Editor’s note: After the publication of this article, the Department of Public Safety and the Los Angeles Police Department cleared the “Gaza Solidarity Occupation” encampment at approximately 5 a.m. on May 5.

I am writing this letter to share my impressions of spending time at the “Gaza Solidarity Occupation” created by the USC Divest from Death Coalition. In part, I aim to dispel the false narratives that the USC administration and many others have propagated in characterizing it. Additionally, I encourage those who are hesitant to stop by and see for themselves what they are missing.

On Wednesday morning, I strolled through the camp with my 6-year-old daughter and wife. It was a beautiful day, and Los Angeles Unified School District schools were closed in recognition of Armenian Genocide Day. The schedule of activities for the day appeared wonderful, but my daughter opted to spend the day with her mom at UCLA. I felt saddened that she wouldn’t be able to make kites at one of the workshops with me in the early afternoon, but I looked forward to having a kite ready for her when she returned home later that night.

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However, that first day was completely marred when Department of Public Safety officers openly attacked students and others. I cannot be more clear about what I witnessed. The violent escalation, the lack of communication, and the chaos instigated by DPS were abhorrent and unwarranted.

What was initially a 100% peaceful assembly of students — students who were even actively trying to comply with arbitrary demands like refraining from hanging signs on the trees — rapidly devolved into a police state within a matter of hours. I found myself attempting to shield students from the aggressive actions of DPS and L.A. Police Department officers. 

President Carol Folt’s decision to summon militarized LAPD to campus and arrest over 90 people, most of whom were USC students or faculty, will be remembered as one of the most short-sighted and dangerous decisions I have ever witnessed on an academic campus. Sadly we are seeing these all over the country now. When my daughter asked why all the police were there, I could barely come up with an answer.

In the subsequent days, what I have observed at the camp has been a beautiful, peaceful and celebratory gathering of students, faculty and others, who have demonstrated unwavering support and focus on the ongoing genocide in Gaza, while also striving to hold USC accountable and effect meaningful change on campus. 

It embodies everything that a university should support, take seriously and learn from. I have brought my daughter to the camp every day since then to enjoy the atmosphere and the care that everyone there readily shares. She has painted, looked at zines, played with students and other children, admired beautiful banners, listened to music and simply relished her time there. She feels safe there. 

This has evolved into a space that any university would envy having on its campus. People have been inquiring about the best ways to support the students there. My suggestion? Just show up. Say hello. Attend a workshop. Walk by the banners. Sit in the encampment library. Do so from a space of reflective listening. 

You don’t have to agree with everything these students stand for, and many of you won’t, but I hope you all support the activism, intellectual rigor and principled ethical stance on issues that matter to them. It is now time for the University administration to employ the same level of intellect, imagination and care in navigating this situation as the students have so beautifully shown us. Summoning the LAPD again cannot be an option.

Andrzej Rutkowski

Acting Head, Library for International and Public Affairs and Visualization Specialist