UPDATE, 9:47 p.m.: As promised… Gooseneck.

###

UPDATE: 7:42 p.m.: Protesters have spent the past hour or so gathered at the site of the police barricade at the intersection of Plaza Avenue and LK Wood Boulevard. As they were chanting, a U-Haul truck parked across the street. The occupants exited the vehicle and rolled up the vehicle’s rear door to reveal… a drum set. And guitars. 

Yes, the members of Arcata hardcore band Gooseneck have arrived at Cal Poly Humboldt and plan to bring the noise for the demonstrators. They are setting up now, but seem to be having trouble with their generator.. We will update when their shredding is commences.

— Andrew Goff

###

UPDATE, 6:15 p.m.: A crowd continues to hold space on the UC Quad, dining together, listening to music, and adding to the collection of chalk art. Another group of protesters has opted to take the message to the streets of Arcata (see above).

Meanwhile, a pair of Arcata City Council members have released a statement in support of a non-violent resolution to the continuing situation. Read that below:

As City Council members, and more importantly as humans, we support peaceful resolutions and open dialogue. It is essential to respect the rights of our community members, including and especially students, to peacefully express their views. We believe in the power of de-escalation and constructive conversation to promote understanding globally and foster solutions locally.

We send our young people to universities such as Cal Poly Humboldt to foster critical thinking and encourage them to make the changes in the world that they deem necessary. This is what they are doing.  In this emotionally charged situation, a non-violent approach should, and must be used by all parties involved. As a council, we heard from and worked with community members, including students, to have an open dialogue and create a cease-fire resolution for Arcata. This type of dialogue and conversation can bring our community together without violence.

Stacy Atkins-Salazar & Sarah Schaefer, Arcata City Council

—Andrew Goff

###

UPDATE, 5:00 p.m.: The Outpost just received word from Michihiro Clark Sugata, an associate professor of sociology who has been helping students with negotiations, that the student protestors are willing to leave Siemens Hall if Cal Poly Humboldt administrators meet the following demands:

  • Descalate: The students want the police and the threat of police violence to be removed. As a part of that, they want to ensure there are no academic penalties, according to Sugata.
  • Disinvest: The students want the university to disinvest from all interests connected to Israel.
  • Declare: The students have also asked for the university and CSU leadership to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Humboldt Chapter of the California Faculty Association (CFA) has released the following statement in response to the university’s decision to shut down the campus. The CFA is calling for the resignation of Cal Poly Humboldt President Tom Jackson and his Chief of Staff, Mark Johnson. The CFA has also asked for law enforcement officials to leave campus.

Press release from the CFA:

The Cal Poly Humboldt Chapter of the California Faculty Association (CFA), a labor union that represents teaching, counseling, library, and coaching faculty of the California State University System, strongly condemn today’s actions of Cal Poly Humboldt (CPH) Administration as yet another dangerous escalation of their response to a peaceful campus demonstration.

Just after 12:30pm, Saturday, April 27th, CPH Administration sent an email that the campus was officially under a “hard” closure. As of the writing of this email, a strong police presence has been sighted on campus, barricades have been erected to prohibit access to campus, and students who live on campus are being restricted to the resident halls and the dining hall. 

This campus closure represents a dangerous escalation of the administrative response to this week’s student demonstrations against the Israeli government’s relentless assault on the people of Palestine. Student protestors and their numerous allies including faculty and staff, are still in the central campus area, now isolated and vulnerable to the kind of police violence that occurred April 22nd, the first night of the demonstration. The students and their allies are engaged in a peaceful protest, closing campus and introducing unneeded police presence puts students and others at an unnecessary risk of both physical and emotional harm.

Last evening, student protesters opened Siemens Hall, the administrative building they have been occupying, so that all could see that, while there is graffiti on the walls, there has been little other property damage. Contrary to what was insinuated by CPH administration earlier this week, no confidential files have been compromised. Nearly all administrative offices remain locked. Students are demonstrating on behalf of the people of Gaza and all Palestinians and are not interested in administrative paperwork.

CFA Humboldt demands that: 

• Tom Jackson, who has been asked to step down from his role as CPH President, must immediately resign.

• Mark Johnson, who has been asked to step down from his role as Chief of Staff of President Tom Jackson, must immediately resign.

• Barriers to Campus need to be immediately removed and campus needs to be reopened.  All members of the university community need access to campus.

• Police officers must leave their stations on campus and return to their home offices.

• Cal Poly Humboldt administration needs to commit to student safety and agree to continue to respectfully and in good faith negotiate with student protesters.

In the words of CPH Professor Gabi Kirk, “I have seen this happen in Palestine to restrict freedom of mobility and attempt to quash protest. Our students who are protesting for justice, peace, and an end to killing in Palestine are now having it happen to them.” Restricting freedom of movement, speech, and peaceful demonstration will not make our campus safer nor will it heal our campus community of recent events. CFA Humboldt asksCPH Administration to open the campus, support students, and allow faculty to do the job we were hired to do, teach students.

