BERKELEY — The number of tents pitched at a pro-Palestine encampment at UC Berkeley more than doubled over the weekend, but university officials say they’re not changing their approach.
Up to 60 tents were estimated to be at the site Friday. By Monday, that estimate grew to about 150, Matt Kovac, protest media liaison, confirmed in a text message Monday.
“Energy has been tremendous,” Kovac said.
Protesters first took over the steps of the heavily trafficked Sproul Hall about a week ago on April 22 with a list of demands. They included that the university disavow the war in Gaza and call for a permeant and immediate ceasefire, a divestment of all financial holdings supporting Israel’s military operations, an end to academic partnerships with Israeli universities and for greater support of Palestinian students, including the establishment of a Palestinian studies program.
When the demonstration first began, UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof said the university was prioritizing students’ academics over disruptions and had no plans to change its investment policies and practices. By this Monday, Mogulof said the university has “no updates” and “no change in our approach, objectives, or priorities.”
Malak Afaneh, a third year Berkeley Law student, said she and her co-protesters were “a little shocked” by the university’s reserved approach. Similar student demonstrations across the nation have been met with forceful removals, arrests and academic repercussions including those at University of California, Los Angeles, Pomona College, and Cal Poly Humboldt.
UC Berkeley protesters were prepared to meet a similar fate, Afaneh said. Instead, gatherers have continued to hold daily programming including poetry readings and question and answer sessions with professors, without receiving much if any attention from administrators.
Protesters are determined to force officials to respond in some way or another though, Afaneh said. She expects the university will want the encampment gone by the time commencement is held on May 11. The last day of instruction is May 3, with finals held May 6 through May 10, according to the university’s academic calendar. Summer sessions begin May 20.
“We do hope to escalate, ultimately, because we don’t want the university to think they can wait us out and we want to achieve our demands and divestment,” Afaneh said in an interview Friday. “They are willfully deciding to stand on the side of violence so we are long beyond a dialogue. We’re here to demand divestment and we’re here to show institutions they don’t control us; we control them.”
UC Berkeley students have been advocating for university actions for months amid conflict between Israel and Hamas. About 34,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli bombings, according to estimates from Gaza’s Health Ministry, and about 1,200 Israelis were killed by an attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.
