SACRAMENTO, Calif — Students have taken over the library quad at Sacramento State University for a third day as their pro-Palestine protest continues.
Nearly 60 hours into their protest, students said they will continue to stay until their demands are met. Demonstrations have remained peaceful for the most part, and the university said police cited three students for vandalism, who organizers said were not part of the encampment.
Barricades surrounded the library quad on Monday.
“We did get word this morning that a counter protest group was coming, and based off of the scenes of UCLA last night where Zionist agitators were throwing fireworks into the encampment, pepper spraying people and they were overall just being very violent, the administration came to us and asked if we would like the barricades put up for our safety," said Hamzah, a Sacramento State student.
Initially, the administration gave demonstrators a deadline of midnight on May 1 for the encampment to stay, but they extended approval for the encampment for a while longer. The university said approval was extended for a week, through midnight on May 8.
"The University has extended its approval for the encampment, which originally had a deadline of midnight on Wednesday, May 1, and the approval is planned to be extended as long as the encampment stays peaceful and within the University’s Time, Place & Manner Restrictions on Speech and Speech-Related Activities policy," the university said.
Students passing by have stopped to observe the protest.
“I was actually intrigued to go in there and kind of see what their message was about. Kind of glad that they’re out here exercising their right to free speech in a peaceful manner,” said Cole Murray, a senior at Sacramento State.
Inside the encampment, there is a mix of students and non-student community members.
Organizers said there was a number of student groups present, including Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace.
They have a list of demands for California State University, which include divesting from Israel.
“There is no excuse to not divest. There is no excuse. They need to disclose their investments, they need to divest, they need to defend Palestinian activism,” said a student who didn't want to be identified.
ABC10 reached out to CSU administration about the protesters demands.
In a statement, they said, in part, “California State University does not intend to alter existing investment policies related to Israel or the Israel-Hamas conflict.”
Despite this, students said they will continue to protest until their goals are met.
“Victory will come for Gaza, and they can either be the ones to implement a victory and bring that victory, or they can just be the fools that our children read about in history books that funded a genocide,” said Hamzah.
The campus remains open and classes are still in session.
A full statement from Sacramento State University is available below.
We continue to remain in regular contact with the students and community members who have formed an encampment in the Library Quad in support of Palestine, and communication has been open and transparent.
The University has extended its approval for the encampment, which originally had a deadline of midnight on Wednesday, May 1, and the approval is planned to be extended as long as the encampment stays peaceful and within the University’s Time, Place & Manner Restrictions on Speech and Speech-Related Activities policy.
On Monday night, campus police were contacted by students after they caught non-encampment students vandalizing University property. Police cited and released three students for vandalism. The damage was minor.
The campus remains open and classes are in session. Timely updates will be provided at csus.edu/alert.
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