Students at the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) who set up on-campus encampments are requesting donations of vegan food, gas masks, and more to sustain their act of “resistance,” according to documents circulated online.
The student group Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA posted a Google document online with a list of items protesters desire amid ongoing protests. The list includes, but is not limited to, goggles, knee and elbow pads, gloves, flashlights, rope, zip ties, helmets, shields, wood, and a non-steroid inhaler.
Other requests include “hot food for lunch,” including vegan and gluten-free options. The protesters specifically stated they do not want packaged foods such as coffee, bagels, bananas, or nuts.
The students stated that supplies cannot be produced by Israel and must comply with the Students for Justice in Palestine’s stated mission of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS). BDS calls for economic sanctions, boycotts, and complete divestment from the state of Israel.
Calls for BDS are not limited to post-October 7 anti-war protests. Students for Justice in Palestine have long called for complete BDS from the state of Israel on college campuses.
UCLA opted to cancel classes on Wednesday after fights ensued between anti-Israel and pro-Israel supporters. Video footage circulated of a pro-Israel protester pushing an anti-Israel protester into a tent, stoking outrage online. Full video footage shows that the anti-Israel protester attacked the pro-Israel protester first, leading the pro-Israel protester to defend himself.
UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said that a group of “instigators” went to campus to attack the pro-Palestinian encampment.
“However one feels about the encampment, this attack on our students, faculty, and community members was utterly unacceptable,” Block said. “It has shaken our campus to its core and — adding to other abhorrent incidents that we have witnessed and that have circulated on social media over the past several days — further damaged our community’s sense of security.”
According to reports from those at UCLA, police arrived at the campus in riot gear and breached the encampment early Thursday morning. They were met with violent pushback from demonstrators, who can be seen in one video attempting to shield themselves from police using a large barricade.
Videos have surfaced of the aftermath of the protests showing the large piles of garbage and discarded tents, supplies, and food.