— Isabella Vanderheiden

###

UPDATE, 4:10 p.m.: As protestors wait for the cops to show up, Michihiro Clark Sugata, associate professor of sociology at the university, urged protestors to be realistic about what happens next.

“Any stand at this point is symbolic,” he said to a crowd gathered around the UC Quad. “You can choose to deal with that however you want but … [for] legal counsel to protect you as best they can, the most effective thing you can do is to sit down, lock arms and not resist. … Once you fight back – even hitting with another water bottle – you will be charged with assault and everything escalates.”

—Ryan Burns

###

UPDATE, 3:40 p.m.: One of the protestors – as seen in the video above –provided some additional information about the administration’s decision to end negotiations, adding that police intervention is imminent.

“We don’t know when that is, but we can confirm it is going to happen,” she said. “So, do with that information what you feel is best. I don’t want anyone to compromise their safety more than they are willing, but if you plan on staying make sure you have a plan.”

UPDATE, 2:30 p.m.: Michihiro Clark Sugata, an associate professor of sociology at the university, told the Outpost’s Ryan Burns that he’s been working with the protesting students to “push for some form of negotiation” with administrators. Students were in active negotiations with administrators when the police showed up this afternoon and “disrupted that process,” he said.

“This is incredibly disheartening because there was engagement,” he said. “There was a good faith effort by the students there to actually consider very tangible outcomes to try to bring this to a close.”

A student protestor shared the following statement in response to the administration’s decision to impose a hard closure on campus:

We are disappointed to receive an email from campus administration announcing a “hard close” of campus. Allowing only those with permission to enter campus at this time. Anyone on campus is subject to citation or arrest. Police were present at the time the email went out, setting up concrete barriers at all campus entrances. Students living on campus are restricted to their dorms and residential areas.

We have and remain to be a peaceful protest. In negotiations with administration yesterday we were given the impression that negotiations would continue however, they have recently informed us that they refuse to negotiate further. We are concerned for the potential of police escalation at this time. We showed good faith in our negotiations and deescalation yesterday but reopening Siemens Hall. Administration has not kept their end of the agreement.

We love and care for our community and continue to stand in solidarity with other campuses for a free Palestine. Shame on administration for silencing the free speech of our brave students. We, as ever, are not afraid.

— Isabella Vanderheiden

###

California State University police stage at the perimeter of Cal Poly Humboldt campus Saturday afternoon | Photo: Ryan Burns



UPDATE, 1:29 p.m.: The Outpost is at Cal Poly Humboldt where numerous officers with California State University insignia have begun staging on the outskirts of campus. We will continue to update. 

A police vehicle blocks the B Street entrance to campus at Harpst Street. | Photo: Ryan Burns.


###

Original Post: Cal Poly Humboldt administrators have imposed a “hard closure” of campus in response to the ongoing pro-Palestine occupation of Siemens Hall, prohibiting any individuals from entering campus without authorization from University Police. According to the full announcement:

A hard closure of campus is now being enforced. Individuals are prohibited from entering or being on campus without permission.
This includes road closures at Harpst and B as well as Plaza and LK Wood.

This closure means that nobody without authorization by University Police is allowed on the campus. Anyone on campus without permission is subject to citation or arrest.

Students who live on campus in residence halls are presumed to have permission to remain in the limited area of the hall they live in and dining facilities. Until further updates, student residents do not have permission to be in other parts of campus.

The campus is closed due to ongoing occupation of Siemens Hall and Nelson Hall, as well as continued challenges with individuals breaking laws in the area surrounding the buildings and the quad.

Ongoing updates are available at humboldt.edu/emergency.

— Isabella Vanderheiden


###

The barricade at the east entrance of Siemens Hall was back Saturday morning | Photos/video: Andrew Goff



University administrators and protestors were in active negotiations on Friday afternoon, according to Jackie, one of the students involved in the occupation. Protestors spent much of the morning preparing for a police attempt to expel them from the building, but the anticipated raid never came. Instead, protestors decided to remove the barricade from the main entrance of Siemens Hall and allow other campus dwellers to come inside.

In an interview this morning with the Outpost’s Andrew Goff, Jackie confirmed that the occupation is ongoing and criticized administrators for mischaracterizing protestors’ actions.

“We opened [the barricade] mainly to show that the university is lying about our actions,” she said. They have accused us of looting and mass destruction of property and we [wanted] to show that that wasn’t true. … There is no destruction beyond graffiti which we are discussing painting over right now. … We haven’t been destroying computers … or taking anything.”

As of this writing, the Outpost has received word that law enforcement has been seen on campus. We’ll continue to update this post.

— Isabella Vanderheiden

###

PREVIOUSLY: