UCLA returns to ‘normal’ campus operations

In-person classes resumed and Royce Quad reopened to the public, the school announced on Saturday, May 11.

UCLA returned to “normal operations” Saturday, as in-person classes resumed and Royce Quad reopened to the public following more than two weeks of disruptions surrounding a pro-Palestinian encampment, the school announced.

Officials said in their update to the campus community that “any serious disruptions to campus operations may change” its stance going forward, “and you might receive communication directly from your instructor or supervisor. Law enforcement and other security personnel continue to be on campus to help promote safety and actively monitor conditions.”

The reopening follows the dismantling of the massive encampment at Royce Quad on May 2, which resulted in 209 arrests. The removal came roughly 24 hours after a group of masked assailants launched a violent attack on the protesters, setting off fireworks and deploying tear gas in a clash that protesters said resulted in dozens of injuries.

Dozens more people were arrested on the UCLA campus on Monday morning, May 6, when the university had planned to return to in-person classes following two days of remote learning prompted by the encampment activity last week.

Early Monday morning, authorities arrested roughly 40 people in a campus parking garage and UCLA Police said they were carrying materials indicating they were prepared to break into and possibly barricade themselves inside a building.

Police said the group was carrying items such as bolt-cutters, super glue, padlocks, heavy-duty chains and metal pipes, along with printed materials “encouraging vandalism and violence.”

In response to the continued protesting, UCLA returned to remote instruction for the week.

Meanwhile, the UCLA Academic Senate is scheduled to resume discussions next Thursday on resolutions formally censuring and declaring no confidence in Chancellor Gene Block over decisions relating to the pro-Palestinian encampment.

The body that represents campus faculty was unable to muster the two-thirds necessary for passage Friday, campus newspaper the Daily Bruin reported.