Campus Alert Archive
UCSC

1 AM Raid at the Base of the Hill: UC Santa Cruz Cleared a 4-Day Main-Entrance Blockade With 80 Arrests

CAcivil unrestemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

Beginning just after 1:00 AM PDT on Friday, May 31, 2024, California Highway Patrol officers and multiple law-enforcement agencies moved on the UC Santa Cruz main entrance to clear a four-day pro-Palestinian blockade that had stopped traffic at the base of the hill since May 28. About 80 protesters were arrested — later revised upward by some reports to as many as 122. UCSC issued CruzAlert notifications throughout the operation. The university later cited 'continued intentional and dangerous blockades' that had delayed emergency-vehicle access and disrupted classes, dining halls, and the Physical Sciences Building.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
University of California, Santa Cruz
Public R1 · CA
~19,000 studentsEverbridgeCruzAlert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from UCSC News update describing the early-morning law-enforcement operation; CruzAlert is UCSC's Everbridge-based emergency notification system190 chars
CruzAlert: Police activity at the main entrance. Avoid the area at the base of campus. Law enforcement is clearing the blockade. If you are in the area, leave the campus or shelter in place.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Sent shortly after 1:00 AM PDT on May 31, 2024 — when CHP officers began breaking down the encampments at the base of campus
The standoff began shortly before midnight when UCSC SJP posted on Instagram that a police raid was 'imminent' — bringing supporters to the base of campus and increasing the operation's complexity
UCSC's main entrance had been blockaded since Tuesday May 28; the blockade had previously delayed emergency-vehicle access — a core university justification for the operation
UPDATESMS
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from CBS San Francisco reporting that documented the multi-hour clearing operation and arrests during the 1-5 AM PDT window197 chars
CruzAlert: Multiple arrests have been made at the main entrance. Law enforcement remains on scene. Main entrance remains closed. Campus operations will be limited today. Continue to avoid the area.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Issued mid-operation as arrests of approximately 80 protesters accumulated; some reports indicate the total reached 122 by the conclusion of the operation
The reported number of arrests varies across sources — university cited 80, while later legal filings referenced 122 individuals receiving campus banishments
Multiple law-enforcement agencies — California Highway Patrol, UCSC police, Santa Cruz County Sheriff — participated in the operation
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from KION-46 reporting confirming the main entrance reopened on May 31, 2024 after the overnight operation157 chars
CruzAlert: The main entrance has been reopened. Campus operations are resuming. The blockade has been cleared. Continue to monitor news.ucsc.edu for updates.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Issued after the main entrance was reopened mid-morning May 31, 2024 following the overnight clearing operation
By the next day (June 1), KION confirmed traffic was flowing freely at UCSC for the first time since May 28 — though dozens of protesters had received campus banishments effective for weeks
Many of the 80+ arrested were affiliated with the UCSC chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, which UCSC subsequently suspended
Context

Background

UC Santa Cruz is a public R1 university with a distinctive hillside campus accessed primarily through a single main entrance at the base of the hill on Bay Drive. On Tuesday, May 28, 2024, members of the UCSC chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine — which had maintained an encampment on Quarry Plaza since May 1 — blockaded the main entrance using fortified barricades made of pallets, stopping traffic and preventing vehicles from entering or leaving campus for extended periods. The blockade had compounding operational consequences: emergency-vehicle access was delayed, dining halls and the Physical Sciences Building were disrupted, and classes were canceled. After repeated unanswered calls for protesters to voluntarily disband, UCSC requested law enforcement assistance. Just after 1:00 AM PDT on Friday, May 31, California Highway Patrol officers began breaking down the encampments, supported by UCSC police and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff. Approximately 80 protesters were arrested (some reports indicate up to 122). UCSC issued CruzAlert notifications throughout the operation, framing it as a response to dangerous blockades rather than to the encampment itself. The main entrance reopened by mid-morning. UCSC subsequently issued campus banishments to over 110 protesters — a sanction later challenged in a federal legal complaint — and suspended the UCSC SJP chapter. The case is notable as the largest mass-arrest event at a US west coast public university during the 2024 encampment wave, and as a documented example of an alert system used during a multi-hour pre-dawn law-enforcement operation.
Analysis

Key Findings

UCSC issued CruzAlert notifications throughout the May 31, 2024 overnight operation that began just after 1:00 AM PDT and continued into mid-morning
Approximately 80 protesters were arrested (some reports indicate up to 122) — the largest mass-arrest event at a US west coast public university during the 2024 encampment wave
The clearing operation was framed by UCSC as a response to the four-day blockade of the main entrance — which delayed emergency-vehicle access and disrupted classes, dining, and lab buildings — rather than to the encampment itself
UCSC subsequently issued campus banishments to over 110 protesters and suspended the UCSC chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine; the banishments were later challenged in a federal legal complaint
The single-entrance hillside topology of UCSC made the blockade unusually consequential — distinguishing this case from peer institutions where encampments did not interfere with critical campus access points
Outcome
About 80 protesters arrested (some reports indicate up to 122). Main entrance reopened by mid-morning May 31. UCSC subsequently issued campus banishments to over 110 protesters — a sanction that was later challenged in a [federal legal complaint](https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/10/01/muke-o01.html). UCSC chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine was suspended.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    Update on this morning's actions at the main entrance - News at UCSC
    news.ucsc.edu
  2. Official
    On blocking campus access - News at UCSC
    news.ucsc.edu
  3. News
    Pro-Palestinian protesters at UC Santa Cruz forcibly removed from encampment - CBS San Francisco
    cbsnews.com
  4. News
    Police arrest 80 protesters at UC Santa Cruz after tense standoff - KTVU FOX 2
    ktvu.com
  5. News
    Police disband pro-Palestine encampment at UC Santa Cruz overnight, make around 80 arrests - KAZU
    kazu.org
  6. Official
    CruzAlert - The UCSC Emergency Notification System
    oem.ucsc.edu
  7. national media
    Banishment of over 110 protesters by UC Santa Cruz challenged in new legal complaint - WSWS
    wsws.org
Tags
civil-unrestencampmentpublic-r1californiacruzalertblockademass-arrestpredawn-clearinguc-systemgaza-protest
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion