USC Removes Protesters’ Encampment Again
Rain poured down over the protesters’ tents early Sunday morning, just hours before hundreds of Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers and campus police, known as “DPS” (Department of Public Safety), dismantled the Divest from Death encampment at the University of Southern California (USC). Student protesters complied with an order to disperse the encampment in the early hours of Sunday, May 5. This is the second time their encampment has been removed, after 93 were arrested during the April 24 encampment dismantling.
USC President Carol Folt has released numerous statements demanding the Alumni Park be cleared. She wrote last Friday, “We will take any further actions required to maintain campus safety and security, consistent with our legal obligations.”
One protester, who requested anonymity, described the anxiety she felt each night and events leading to severe sleep deprivation. “I can’t think of a night where we weren’t faced with some sort of disruption during the time when we were supposed to be sleeping,” she said.
The protester described the constant fear and rumors of a police sweep, along with a loud low-flying helicopter looming over the protesters every night and sometimes shining a spotlight into the camp since the mass arrests on April 24. She also recounted that a few nights before the police dispersed the camp, counter-protesters awoke the camp with a generator, speakers, and a projector playing children's songs, footage on an inflatable screen from the Oct. 7th attack, and women recounting being raped. She stated, “So it was a week and a half of constant psychological terror, truly is what it felt like.
On Sunday, at around 2:30 a.m., the campus went into lockdown. Gate security locked the restricted access to campus and buildings. The encampment safety team, protester-appointed lookouts wearing neon vests, started to see an increased presence of DPS. Officers began assembling on the outskirts of the center of campus, and the encampment was tipped off to their presence by 4:00 a.m.
At 4:00 a.m., the encampment was awoken. One protester announced that they were outnumbered and that the best option was to avoid arrest, attempt to save supplies and comply with the dispersal order when given. Everyone in the encampment began to be awakened. However, no official dispersal order had been given at this time.
By 4:05 a.m., a chaotic scene unfolded with protesters feverishly packing and leaving the encampment, carrying backpacks, tents, and supplies. One officer refused to comment on whether students were being detained or arrested.
At 4:25 a.m., DPS officers ordered the encampment to disperse within 15 minutes or face arrest. At this time, press access was restricted to a designated area at the edge of Alumni Park, which was too far to photograph or document inside the encampment.
By 5:00 a.m., more LAPD officers arrived on the scene and began to clear out the encampment. All protesters had removed themselves from inside the encampment by this time, and many were leaving or had left campus. However, a collection of protesters remained by the press in front of Alumni Park, continuing to chant. Many tents, supplies, and personal items were left inside the encampment.
DPS officers, in riot gear, with their batons facing forward, began ordering everyone besides the Annenberg media team off campus. They marched down Trousdale Parkway toward West Jefferson Blvd. and pushed the protesters and outside media toward the exit.
While the small crowd of remaining protesters moved toward the exit, they chanted “Free Palestine,” “LAPD KKK, IOF [Israeli Offense Force], you’re all the same,” and “Long live the intifada.” They walked backward, keeping a pace of just a few steps in front of the officers.
Upon hitting a bottleneck in the pathway due to gates and fences impending the path, officers shoved the crowd into the gates and fences, prodding them with batons as they attempted to move toward the openings in the barricades. The crowd walked backward to keep an eye on the officers and, in so doing, stumbled into obstacles, further delaying a timely exit. There was no evidence of violence or resistance from the protesters. They began chanting, “Who do you protect?” as they herded towards the exit.
The final bottleneck occurred at the gates of Gavin Herbert Plaza, where only a few people could exit through the gate door at a time. A legal observer, who did not want to be identified out of fear of retaliation, was shoved by Officer Guzman, badge number 25513, into the metal gate as she attempted to exit. A lock was placed on the gate, stopping anyone from accessing campus at 5:06 a.m. The campus remained closed through the morning.
A small group of protesters outside the gate stayed for several minutes after chanting, catching their breath. An organizer of the protesters from Divest from Death told the Corsair, “The battle was lost, but the war will continue.”
In a new statement released later in the day on Sunday, May 5th, Folt stated, "With no resolution in sight, I requested the LAPD to assist (USC's Department of Public Safety) in removing the encampment as peacefully and safely as possible.”
The following day, Divest from Death announced during a press conference at the Gavin Herbert Plaza that 29 protesters were suspended. A member from the group stated, during negotiations with protesters earlier last week, Folt had claimed that academic sanctions or police repression wouldn’t be employed against students unless they resort to violence.
