UCLA criticized for 'chaotic' response to violent protest in independent review of UC

UCLA failed to protect students from protest debate this spring because of a “chaotic” decision-making process, a lack of communication between campus leaders and police, and other deficiencies that led to campus paralysis, according to an independent review by the University of California. released on Thursday.

The long-awaited review, conducted by a national law enforcement think tank, found numerous failures and violations by UCLA administrators and police officers after pro-Palestinian students set up camp in late April, drawing complaints of anti-Semitic behavior. The camp came under violent attack by protesters in early May, causing widespread outrage and attention.

The review found that UCLA did not have a detailed plan for handling large-scale protests, as problems were “visible” as encampments erupted on other campuses that sometimes drew controversy. UCLA leaders have not identified who should control decision-making and have sometimes barred campus police from meetings. On the other hand, campus police did not have an effective plan to work with outside law enforcement and failed to take command the night of the melee — leading the LAPD and California Highway Patrol to make an ad-hoc response, the review said.

“Because there are no organized plans in place, UCLA's management is involved in a chaotic process where they have to make difficult decisions … in the midst of continuous disruption, without clarifying who holds the final authority, without an understandable process of access. decisions, and especially lacks the ability to quickly respond to fast-moving events and dynamic situations on campus,” the 21st Century Policing Solutions report concluded.

Request for changes

The review recommended that UCLA take key steps:

• Develop a detailed response plan
• Provide better training for non-custodial staff and police
• Increase real-time communication about campus disruptions
• Recruit more citizens to help mediate disputes before the law is called

The report was based on tens of thousands of documents and interviews with current and former UCLA administrators, faculty, staff, students and law enforcement over five months. It comes after two other major reports criticized UCLA for its response to the protest.

A report by the Los Angeles Police Commission found a confusing breakdown in coordinating actions between UCLA, the LAPD, the California Highway Patrol and smaller municipal police agencies that were called to campuses early in the spring. The Republican-led US House Committee on Education and Labor also criticized UCLA and other top universities, including Harvard and Columbia, for “gross failures in dealing with antisemitism.”

UC President Michael V. Drake said in a statement Thursday that the purpose of the UCLA review was to learn what changes are needed to prevent the repetition of mistakes, while protecting campus health and safety, equal access to educational institutions and 1st Amendment rights to free speech.

“Last spring, as conflicts spread across universities across the country, we saw the limits of our traditional approach,” Drake said. “We are taking a closer look at where we are and how we can do better moving forward. This comprehensive review and recommendations will help ensure that we have plans and policies in place to prevent similar incidents from happening again.”

Drake noted that UCLA has begun making changes, including implementing some of the actions recommended by the advisory group. It includes establishing an Office of Campus Safety, which would oversee the UCLA police department and the Office of Emergency Management, and hiring a vice chancellor to lead it. UCLA hired Rick Braziel, a former Sacramento police chief and specialist in law enforcement review, for that role earlier this year on a temporary contract; he has started to fix security and safety operations.

In the long run, the review said, UCLA should convene a campus-wide discussion to reach agreement on the proper role of the police. Some faculty and students, for example, want to eliminate campus police altogether and use trained mediators instead of problem-solving — using outside law enforcement to handle serious crimes.

“This tension — how and how police provide public safety, and by whom — is part of a national conversation about the role of police and the definition of public safety,” the review said. “Until now, UCLA has not responded to these tensions in an inappropriate way, not including the police in planning and discussions but then asking law enforcement to get involved when conflicts escalate into violence.”

'Deeply disturbing' reports of anti-Semitism

The independent review came after the UC Board of Regents met in San Francisco to discuss UCLA's “campus climate” and three task force reports issued this year criticized the university's response to allegations of antisemitism and anti-Arab, anti-Muslim and anti- Palestinian Apartheid.

In a 93-page report released last month, UCLA's task force on antisemitism described “broadly based perceptions of antisemitic and anti-Israel bias on campus” among students, faculty, faculty, staff and administrators.

The report, which surveyed hundreds of people contacted by Jewish organizations, found that 84% believed discrimination had “worsened or worsened” since Oct. 7. ” Another 40% said they experienced cross-cultural discrimination during their time at UCLA.

Two reports from the UCLA Task Force on Anti-Palestinian, Anti-Muslim, and Anti-Arab Racism, released in April and June, also criticized the institution's “less than ever security” against those groups and said there is “increasing harassment, violence, and targeting ” of them but did not provide research data.

The Regents spent about 40 minutes debating the reports, all but a few minutes focused on anti-Semitism.

“I'm just shocked that in 2024 we have a report that says deep anti-Semitism is affecting Jewish students, faculty and staff at one of the most prestigious universities in the world,” said Regent Rich Leib.

“We lost our way,” he added later. “This is not a simple problem of applying our laws. We need to take a closer look and do everything we can to restore our campuses to safe and reasonable places.”

Leib also criticized faculty leaders in the Education Senate.

“This report clearly describes many and frequent incidents of teachers breaking the rules and joining encampments or making comments in their classrooms that do not comply with the rules … yet the report shows that not a single faculty member was punished by the Education Senate. That seems unbearable to me and it must change,” he said.

In response, Senate Education Chairman Steven W. Cheung told the administration that teacher disciplinary procedures were intended to “protect our due diligence rights, our rights to be heard, and to ensure that we make informed decisions.” He said the Senate was not interested in “residual” procedures and would welcome a review with the regents.

Regent Jay Sures briefed UCLA Interim Chancellor Darnell Hunt on the progress of campus administrators in investigating allegations of anti-Semitic, anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim incidents since Oct. 7, 2023, Hunt says there are “over hundreds” on “both sides.”

Hunt said the investigation is ongoing and “some of these cases could take up to a year to resolve.”

Drake called the antisemitism report “deeply troubling” and praised the university's new office for civil rights that deals with discrimination across campuses.

“We can and must do better,” Drake said.