UCLA, riven by violent protests over the Israel-Hamas war last spring, on Thursday unveiled a plan to rebuild campus trust and connections with enhanced safety measures, broader dialogue across differences, free speech guidelines and stronger efforts to support diversity.
In a letter to the Bruins community three weeks before fall classes begin, interim Chancellor Darnell Hunt said the “challenging spring” underscored the pressing need for new initiatives to repair the damage to campus trust and unity.
UCLA drew global attention in April, when video footage captured a violent nighttime attack on a pro-Palestinian encampment by counterprotesters armed with metal pipes, wooden planks, fists and fireworks. Law enforcement forcibly dismantled the encampment shortly afterward, arresting 231 people, including about 90 students. The security lapses prompted UCLA to reassign the police chief. Faculty members outraged by the police actions held votes to censure and express no confidence in then-Chancellor Gene Block, which failed.