Submission: Co-Op Union + KSDT Radio Statement

Opening Statement

We – the UC San Diego Food Cooperative, General Store Cooperative, KSDT Radio, Che Cafe Collective, and Groundworks Books Collective – express our unequivocal solidarity with the Gaza Solidarity Encampment and condemn the violence used against students by the University of California San Diego Police, California Highway Patrol, and San Diego County Sheriff’s Department on Monday, May 6^[e]. We are disgusted with the UCSD administration’s decision to actively endanger the same students they proclaim to educate, house, and protect.

This past Monday, we watched in horror as riot police entered the encampment and placed our friends, classmates, faculty, and co-members under arrest for protesting UC San Diego’s involvement in genocide. Our community protested outside of the Student Health Services Clinic as detained protestors were taken to Price Center to be held before being jailed. As detained protestors were loaded into vans and buses to be taken to jail, protestors stood in front of the vehicles to stop them. The police began shoving students, beating them with batons^[i], and even putting knees to the back of a protester who was forced onto the ground^[j].

Condemning Admin’s Failure to Ensure the Security & Wellbeing of Students on Campus & in Jails

Chancellor Khosla and his administration have failed to ensure the safety, security, and wellbeing of UCSD students on every level.

A UC San Diego student has alleged that they were voicing complaints towards the police at the time of their arrest and singing when lined up in jail. They were then brought to solitary confinement (defined as “the state of being kept alone in a prison cell away from other prisoners” by the Merriam-Webster dictionary). We stand against the use of solitary confinement, as it is inhumane and psychologically damaging^[f].

Additionally, the deployment of riot police has spread mass trauma to the student population. There have been no third-party, anonymous mental health or physical safety resources distributed to impacted students. The UC has violated our trust and proven that they will escalate to violence when challenged non-violently. Many California residents, whom the UC now educates, were taught about the importance of civil disobedience during the Civil Rights Movement^[g]; UC San Diego has proven that although it builds upon the California education system that taught the values of democracy, peaceful protest, and civil disobedience, it will use violent means to suppress those students brave enough to stand by these principles in action.

Condemning Admin’s Further Sanctions Against Student Protestors

We are disgusted and dismayed at UC San Diego’s and Chancellor Pradeep Khosla’s decision to use the removal of housing, financial stability, and education as a weapon against students.

We believe this to be a clear violation of UC San Diego’s Mission and Values, which state that the university aims to: “create an environment and culture where: Diversity, equity, and inclusion enable faculty, students, and staff to excel and provide an opportunity for all to succeed.”^[a]

We are deeply disappointed in the professors, faculty, administrators, coaches and other UC San Diego personnel who thus far have failed to condemn the cruelty student protestors were met with on May 6th and have failed to call for the removal of Chancellor Pradeep Khosla; their silence in the wake of the risks posed to the student body is heartbreaking and speaks volumes of their commitment to the students they serve. We celebrate the contributions of staff who have called for the chancellor’s resignation^[k] and those who signed^[h] onto the Faculty Testimony on UCSD Gaza Encampment in support of their students’ right to protest.

Condemning Gaza Genocide & Occupation of Palestine

While the previous actions are egregious in themselves, we want to emphasize that they are minimal compared to the violence that the state of Israel has imposed onto the Palestinian people in the past 76 years^[l]. We want to highlight the fact that there are now no more universities left in Gaza as a result of Israel’s genocidal acts, which UC San Diego has actively funded.

We firmly support the people of Palestine who face a calculated genocide executed by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). We will not look away as the recorded death toll surges to 34,844^[d] as of May 9th, 2024. We will not look away as homes and hospitals are bombed to rubble with people trapped beneath them. All human life must be lived humanely, and end with dignity and care.

We denounce America’s billions of tax dollars^[b] that fund this ongoing genocide through weapons packages labeled as “aid.” We denounce UC San Diego’s investment in weapons manufacturers such as Lockheed Martin and Raytheon^[c]. There must be a UC where our tuition, learning, and research ensures collective, international liberation. We believe that we will see this change within our lifetime.

Closing Statement

The Food Cooperative, General Store Cooperative, KSDT Radio, Che Cafe Collective, and Groundworks Books Collective stand in solidarity with the Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voices for Peace, and other aligned organizations. We stand with their demands for divestment from corporations funding a genocide against Palestinians: support of Palestine through fiscal, verbal, and political means; dropping of the legal charges and university suspensions brought against our detained students; and compensation for the violation of their rights to protest.

The UC San Diego Food Cooperative, General Store Cooperative, KSDT Radio, Che Cafe Collective, and Groundworks Books Collective remain proud of our strong traditions of community support and student activism. As such, we remain steadfast in our support of the peaceful protests calling for UC San Diego to divest from genocide and end the university’s support for the atrocities currently being committed in Palestine.

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