UCLA Black, Latinx, and Native American (BLNA) Faculty Collective of the David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM)
UCLA BLNA Letter in Support of Students, Faculty and Broader Bruin Community Subject to Emotional and Physical Violence During the Past Week’s Events
Statement from the UCLA Black, Latinx, and Native American (BLNA) Faculty Collective of the David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM) in Support of Students and Faculty and Broader Bruin Community Subject to Emotional and Physical Violence During the Past Week’s Events
The UCLA BLNA community, comprised of physicians, healthcare providers, and faculty affiliated with the David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM), would like to share our solidarity with students, trainees, staff, and fellow faculty who experienced inexplicable violence on April 30th and May 1st. The peaceful Palestinian Solidarity Encampment faced two waves of brutality, first at the hands of unchecked agitators and then by uniformed officials. We are especially distraught, having already seen months of division within our community and the silencing of individuals exercising their First Amendment rights in support of peace and compassion. Collectively, these events have fractured our UCLA community, impaired the search for truth that we aspire to in academia, and damaged our collective sense of safety and freedom.
The demonstrations that began on April 26th were overwhelmingly peaceful, giving us pride as members of the Bruin community, and were recognized as such by university leadership. Through the morning of April 30, we witnessed continuous university messaging on its commitment to a longstanding legacy of peaceful protests and ensuring students’ First Amendment rights. Later that afternoon, without much explanation, President Drake and Chancellor Block suddenly declared the peaceful student encampments as “unlawful” and “unauthorized.” This was coordinated with increased security personnel and UC security/police presence but lacked basic protection for the well-being of students and faculty. That same night, attackers, including self identified white supremacists and members of other right-wing organizations, were permitted to act violently and without restraint. Instead of protecting our students, the university police stood back, simply watched, filmed, and failed to stop the unrelenting violence against its students, staff, and faculty in the encampment over several hours. The world watched live newscasts for HOURS as the encampment had firework projectiles launched into it and as its students, staff, and faculty were being beaten, sprayed, and assaulted.
Many of our DGSOM medical students, residents, and DGSOM faculty served as first responders and provided emergency care for students, staff, and faculty and students who experienced physical injuries. They also continue to provide mental health and social support for the students despite experiencing trauma themselves. We have all witnessed media footage of the injuries, and it is incomprehensible why the UC security/police forces did not stop this violence that was clearly instigated by outside groups who are not affiliated with UCLA. Even worse was the LAPD’s excessive and traumatizing response on May 1st, when they dismantled the encampment and arrested over 200 of our students, staff, and faculty members while— seemingly finishing the job of the outside attackers from the night before. A campuswide announcement was made for everyone to safely return to campus on May 6. Still, that morning, 43 students, journalists, and legal observers were arrested on campus for alleged conspiracy to commit burglary. And yet, none of the outside attackers have been brought to justice, despite at least one individual proudly identifying themselves and publicly posting footage of their attack on our students, staff, and faculty. Although university leadership has opened a law enforcement investigation surrounding last week’s event and opened a new Office of Campus Safety, the leadership has not taken accountability for their actions and how they have infringed upon students' and faculty’s freedom of speech.
The events in the last two weeks are the latest in a pattern of less publicized and equally disturbing university inaction to protect its faculty. For months, we have witnessed personal and intellectual attacks on our faculty promoting core university values (e.g., fostering an environment of mutual respect and promoting health equity). We want to highlight the importance now more than ever of ensuring an inclusive and equity-minded environment that is critical to support the safety and sense of belonging, especially of those from marginalized and oppressed groups. Inclusivity and equity are needed for diversity to thrive, to promote the reunification of our Bruin community, and to ensure the safety of members of our community, including Jewish, Arab, and Muslim students. Attacks against these principles of inclusivity for those marginalized, as well as selective support for freedom of speech, have deeply divided our campus and the surrounding community, created a hostile environment for students and faculty, and sent a message that some groups are more deserving of safety than others. This is in the context of the ongoing global unrest, wars, and famine, including famine in Gaza, violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank, the still missing Israeli hostages, and the collective punishment that Palestinian civilians are experiencing. These events have been psychologically traumatic for many students, trainees, staff, and faculty, many of whom identify as Jewish and Palestinian. Equally concerning is the ill-intended attempt to equate criticism of the indiscriminate actions of the Israeli military and a foreign government with antisemitic sentiments or to equate the indiscriminate action of Hamas with the views and position of all Palestinian people. The attempts to silence students, staff, and faculty who support the return of all hostages as well as famine relief and a ceasefire of the indiscriminate bombing of Palestinian civilians with the labeling of such sentiments as being antisemitic only exacerbates and creates new divisions and stifle civil discourse that could bring all communities closer and foster a sense of physical, emotional, and intellectual safety for all.
Some of our students, trainees, staff, and faculty migrated to the US from totalitarian regimes and have lived without freedom of speech and with frank violations of human and civil rights. The events of this last week to “silence voices for peace,” with a response of institutionally supported violence, have been deeply disappointing and reminiscent of the actions of those same totalitarian governments that we hold as cautionary tales. The experiences are re-traumatizing for many UC students, trainees, staff, and faculty. The inability of The Regents of the University of California to ensure the physical, emotional, and intellectual safety of ALL students, trainees, staff, and faculty has made us lose trust in the university leadership’s ability to protect and safeguard the safety of ALL learners, staff, and faculty alike.
As faculty members of UCLA and UCLA Health System, we work tirelessly to ensure the health and safety of all individuals, both physical and emotional. We support the UC statement of inclusive excellence that academic excellence is fed by a plurality of ideas, experiences, and perspectives. Founded with a promise to make higher education available to all California citizens, the University of California draws strength and definition from diversity. We have profound disappointment that our students are being taught a different lesson - that the best way to address peaceful protests is with institutional violence. We know we can do better, and as such, we ask the following so we can take steps toward rebuilding trust and healing in our larger community:
Amnesty for all students and faculty arrested and who participated in the encampment, and coverage of any associated medical and legal costs, plus coverage of lost property.
Thorough investigation of the administrative response to the 4/30/24 and 5/1/24 attacks on demonstrators, with clear repercussions, including a request for the immediate resignation of university leadership.
Investigation of the orders and action (or inaction) of UCLA security, campus police, and LAPD.
Formal acknowledgment and online publication of all letters and statements released by the different departments and faculty members across campus.
That the UC meaningfully upholds the UC statement of inclusive excellence – “Academic excellence is fed by a plurality of ideas, experiences, and perspectives. Founded with a promise to make higher education available to all California citizens, the University of California draws strength and definition from diversity."
Signed,
Juline Asamoah, MD
Mona AuYoung, PhD, MS, MPH
Carol Bennett , MD
Daniel Bradley, MD
Xavier E. Cagigas, PhD
Alejandra Casillas, MD, MSHS
Jacqueline Casillas, MD
Kacie D. Deters, PhD
Mirella Diaz-Santos, PhD
O. Kenrik Duru, M.D.
Nanibaa' Garrison, PhD
Arthur Gomez, MD, FACP
Alma Guerrero, MD, MPH
Nina Harawa, PhD, MPH
Marco A. Hidalgo, PhD
Hana Khidir, MD
Adys Mendizabal, MD, MS
Benjamin Meza, MD
Norweeta Milburn, Ph.D.
Keith Norris, MD, PhD
Ketema Paul, Ph.D.
Michael Robinson, MD
Evan Michael Shannon, MD, MPH
Karol Watson, MD, PhD
Lindsay Wells, MD
Gail E. Wyatt, PhD