UC president vows to enforce protest rules, bans on encampments as students return to campuses
"Our ultimate goal is for all of our community members to feel supported in their ability to express themselves."
BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- The fall semester starts this week at UC Berkeley.
For University of California President Michael Drake, it's been a summer of reflection.
In a letter on Monday, he said campus leaders spent recent months reviewing the events of the past year, which involved pro-Palestinian protests taking over UC campuses.
MORE: UC admits 'largest, most diverse class' in history for fall 2024
Some, like demonstrations at UCLA, evolved into violence. Now, the UC system wants to strengthen and clarify policies and procedures.
Drake is vowing to enforce bans on campus encampments and identity-concealing masks but said in his letter, "Our ultimate goal is for all of our community members to feel supported in their ability to express themselves."
UC Berkeley's chancellor echoed his support in a video message sent to all students.
VIDEO: Gaza protesters at UC Berkeley dismantle encampment after talks with university
"We will also continue to respond in a quick and concerted manner to violence, to violations of laws and to words or deeds that rise to the level of harassment and or discrimination," Rich Lyons, the UC Berkeley chancellor said. "Behavior of that sort will not be tolerated."
Some are against the restrictions.
"It is an untenable policy," Ronald Cruz, attorney and organizer for BAMN said. "It will be the biggest crackdown on free speech since the McCarthy era and it's completely discriminatory, shows their hostility to free speech."
This all comes as the Brandeis Center sues UC Berkeley over its handling of protests last year, calling the campus a "hotbed of anti-Jewish hostility and harassment."
"We trust neither the Brandeis Center nor the UC administration to protect our rights," Zaid Yousef, president of the UC Berkeley Muslim Student Association said.
VIDEO: Stanford students arrested for barricading in president's office, allegedly leaving 'vile' graffiti
Now, those pro-Palestinian student protesters and their allies want to join the lawsuit to defend themselves, filing a motion Monday morning.
"We are caught between two parties [whose] only true dispute is how to suppress Palestinians in the most efficient way and the most PR friendly way and the most presentable way for the media," Yousef said.
"The university, which has been repressing our freedom of speech, is not representing us and we are demanding our right to be intervenors so that we can have our arguments and have our evidence put forward the truth," Cruz said.
The Brandeis Center and UC Berkeley were not available for comment on the lawsuit.
