San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)

Cal Poly Humboldt campus closes amid demonstrat­ions

A Northern California university campus said Friday that it would close for the remainder of the school year after the occupation of an academic and administra­tive building by pro-Palestinia­n activists.

Since Monday, hundreds of students have occupied Siemens Hall and Nelson Hall East at California State Polytechni­c University, Humboldt, in Arcata, leading to the ongoing closure of the campus. Students at the university used furniture, tents, chains and zip ties to block entrances to the buildings “in solidarity with those facing genocide in Gaza,” according to a statement from the organizers.

In an email sent to students, administra­tors announced that academic instructio­n and work would be conducted remotely until the end of the semester on May 10. The closure was attributed to the occupation of the buildings, coupled with the “inability to open other campus facilities,” prompting an abrupt change in plans.

“Since Monday night, protestors have attempted several times to break into multiple locked buildings with the intention of either locking themselves in, vandalizin­g, or stealing equipment,” the email read. “Vandalism and theft have continued across campus.”

Officials also reported the discovery of “hateful graffiti” targeting the Jewish community in at least two locations over the past few days. The campus administra­tion estimates that the campus has suffered millions of dollars in damage.

Students at Cal Poly Humboldt, Stanford, UC Berkeley and the University of Southern California have occupied campus spaces this past week, urging university leadership to endorse a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and divest from companies supporting the Israeli military. This action aligns with demonstrat­ions at numerous college campuses nationwide. But the Humboldt campus appeared to be the only one shut down completely in response.

Occupy Cal Poly Humboldt, the group leading the demonstrat­ion, alleged in a social media post that the school administra­tion was seeking any pretext, “even a false one,” to justify the use of state and federal forces against the occupiers. They claimed that protesters were “beaten bloody” during a clash with authoritie­s on Monday night that resulted in several arrests.

The school leadership stated that through its environmen­tally and socially responsibl­e investment policies, the university’s endowment investment­s do not include direct investment­s in defense companies, Israeli securities or firms associated with defense. Additional­ly, Cal Poly Humboldt has no current ties with Israeli universiti­es.

Campus authoritie­s extended temporary amnesty to the occupiers via email on Friday, granting them until 4 p.m. to vacate the buildings to avoid arrest.

“In addition, voluntaril­y departing in this way will be considered as a mitigating factor in University conduct processes and may reduce the severity of sanctions imposed,” the message read.

On Thursday, the executive board of the Cal Poly Humboldt chapter of the California Faculty Associatio­n passed a vote of noconfiden­ce in University President Tom Jackson and his Chief of Staff Mark Johnson, citing dissatisfa­ction with their handling of the protests.

The protests came more than six months after an attack by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, which resulted in approximat­ely 1,200 deaths in Israel, according to Lior Haiat, a spokespers­on for the country’s foreign ministry. Israel’s counteroff­ensive in Gaza has led to nearly 35,000 deaths, according to the latest count from the Palestinia­n health ministry.