USC protest camp cleared by police

The protest camp on the University of Southern California (USC) campus has been cleared by police, the school announced on Sunday.

USC was one of many universities across the country that attracted national attention in recent weeks due to pro-Palestinian demonstrations on its campus. In an announcement Sunday, USC President Carol Folt said the school’s Department of Public Safety and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) “removed the occupants who rebuilt their illegal encampment in Alumni Park.”

“Occupiers have repeatedly chosen to ignore university policies designed to benefit everyone and to break the law. We needed to act quickly to protect the rights of our 80,000 students, staff and teachers. We are in the critical period from the quiet end-of-semester study week, through final exams and our graduation ceremonies,” Folt wrote.

She said she requested the LAPD assist the public safety department in removing the encampment “as peacefully and safely as possible.” She said the order for protesters to disperse was given at around 4:10 am local time and that around 64 minutes later the camp was liberated.

The LAPD confirmed that it assisted the school in removing the encampment, posting on social media platform that “there were no arrests, no use of force and no injuries to police officers or protesters” during the operation.

Folt said the school “must draw the line” when protests turn into “illegal occupations,” writing that the occupation “was spiraling dangerously” in recent days. She said people were being harassed, the school’s Trojan symbols were defaced and school property was stolen.

Dozens of people were arrested late last month during pro-Palestinian demonstrations on the USC campus. USC also announced last month that it canceled its main commencement ceremony due to new security measures amid ongoing protests.

The cancellation came after the school said valedictorian Asna Tabassum could not give a speech due to “security concerns” after some of her social media posts sparked an outcry.