We write to strongly condemn the violent repression of peaceful protests by students across the country, including, alarmingly, at our sister campus UCLA. Over 2,000 students, and many faculty, have now been arrested at encampments across the country, even though 99% of those protests have been non-violent, according to a report by The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED). We echo the sentiment of a UC-wide faculty letter that “protest is essential to our democracy and a basic human right” and that retaliation against students who protest is “antithetical to our university’s highest ideals of learning and scholarship.” We invite UC Berkeley faculty to sign this letter.
A new McCarthyism is sweeping across America. It seeks to equate criticism of the Israeli government with anti-semitism and to weaponize the language of safety as it uses police violence to shut down and criminalize peaceful protest. We commend Chancellor Christ and her leadership team for allowing students at Berkeley to continue this campus’ proud tradition of respecting the rights of students to free speech and non-violent protest.
That tradition has enabled students in past decades to successfully demonstrate for divestment from apartheid South Africa and fossil fuels. We believe that all who work and study at the University of California deserve transparency and information about its investments so that we can ensure that they help realize the university’s commitment to social justice. We commend UC Riverside for beginning that process on their campus today.
Board of the Berkeley Faculty Association.