Students at UC Merced on Sunday began preparing for a three-day UC Regents meeting at the campus by launching a Gaza solidarity encampment at the Wallace Dutra Amphitheater, according to an Instagram post.

“The UC Regents are meeting on our campus in two days! They will hear us!!” they said in the post.

Encampment goes up at UC Merced to protest war in Gaza https://t.co/6IzhucaUx6 pic.twitter.com/0caS8YlW2f

— KVPR (@KVPR) May 13, 2024

On Tuesday at noon, according to UC’s published schedule, the regents’ investment committee will convene and take public comments.

There have been calls from students and faculty at both the University of California and California State University System to divest from Israel. However, both the UC and CSU said recently in statements that they do not intend to change investment policies related to Israel or the Israel-Hamas conflict.

At 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the regents will conduct an open session with an open public comment period. Another open session with public comment will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday. The meeting is scheduled to conclude Thursday afternoon.

See the full schedule at this link.

UC Merced Student Demands

The students protesting the war in Gaza say these are the demands they will present to the UC Regents:

1. An immediate call for a cease-fire.

2. Financially divest all UC investments systemwide and campus-specific investments that directly support the genocide in Gaza.

3. Academic boycott ending all university ties with the Israel including study abroad programs

4. Amnesty for all student protesters.

5. Re-investment in direct financial support to support students needs and investing in aid to Palestine.