USC’s main campus re-opened to students, faculty and authorized guests Sunday after it was shut down Saturday night amid the return of an encampment of pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
“The University Park Campus is once again open to students, staff, faculty and registered guests. The McCarthy and McClintock gates are open,” school officials said in a message to the campus community Sunday morning.
The re-installation of the Divest From Death Coalition encampment along USC’s Alumni Park prompted a response from more than 60 Los Angeles Police Department vehicles and the temporary issuance of a citywide tactical alert, citing “disturbances” on campus and urging the public to avoid the area.
Late Saturday, video on social media showed a young woman using red spray paint to write the words “say no to genocide” on the base of the school’s iconic Tommy Trojan statue. At about 11:30 p.m., workers from the university’s Facilities Planning and Management department covered the graffiti by placing a tarp over the statue’s pedestal.
At 8:13 p.m., campus police announced, “Due to a disturbance, the University Park Campus is temporarily closed except for residents.”
Joel Curran, USC’s senior vice president of communications, characterized the ongoing demonstrations as “illegal.”
“Earlier Saturday, campus property — including the Tommy Trojan statue and a fountain in Alumni Park — was vandalized by individuals who are part of the group that has continued to illegally camp on our campus,” Curran said in a statement to the Daily Trojan student newspaper. “Despite repeated warnings, this group has also continued to disrupt our campus operations and harass students and others, in violation of numerous university policies.
“While the university fully supports freedom of expression, these acts of vandalism and harassment are absolutely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. President Carol Folt has made numerous attempts to meet with the students but they have declined these offers. We are hoping for a more reasonable response Sunday before we are forced to take further action. This area is needed for commencement set up early this week.”
The LAPD told City News Service on Sunday that no arrests were made Saturday night, and the tactical alert was canceled as of 11 p.m.
Also Saturday, the Undergraduate Student Government Executive Cabinet issued a statement saying it was “deeply disappointed in your administration’s use of force in response to the peaceful encampment on university grounds.”
The statement opposed the mobilization of LAPD officers who arrested 93 people last Wednesday. “The excessive use of force shook our Trojan Family,” the statement added. “Student expression and assembly is not a disruption — it is woven into the very fabric that creates our vibrant, active and diverse campus community.”