Photo Credit: Shmuel Thaler/The Santa Cruz Sentinel
(SACRAMENTO, CA – 9/24/2024) – The California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CA) today strongly condemned the University of California (UC) Board of Regents’ recent approval of the purchase and use of military equipment by UC campus police departments. CAIR-CA also called on the UC Board of Regents to ensure the protection of its students’ rights to peaceful speech and assembly on campus.
SEE:UC board of regents approve new weapons request for campus police
On Thursday, Sept. 19, the UC Board of Regents approved requests for additional military equipment from nine UC police departments, including Los Angeles (UCLA), Berkeley, and San Francisco. The equipment includes assault rifles, drones, projectile launches, and “non-lethal” impact munitions such as pepper balls.
This concerning decision follows months of violence and militarized censorship faced by student protesters across UC campuses as they call for an end to Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. In May, both UCLA and UC Irvine deployed law enforcement officers in riot gear to forcibly remove and arrest students participating in the universities’ anti-genocide encampments. The officers at UCLA were armed with guns shooting rubber bullets as they shut down the encampment.
At UC San Diego, law enforcement reportedly sprayed pepper spray directly into a crowd of peaceful student and community protesters. Several students at the UC Santa Cruz anti-genocide encampment said that officers beat them with batons.
While the UC administration states that military equipment is utilized by campus police officers for de-escalation purposes to promote public safety, these incidents show that the equipment has instead been used to silence and suppress students’ peaceful protests for Palestinian human rights.
In a statement, CAIR-CA Justice Reinvestment, Associate Manager Leena Sabagh said:
“The UC Board of Regents’ decision to expand its arsenal of military equipment is deeply concerning. In recent months, we have seen campus police use this military gear to violently confront students peacefully calling for an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza. At the same time, outside mobs, such as the pro-Israel extremists who attacked student protesters at UCLA, have faced little to no police intervention. This decision will only serve to further enable the violent censorship of peaceful student protesters expressing solidarity with Palestine on UC campuses.
“Rather than investing in resources and programs that promote education and student well-being, the UC Board of Regents has instead opted to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to arm campus police. This is a gross misuse of funds and a direct assault on students’ rights to free speech and peaceful protest.”
CAIR-CA calls on the UC Board of Regents to immediately halt the purchase and use of military equipment on UC campuses and foster an environment of dialogue and understanding rather than one of fear and suppression.
CAIR-CA is a chapter of CAIR, America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR-LA Digital Communications Manager Enjy El-Kadi, (714) 851-4851 or eelkadi@cair.com; CAIR-LA Communications Coordinator Madi Morse-Hameed, mmorse-hameed@cair.com