To the editor: So-called protesters who camped out at Cal State Los Angeles took over the student services building last week, forcing the campus to shut down. The president and other administrators who allowed the camp in the first place are reaping what they sowed.
What was billed as a peaceful protest has now turned into something different. Of course, it was never different in the first place. Camping on university property is illegal or against university policy. This is not freedom of expression. It is a form of intimidation.
I bet a lot of the people who camped out and took over the building weren't Cal State LA students. Most of the students I have taught over the past 20 years have much more immediate personal concerns. Some are homeless, others are hungry, and many work while going to school and caring for their parents or siblings.
Now, our campus has been hijacked. My mother used to say: “If I give you an inch, you take a mile from me.” The president of Cal State LA is now in this position.
Henry D. Schlinger, Glendale
The writer is a professor of psychology at Cal State LA.
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To the editor: Protesters apparently do not understand that “peaceful protest” does not include vandalism and destruction of public property.
The lack of arrests means there can be no restitution claims. Protesters gain no support for their cause when they force students and taxpayers to pay for their damages.
Mason Nakamura, Santa Ana
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To the editor: When I first heard that the Ohio National Guard shot and killed students protesting the Vietnam War in 1970, I couldn't understand how something like that could have happened in America. Now I understand. (“About two dozen pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested at UCLA and ordered to stay off campus,” June 10)
On June 10, UCLA allowed police to brutalize students who were peacefully holding a vigil for the many Palestinians murdered in Gaza. The videos of police brutality directed against students are agonizing and show that students faced considerable risk from police actions.
If this terrifying situation wasn't enough, the university issued a statement announcing that the students' actions “injured people, threatened the safety of our community, and vandalized our campus.”
Now I see how we can go from allowing police on campus to students getting hurt and killed, as happened at Kent State. My campus is unrecognizable as a place of learning where there is a deep commitment to social justice. Rather, it is a militarized zone.
Sherene Razack, Los Angeles
The writer is a professor of gender studies at UCLA.
