UCLA aims to rebuild trust after protests with new ‘free speech’ zones, more security, dialogue
UCLA, riven by violent protests over the Israel-Hamas war last spring, on Thursday unveiled a plan to rebuild campus trust and connections with enhanced safety measures, broader dialogue across differences, free speech guidelines and stronger efforts to support diversity.
In a letter to the Bruins community three weeks before fall classes begin, interim Chancellor Darnell Hunt said the “challenging spring” underscored the pressing need for new initiatives to repair the damage to campus trust and unity.
UCLA drew global attention in April, when video captured a violent nighttime attack on a pro-Palestinian encampment by counterprotesters armed with metal pipes, wooden planks, fists and fireworks. Law enforcement forcibly dismantled the encampment shortly afterward and arrested 231 people, including about 90 students. The security lapses prompted UCLA to reassign the police chief. Faculty members outraged by the police actions held votes to censure and express no confidence in then-Chancellor Gene Block, which failed.
Meanwhile, a congressional committee summoned Block to confront him about his handling of antisemitism, and three Jewish students sued UCLA for failing to protect their access to campus walkways and buildings, which they said Palestinian supporters blocked after asking whether they were Zionists.
In an effort to move forward, Hunt said his four-point plan would aim for a “safer, stronger UCLA” featuring reviews of policing practices, campuswide efforts to build community and updated guidelines on free speech activities.
“As a campus that promotes inclusive excellence, we must protect the ability for Bruins of all backgrounds and identities to feel safe, welcome, respected and able to participate fully in campus life,” Hunt wrote. “We may not always see eye-to-eye on important and topical issues, but if we engage one another with respect and empathy, we can both grow as people and maintain a healthy academic environment for everyone.”
Student protesters at UC Berkeley and San Francisco State stayed in line with regulations being enforced at California’s public universities this school year, but made it clear they intend to keep their concerns about the war in Gaza front and center.
UCLA’s new free speech guidelines are in line with strict new University of California guidance on protest management. All UC campuses have been directed by UC President Michael V. Drake to post rules about free speech and notify students about them before the fall term begins, a move to comply with a state legislative mandate. UCLA and six other UC undergraduate campuses begin instruction the week of Sept. 23; UC Berkeley and UC Merced started last month.
UCLA’s policies, issued Wednesday, are effective immediately as interim rules until they are finalized after a 60-day public review process. They specify approved free speech zones, omitting Royce Quad as one of them. The quad was a major conflict zone last spring as the site of both the Palestine Solidarity Encampment and a pro-Israel area featuring a massive jumbotron that projected video loops of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants in southern Israel.
The free speech zones include Bruin Walk and Plaza outside the student union and Pauley Pavilion, along with the east lawn area next to the Janss steps.
The rules prohibit tents, campsites and other temporary structures on UCLA property without prior approval and blocking of access to walkways and buildings. Amplified sound will be banned during marches but otherwise generally allowed with some restrictions. Concealing one’s identity while breaking laws or rules will be prohibited. In addition, the rules detail procedures for holding campus events and reiterate that the campus will be closed from midnight to 6 a.m. for activities with limited exceptions.
In addition to new free speech policies, the plan includes a renewed focus on campus safety and well-being. After the melee overnight on April 30, UCLA created a new Office of Campus Safety, hired former Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel to head it and moved all policing and emergency management programs to that office. The office, along with the University of California, is reviewing the safety protocols and police response to the spring protests.
The University of California will enforce rules against encampments, blocking pathways and wearing some face masks as students begin returning to campus after a protest-filled spring, the system president told the UC community.
But Hunt said the office will expand its responsibilities beyond protest management. A 2022 report on campus safety noted that students, faculty and staff expressed concerns not only about campus policing but also mental health, protection from COVID-19, racism and sexism, active-shooter and earthquake preparedness and sexual assault. UCLA will include such broader issues in the expanded charge as it continues with listening sessions, Hunt said.
UCLA will also launch several programs aimed at building understanding between those who disagree. Across the UC system, many students, faculty and administrators say the differences over the Israel-Hamas war have ripped their campuses apart in unparalleled ways. Hunt said a first step in healing those divides is “seeing one another as real people shaped by complex backgrounds and experiences — not as simple stereotypes.”
UCLA will roll out a new speaker series this fall offering “challenging but empathetic conversations” on topical issues. The first event will feature Yasmeen Abu Fraiha, an Israeli Bedouin physician and fellow with the Middle East Initiative at Harvard’s Kennedy School.
“Speaking Across Conflicts” workshops will aim to strengthen skills for constructive conversations across charged political differences. New programs for student internships and teaching fellowships about effective dialogue are also planned. Many of the expanded programs will be housed in the UCLA Bedari Kindness Institute and headed by David Myers, a professor of Jewish history who has long been involved in bridge-building efforts.
“In a diverse community such as ours, part of our learning and growth comes from engagement with viewpoints we may not agree with or readily understand,” Hunt wrote. “While this may be uncomfortable, it is also what helps us deepen our thinking, weigh different approaches and consider new ways of looking at an issue. Ultimately, it advances truth, knowledge and understanding.”
Hunt also said UCLA would continue to look for ways to foster greater support for its diverse community. Its Office of Civil Rights, for instance, is reviewing reports of antisemitism, along with anti-Arab and Islamophobic discrimination, to understand how that affected student experiences.
“UCLA is a spectacular place, but it is by no means perfect,” Hunt said. “A commitment to rigorously studying the challenges we have faced and how we have addressed them — and making changes based on those findings — is essential if UCLA is to best serve its important academic mission and meet the needs of its students, faculty and staff.”
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