UCLA Chancellor Gene Block faces calls from faculty for his resignation and motions of no confidence and no confidence as criticism mounts against his leadership following a violent mob attack on pro-Palestinian protesters and a widespread police takedown of his encampment that resulted in more than 200 arrests last week.
Representatives of the 3,800-member UCLA Academic Senate, made up of tenured and tenured faculty, are preparing to vote on separate motions of no confidence and censure, both claiming that Block “failed to ensure the safety of our students and grossly mishandled the events of the last week”.
The vote was scheduled for Friday but was postponed until next week.
The vote has no legal power to force action, but it marks a grave moment for Block. The leader of the nation's premier public research university is completing the final months of his 17-year tenure, after leading the Westwood campus through a financial crisis and a global pandemic to reach new heights by expanding enrollment, diversity, philanthropy and research funding. Last year, Block announced that he planned to step down on July 31 and return to the research faculty.
Other university leaders have also been criticized for their handling of the campus protests, sparked last October when Hamas militants launched a deadly surprise attack on Israel and Israel responded with a massive bombing of Gaza. Earlier this week, the USC Academic Senate voted to censure university President Carol Folt and Provost Andrew Guzmán after the widely criticized decision to cancel the valedictorian's commencement speech due to to unspecified “threats” and the controversy over an aggressive police arrest of a professional. -Palestinian camp.
UCLA declined to comment on the upcoming faculty vote.
Three weeks of unrest at UCLA began on April 25, when students set up camp on the campus's grassy quad to express solidarity with the Palestinians, condemn Israel's actions in Gaza, and demand that UCLA divest from companies that manufacture and supply weapons and services to Israel. Initially, the camp was free of violence, and protesters participated in classes, art construction, yoga and other activities.
“Many of us have personally witnessed the vibrant, respectful and highly disciplined learning [at the encampment]”said Chicano Studies department chair Charlene Villaseñor Black. “And the university administration has always been wrong.”
But UCLA Police Chief John Thomas said he advised campus leaders not to allow the camp because it violated rules prohibiting overnight camping. Inna Faliks, a piano teacher, said she and some other Jewish members of the campus felt attacked by protest chants, graffiti with anti-Jewish slurs and blocked access to hallways and public buildings.
UCLA declared the camp illegal on April 30. Later that night, a violent mob attacked the camp and the students had to defend themselves against beatings, pepper spray, and fireworks for three hours. Law enforcement in riot gear arrived early on the morning of May 1, but it took hours to quell the violence. Police later dismantled the camp and arrested more than 200 people.
Since then, several people have been blamed for the debacle.
Ahead of Friday's Academic Senate meeting, more than 900 faculty and staff members from across the University of California system issued a list of demands. They included a call for Block to resign; amnesty for students, staff and faculty who participated in the camp and peaceful protests; university disclosure of all investments and divestments of military weapons production companies.
“Following the violent and aggressive police raid of the Palestinian Solidarity Camp on May 2, 2024, which resulted in the arrest of more than 200 students, faculty and staff while peacefully protesting, it has become obvious that Chancellor Block has failed our university,” the lawsuit states. the letter said.
The professors who signed the letter represented several departments, including mathematics, American Indian studies, Near Eastern languages and cultures, Asian American studies, history, Chicano and Central American studies, African American studies, and anthropology.
They spoke about their demands Thursday, along with a group of volunteer doctors, representing about 100 UCLA medical students, nurses, residents and EMTs, who expressed concern about police brutality and the lack of medical help from the university after the attack. They said more than 150 students were attacked with pepper spray and bear mace, and at least 25 students were hospitalized for head trauma, fractures and serious lacerations.
“The statements by UCLA Chancellor Gene Block and UC President Michael Drake minimize the severity of the physical and psychological impact of their actions while attempting to justify the force they authorized against their students,” said one doctor. it's a statement.
When police dismantled the camp, doctors said, more than a dozen students were evaluated for rubber bullet injuries and others showed bruises and musculoskeletal injuries.
“We firmly believe that Chancellor Block endangered the lives of our students, faculty and staff,” said Michael Chwe, a political science professor who helped organize the demand letter.
Judea Pearl, a computer science professor, said UC President Michael V. Drake was ultimately responsible for the campus security failures. He said Block should not be blamed for failing to bring about a stronger police presence because he was a “victim” of UC systemwide guidelines that direct campuses to rely first on communication with protesters and resort to enforcement. of the law as a last resort.
“He was trying to protect the campus but had to follow the directive…not to bring in the police,” Pearl said.
But other critics have blamed Thomas, the police chief. Three sources not authorized to speak publicly told The Times that campus leaders, even before the mob attack, had wanted to beef up security and authorized Thomas to turn to outside security forces to help UCLA police and the Private security with payment of overtime as necessary. But he did not do so, they said, nor did he provide a security plan to campus leaders despite multiple requests for him to do so.
Others said Administrative Vice Chancellor Michael Beck, who oversaw the police department and the Office of Emergency Management at the time of the mob attack, should step aside. Previous mistakes are now being examined, including their responsibility for failing to stop Los Angeles police from using Jackie Robinson Stadium rented by UCLA as a staging area for actions against Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020, which Block, Beck and others described it as an error and violation. of university values. Beck's duties also include management of Bruin Woods, the university's facility in Lake Arrowhead, where two counselors alleged they were hazed and sexually assaulted by other counselors in 2022.
Beck did not respond to requests for comment.
There is much debate on campus before the Academic Senate vote.
Pearl said a no-confidence motion would send the wrong message to Block's successor: to refrain from strong leadership and instead pander to campus political sentiments, which he said would mean “caving in” to demands to cut business and academic ties with Israel. . Chwe, however, said this would signify the strong view of teachers that the principal should be responsible for the safety of students.
Drake has announced an external investigation into UCLA's response, which Block says he welcomes as he conducts his own internal review.
UCLA has also moved quickly to improve security by creating a new security director position to oversee campus security operations, including the campus police department. Rick Braziel, a former Sacramento police chief who has reviewed law enforcement responses in high-profile cases across the country, leads the new Office of University Safety as associate vice chancellor.
Some critics, however, said the move would further “militarize” the campus. UCLA deployed an increased police presence earlier this week, when campus police arrested 44 pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in a parking lot before a planned demonstration. Police said they were carrying equipment that could “be used to illegally enter and blockade a building.” Some students reported the arrests as harassment and intimidation. Classes were moved online for the rest of the week as a safety measure.
According to several faculty members, differing opinions among professors about the university's response to student protests have created minor divisions within departments.
Chwe said they are working to combat misinformation spread among faculty members about recent events and continue to have conversations with their colleagues.
“It is not only about dialogue with the university but also with our colleagues,” he said.
Caroline Luce, a UCLA historian and member of the University Council-American Federation of Teachers, which represents more than 3,000 non-senatorium faculty and several hundred professional librarians, rated the atmosphere for UCLA faculty, particularly those who are not tenure-track professors. , “uncertain, with many risks.”
“There are reputations and interpersonal dynamics in departments that they have to navigate,” he said.
John Branstetter, a UCLA political science professor, was one of 10 professors arrested after police dismantled the camp. He said the university's crackdown on free speech on campus has not only made him fear for his students' safety but also his own.
“I feel threatened by the overall atmosphere that the administration is fostering through this continued near-criminalization of free speech on campus, so I don't know if they will try to get rid of me or if the protections I have will be respected. ,” he said.
