UC Santa Barbara protests feature effigies and direct statement to students during finals
ISLA VISTA, Calif. – Protests at UC Santa Barbara's campus on Monday and Tuesday feature mutilated effigies with a message about the finals partially interrupted by protesters.
The message "YOU CAN TAKE YOUR FINALS They never will" accompanied the display of fake bodies strewn at the scene Monday and shown in the image below.
On Tuesday, some finals-takers were moved to Campbell Hall as staff and security are on the scene as protests continue outside.
Your News Channel captured at least one masked protester on top of a building holding a Palestinian flag on Monday.
In response to Your News Channel's request for comment, the university issued this statement Monday: "This morning, a small group of unidentified individuals restricted access to several campus classrooms that were scheduled to be used for final exams. Campus officials are actively monitoring the situation, and the small number of final exams that were impacted are being relocated or rescheduled."
Images and video shared with Your News Channel on Tuesday show more extensive actions by on-campus protesters that are shown below.
The images below are of a door and classroom at Girvetz Hall.
Campus protests connected to the ongoing Israel-Hamas Conflict are not new.
Your News Channel has covered large-scale walkouts, Student Senate-approved divestment demands, and student worker union-organized protests over the UC system's response in just the last three months.
The image below shows some of the posted demands from the encampment on the University campus from Tuesday morning.
The continued encampment on-campus associated with protests triggered a response from the University's Chancellor and some protest activities that targeted the student body president at the on-campus Multi-Cultural Center triggered a federal Civil Rights complaint against the University.
The Office of the Chancellor of UCSB issued the following statement on Monday:
"This has been a difficult year for our campus. Everyone in our community has been deeply distressed by the violence in Israel and Gaza and the devastating loss of Israeli and Palestinian lives. Our principles of community have been strained. Throughout these months we have tried to maintain a balance between the rights of the community to pursue our educational mission and the rights of protesters to engage in free speech.
This morning, a small group of unidentified individuals entered Girvetz Hall, intimidated custodial staff and ordered them to leave, restricted access to classrooms, and prevented final exams scheduled for that building from taking place. We cannot tolerate activity that interferes with access to buildings, and students’ ability to complete their courses, fulfill their requirements, and graduate. Students, faculty, and staff must have full access to the campus and all facilities.
We are working with instructors to relocate or reschedule finals that were supposed to take place in Girvetz, and we will share updates with the campus. Thank you."
Monday morning's protests may have been organized by a group called 'Say Genocide UCSB', but Your News Channel has not been able to independently verify that group's participation and our request for comment from the group have been ignored.
On Say Genocide UCSB's Instagram page, the group claims to have inhabited Girvetz Hall on-campus and directly communicated with Margaret the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs.
Protesters on-campus have erected signs as protests continue, including the one below from Tuesday morning, showing messages used at other protests on university campuses nationwide.
"In the last 24 hours there has been a significant deliberate escalation of campus tension by campus radicals and outside community members ... and we need the university to recognize this and take action to restore safety on campus for all students," said executive director Josh Levine of Santa Barbara Hillel on Tuesday.
Levine has been in touch with students on campus daily.
