Protesters end 15 hour occupation with no arrests or injuries

by Mia Costales, Noelle Doblado and Salvador Sandoval-Garduño
Additional reporting by Kasandra Arreola and Pamela Hernandez

About 20 protestors held a sit-in in the Goodwin Forum in Nelson Hall East from 11 a.m. Feb. 27, to 2 a.m. on Feb. 28, following a public forum in the SAC quad with Interim Vice President for Administration and Finance Mike Fisher.

Protestors committed to three demands: divestment from all ties to Israel, implementation of a sanctuary campus policy and solidarity with the Teamsters union strike. No arrests were made, the university told El Leñador that several individuals who occupied the building have been identified and the university will follow up with campus and legal processes. Some students have been notified of their suspensions and charges as of March 3.

After 15 hours of occupying the Goodwin Forum, protestors left the building when police issued a dispersal warning. At around 1 a.m., the University Police Department, joined by officers from the Arcata Police Department, ordered everyone to exit the building over a loudspeaker, warning they could face arrest or use of force if they did not comply.

In response to questions about why police were brought in at 1 a.m., the university said protestors had received multiple dispersal warnings throughout the day.

“University leadership stayed in constant communication with the individuals, who were allowed to leave at any moment,” the university said. “Administrators, campus officials and CPH Marketing and Communications said protestors were informed verbally and in writing that they were violating university and CSU policies and trespassing. UPD also read the state’s standard dispersal order for unlawful assemblies.”

The public forum

The Feb. 27 forum resulted from the Feb. 20 sit-in at Siemens Hall where protestors and Fisher agreed to negotiate their demands. President Richard Carvajal was absent due to previously scheduled vacation time.

Fisher and President of University Advancement Steve Karp discussed the university’s investment portfolio. Karp confirmed that while no student tuition money gets directly funneled into CPH’s investments, the money that is donated to the Cal Poly Humboldt Foundation and used for CPH’s investments also goes to student scholarships.

“I would rather pay out of pocket than have my scholarship money be partially funded by genocide,” one protester said.

In a press release to El Leñador from Students for a Democratic Society, on Feb. 28, they expressed their frustration with CPH admin and the outcome of the public forum.

“At the forum, Associate Vice President Mike Fisher acted as the primary representative for the Administration,” SDS said. “Students presented clear, specific demands. What we received in return were deflections, procedural excuses, and carefully crafted non-answers. None of the core demands were meaningfully addressed.”

After the forum, protestors entered Nelson Hall East and moved into the Goodwin Forum around 11 a.m. According to SDS, the protest shifted indoors when administrators did not meet their demands and negotiations.

Occupation in Goodwin Forum

Protestors walked into Nelson Hall East and entered the Goodwin Forum around 11 a.m., with administration locked the building and were placed at all entrances to block more people from entering. Administration locked all bathrooms inside the building. The protestors pleaded for admin to unlock the bathrooms, describing the choice as inhumane. Protestors created a makeshift toilet out of a plastic bucket and garbage bags in a broom closet inside the room.

By 2:15 p.m. a crowd of students standing in solidarity with the protestors gathered outside the Goodwin Forum, many of them chanting with homemade protest signs.

Some students expressed frustration with both the administration’s choice to close Nelson Hall East and the protesters for choosing to occupy the building that houses CPH’s cultural, women’s and queer centers.

“There is no merit in depriving the minorities on campus of their access to educational resources, counseling, jobs and income, and a safe space made for them,” Brennan Thompson, a Black queer student, said. “The movement knew fully well what was going to happen after they entered the building, the lack of radical responsibility around this and instead blaming administration seems like a cop out, and a further symptom of how whiteness moves in the space.”

Moving forward

At noon on Feb. 28, President Carvajal sent out a campus wide email stating the sit-in violated CSU Time, Place and Manner policies and student conduct codes.

The university hired security guards from a third party to guard Nelson Hall beginning Feb. 28. Campus officials said the guards would remain “as long as needed to maintain a safe learning and working environment” and would work with UPD if another sit-in occurred.

As of Monday, March 2, both Siemens Hall and Nelson Hall are open. According to the university, the Goodwin Forum remains closed due to decontamination protocol as human waste was left in the room.