29, 2024
At 2:15 p.m., the CFA organized a march from the Arcata Plaza to the Library Circle, then ended at the lawn in front of the main Cal Poly Humboldt sign off of 14th St.
Another march from the plaza to the Library Circle happened at 7 p.m., with a Seder being hosted for a group of around 200 people. The group slowly dwindled over time, but protestors remained in the area until around 4 a.m.
At 10 p.m., two UPD officers started driving a police vehicle up to the main barricades set up by protestors near the campus library and the GSAC quad. The vehicle played a recorded message from Chief of University Police Peter Cress announcing the protest as an unlawful assembly. The message warned protestors that they had 15 minutes to disperse or risk being faced with rubber bullets and chemical agents. The message continued to play at each of the barricades for around 5 hours.
April 30, 2024
At 2:50 a.m., hundreds of officers in riot gear from agencies in Humboldt County to San Francisco and Redding began breaking down barricades and entering the occupied area. A group of protestors sat in a circle in the quad with their arms linked together. Officers gradually closed in on the area and some began arresting protestors in the circle. 32 protesters were arrested, including a faculty member and a journalist.
A Humboldt Alert was sent out at 3:00 a.m. ordering students living on campus to shelter-in-place.
Those detained were processed for arrest in front of Gist Hall and sent on buses and vans to the county jail in Eureka.
A Humboldt Alert was sent out by 6:56 a.m. declaring that law enforcement secured the campus and order had been restored to Cal Poly Humboldt. A few protestors were charged, and many were released around 12 p.m.
For further information about the pro-Palestine protest and occupation in April 2024, visit our full comprehensive timeline on our website:
Be First to Comment