What did the UCLA Chancellor Really Mean in His Statement Regarding Encampment Takedown

Here is our interpretation of what Chancellor Block really meant in his message about the takedown of the encampment on campus that conducted activities directly contrary to university policy and whose participants were shown on multiple videos harassing and restricting movement of Jewish students, clear violations of Federal Title VI. Translations of his statement are between brackets.

KTLA via Facebook

Imagine trying to get past this mob if you're Jewish and want to get to class

May 2, 2024

Around 1:40 pm, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block shared the following message about the immense toll the events [["the events" is a euphemism for events caused by outside agitators and Students for Justice in Palestine, a long-known and long-understood antisemitic radical group on campus for many years, not random acts of nature]] of the past week have taken on Bruins.

Subject: Our Community is in Deep Pain

Dear Bruin Community [[There is no such thing as a Bruin Community. The university has 46,000 students of such diversity and differences in values that they share basically nothing.]]

Our community is in deep pain. We are reeling from days of violence and division.[[Very careful not to blame anyone, and in particular those who decided to violate clear university policy regarding harassment, bullying, use of university property, etc.]] And we hope with all our hearts that we can return to a place where our students, faculty and staff feel safe and, one day, connected again.

Our approach to the encampment that was established on Royce Quad last week has been guided by several equally important principles: the need to support the safety and wellbeing of Bruins [[in what universe did the encampment do either of these things?]], the need to support the free expression rights of our community [[but only if they express opinions we agree with or which we believe to be digestible to the public]], and the need to minimize disruption to our teaching and learning mission [[you certainly didn't succeed in that!]].

The events of the past several days, and especially the terrifying attack on our students, faculty and staff on Tuesday night [[but no mention of the Jewish girl who was allegedly beaten unconscious]], have challenged our efforts to live up to these principles [[there are no principles, only a favored point of view and a disfavored point of view. Think how long this encampment would have lasted if it had been composed of those who oppose transgender ideology? Or of pro-Israel supporters, for that matter]] and taken an immense toll on our community.

We approached the encampment with the goal of maximizing our community members' ability to make their voices heard on an urgent global issue. [[ but only because we agreed with what they had to say. Otherwise, it would have been taken down immediately.]] We had allowed it to remain in place so long as it did not jeopardize Bruins' safety or harm our ability to carry out our mission.[[Of course, we knew it was jeopardizing the safety and wellbeing of Jews and anyone who supports Israel, but we didn't care about them.]]

But while many of the protesters at the encampment remained peaceful, ultimately, the site became a focal point for serious violence as well as a huge disruption to our campus.[[See? We aren't blaming ANY of the pro-Hamas protestors. THEY were peaceful. They never stopped Jews from any areas of the campus, including the library. THEY never threatened anyone, even when they chanted slogans promoting the idea of killing millions of Jews.]]

Several days of violent clashes between demonstrators and counter-demonstrators put too many Bruins in harm's way and created an environment that was completely unsafe for learning. [[But not until then, right? Until then, Jewish kids could just, um...stay home. Or maybe sneak onto campus or pretend to support Hamas in order to get into the library.]] Demonstrators directly interfered with instruction by blocking students' pathways to classrooms.[[But we aren't going to mention that it was specifically Jewish students and those who support Israel who were blocked. That would be incendiary.]] Indirectly, violence related to the encampment led to the closure of academic buildings and the cancellation of classes. And frankly, hostilities were only continuing to escalate. [[In what way was it "indirect"?]]

In the end, the encampment on Royce Quad was both unlawful and a breach of policy. [[It was that from the beginning. But you didn't care then, did you? Because it was Jews getting hurt and not anti-Jews.]] It led to unsafe conditions on our campus and it damaged our ability to carry out our mission. It needed to come to an end. [[You think?]]

Over the past several days, we communicated with and made a formal request to meet with demonstration leaders to discuss options for a peaceful and voluntary disbanding of the encampment. Unfortunately, that meeting did not lead to an agreement. [[I'm so surprised!]]

To preserve campus safety and the continuity of our mission, [[but NOT because we disagree with their message - we don't!]] early this morning, we made the decision to direct UCPD and outside law enforcement officers to enter and clear the encampment. Officers followed a plan that had been carefully developed to protect the safety of protesters at the site. Those who remained encamped last night were given several warnings and were offered the opportunity to leave peacefully with their belongings before officers entered the area. Ultimately, about 300 protesters voluntarily left, while more than 200 resisted orders to disperse and were arrested.

UCLA facilities teams are now in the process of taking down structures and cleaning up the quad, and we ask that students, staff and faculty continue to avoid the area. [[Because if you see it, we will be very embarrassed at the damage we allowed to be inflicted on the school.]]

I want to be clear that we fully support the right of our community members to protest peacefully [[so long as we agree with their message]], and there are longstanding and robust processes in place that allow students, faculty and staff to gather and demonstrate in ways that do not violate the law or our policies [[so long as we agree with their message - don't try this if you support Israel]]. I urge Bruins to take advantage of these many opportunities, which were designed to support advocacy that does not jeopardize community safety or disrupt the functioning of the university.

I also want to recognize the significance of the issues behind the demonstrators' advocacy. The loss of life in Gaza has been truly devastating [[you have no idea how many lives have been lost there. There are no credible reports from Gaza]], and my administration has and will continue to connect with student and faculty leaders advocating for Palestinian rights [[to what? They had their own country they governed themselves, given to them by Israel, and they decided to start a war.]] to engage in discussions that are grounded in listening, learning and mutual respect. Similarly, we will continue to support our Jewish students and employees who are reeling from the trauma of the brutal Oct. 7 attacks and a painful spike in antisemitism worldwide.[[in what possible way have you been supporting Jewish students? And you've certainly not supported Israeli staff and students.]]

We will also continue to investigate the violent incidents of the past several days, especially Tuesday night's horrific attack by a mob of instigators. When physical violence broke out that night, leadership immediately directed our UCPD police chief to call for the support of outside law enforcement, medical teams and the fire department to help us quell the violence. We are carefully examining our security processes that night and I am grateful to President Drake for also calling for an investigation.

USA Today via Facebook

The violence could have been avoided if the camp had never been allowed in the first place

The past week has been among the most painful periods our UCLA community has ever experienced. It has fractured our sense of togetherness [[did that really exist?]]and frayed our bonds of trust [[did those really exist?]], and will surely leave a scar on the campus. [[But I won't admit that the way we handled this was godawful even if it obviously was and contributed to the damage.]] While Counseling & Psychological Services and Staff & Faculty Counseling Center are available to lend support to those in need, I also hope we can support one another through this difficult moment and reaffirm the ties that unite us as a community of learning.[[Get ready for the lawsuits, Chancellor Block. You deserve them.]]

Sincerely,

Gene D. Block

Chancellor