As protests and encampments in support of Palestine erupt all over the United States, UC Berkeley, a hotspot for student activism, experienced a widespread call for the institution to divest from Israel. The bridge between where graduating seniors are departing and incoming freshmen are enrolling is considered an important time of growth and development, so what is the true effect of the encampments upon students?
1. End the silence. 2. Financial divestment. 3. Academic boycott. 4. Stop the repression.
These are the demands strewn up boldly in the front of the encampment. These are the requests of the students who stayed here day and night, tents planted all around the area. “Student intifada”, “All eyes on Gaza”, “Jewish Voice for Peace” are the wordings painted on signs placed around the encampments. Dozens upon dozens of students pause their lives to stand in unity and solidarity with the people of Palestine, but the massive encampment affected the other enrolled students.
This is what it was like while the encampment was going on. Dozens of protestors gathered in the area, which used to host the band practice, and many students felt unsafe upon the campus when such a protest was going on. Police often patrol the area, constantly monitoring the crowd, and chants and speeches echo throughout the campus. But protests were never meant to make society feel comfortable according to Lima Sadozai, graduating senior from Berkeley and a student heavily involved in the encampments.
“I hope it makes them uncomfortable,” Sadozai siad. “I don’t wish harm on any student, but for too long, we’ve utilized the privilege of being able to ignore an entire genocide. We utilize our privelege of simply witnessing genocide, and ignoring those who experience it. I hope this makes them look.”
But, to the media, this comes off as aggressive and overbearing to the general student population of UC Berkeley. Conflict between opposing supporting groups has risen within the encampments, with three students being injured. Often, the peacefulness of a protest is disrupted with the energy of those individuals who are desiring chaos and violence. A Palestine-supporting protestor stated that the individual who had initiated the fight by snatching an Israeli flag out of the hand of an opposing protestor had not been seen at the encampment before, and disappeared immediately after. While the pro-Palestine encampments remain usually peaceful, it still incites a disruption in the school community.
“Sometimes we have protestors who are just looking for a fight,” Sadozai said. “Unfortunately for us, the media focuses on them and not what we stand for. It’s not about them. It’s about Gaza.”
As for some students still committed to their daily, routinely normal life in Berkeley, the campuses are a welcome change in the environment around them.
“The protests don’t make me feel unsafe,” Katelyn Arietta, a freshman at Berkeley, said. “They don’t yell at you or bother people. They say what needs to be said, educate and spread awareness in an impactful way.” But while this major show of student activism explicitly represents how vocal the students may be, it has also shown how the administration of Berkeley has shifted into a different direction.
“The Free Speech Movement began in the 1960’s for Berkeley students. We’ve been vocal for decades now about our right to free speech and the university’s restrictions. Whose surprised 60 years later?” Arietta said. The movement advocating for the rights of students to unashamedly publicize their opinion did begin in 1964, and that also involved protest against the university’s ability to suppress the student body’s voice.
More than half a century later, Berkeley students are facing the same predicament while battling the repression of the administration. Since April 22, 2024, when the encampment first assembled, at least 12 students have been arrested after occupying an abandoned Berkeley hall. Police presence is constant at the encampments and closely monitor the protestors despite there only being minor instances of conflict.
There have also been multiple eviction notices created in an attempt to disassemble the encampments. Too many, the restrictive measures which the city of Berkeley and the university’s administration have taken seem suppressive of the student body’s voice at Berkeley.
“The encampments show Berkeley’s legacy but also that the individuals in charge have long strayed away from it,” Arietta said. “UC Berkeley is an institution which has prided itself; essentially branded itself on student activism and freedom of expression, only to restrict it as much as they possibly can.”
But what of the incoming freshman freshly committed to Berkeley? May 14th was the annual College Commitment day for high school seniors and many students from James Logan High School committed to the institution of UC Berkeley. What does this sort of demonstration and the response of the administration have on the opinions of the students who were so interested in Berkeley they decided to commit to four years of their life there?
“In all honesty, my respect for the people and students of Berkeley has greatly increased with the growing protests and encampments,” Henna Rahimi, a committed senior from JLHS to UCB said. Rahimi expressed great admiration for the students of Berkeley and their ability to initiate a commitment to change and advocacy for Gaza and the rights of Palestinians. She compared it to her own Afghan people, facing the oppression of the Taliban, and how witnessing the initiative taken by Berkeley students has inspired her to pursue her own advocacy and protest for Afghanistan.
While many incoming Berkeley freshman may be disoriented by the encampment, Rahimi was pleased with its advocacy. Rahimi expressed great satisfaction at the protest of Berkeley students. She also notes that her aversion to the administration shows how influential the actions of those in power can be upon the youth.
“I am very disappointed in the school itself for its refusal to comply in a ceasefire even with how passionately its students are taking action in the right direction,” Rahimi said. Many students at Berkeley express their frustration with the institution which has prided itself upon student activism and empowerment yet has restricted this selective form of it so immensely.
“Four years ago, I committed to Berkeley because I loved the culture here, the unity,” Sadozai said. “Four years later, I’m a senior ready to graduate, and can only state my great disappointment in this institution for shutting that solidarity down,”
In the press, many individuals have expressed their unease at the encampments. Many have labeled the encampments as antisemitic and directed major criticism towards the chancellor of Berkeley for not taking appropriate action against such protest. Such conflict is expected when protest occurs as protest was never meant to put people at ease, but instead to wake them up. Students who attend such a prestigious institution harbor a level of intelligence and education that is expected of their attendance. and Rahimi says,
“Students protesting at this prestigious school just further prove that this fight is not one from “uneducated” or “anti semitic” people,” Rahimi said. “It’s showing that education is the key to equality and freedom for all people.”
If there’s one message that can be relayed with the encampments, it’s the students’ unrelenting commitment to their advocacy. Under the pressure of law enforcement and administrative regulations, the encampment still sits in that same spot.
“We’re planting seeds of change here. Seeds that only individuals with privilege like us are able to plant. I’ll put my life on pause to protest,” Sadozai said.
While the encampment is a disruption to the community at Berkeley, it’s supported by many students. Although it introduces unease at Berkeley, it’s an unease which accompanies world conflict. The students of Berkeley have experienced conflict and tension within their own population because of these encampments, but their solidarity with the people of Palestine does not waver. For many of the students participating, their graduation involves leaving a legacy behind. Many state that this is their legacy according to Sadozai.
“Even under the tense presence of police and repressive authorities, our encampment stands strong. So many of my peers, colleagues, and friends stand side-by-side beside me, and I can’t express my pride enough that this is our final gift to this college,” Sadozai said.
But under such circumstances, hopelessness is inevitable. The students have four demands stated above. Advocacy, divestment, boycott, and freedom of expression. While these seem simple, in a situation so complicated and layered, it is actually quite difficult. Other institutions across the United States have experienced more violent situations with encampments and adds on a layer of unease to that at Berkeley.
“I get scared. I think we all do,” Sadozai said. “It’s combined with a sense of hopelessness. I wish it was easier to advocate for the rights of the Palestinian people, but my struggles compared to those of Gazan children seem miniscule. That’s what keeps me here.”
Many of the encampments across the nation have been met with harsher sentences, like canceled graduations, mass arrests, and suspensions. It makes it easier to believe that the circumstances at Berkeley are more mild, but one can underestimate the confidence and courage it takes for students to protest. It takes a tremendous amount of loyalty to stand against an unwavering administration and armed law enforcement for weeks on end.
While conflict and disagreement wrack the rest of the world, Berkeley’s encampment for Gaza stands strong – even if one is disbanded another will not be far behind. Among the threatening pressure of law enforcement and regulatory suppression of administrative action, students stand side by side for days against the groups which dissuade them from their advocacy.
“I stand here, as a student from the University of Berkeley, advocating for the lives of the Palestinian people,” Sadozai said. “I stand here for the Gazan students who will never receive their degree. Berkeley and I will gladly put our lives on pause for them.”
