Campus Alert Archive
UC San Diego

Triton Alert at 5:58 AM: West Campus Shuttered, 64 Arrested as CHP and Sheriff's Officers Clear UCSD Gaza Solidarity Encampment

CAcivil unrestadvisoryhigh confidence
Confirmed Threat

At approximately 5:58 AM PDT on Monday, May 6, 2024, UC San Diego issued a Triton Alert suspending all west campus operations and shifting classes to remote instruction after approximately 200 California Highway Patrol officers, San Diego County Sheriff's deputies, and UCSD campus police moved to clear the Gaza Solidarity Encampment that had formed on May 1 along Library Walk near the Student Health and Wellness Building. Sixty-four people were arrested -- 40 students and 24 unaffiliated individuals -- all booked and released the same day. The operation suspended trolley and bus service to the west campus, closed the Central Campus Trolley Station, and kept all west campus facilities closed through the day.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
University of California, San Diego
Public R1 · CA
Triton Alert
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 ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstruction476 chars
Due to police activity, west campus operations are suspended for all non-essential personnel from North Torrey Pines Road to Interstate 5. All instruction will move to remote modality effective immediately. Essential personnel should report to work as scheduled. West campus facilities remain closed. The Central Campus Trolley Station is temporarily closed; trains are bypassing the station. The Gilman Transit Center is also closed; buses are detouring. Updates will follow.

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

Triton Alert is UC San Diego's emergency mass-notification system, routing via SMS, email, voice, and web; the 5:58 AM notification email to all campus affiliates was the primary vehicle for announcing suspension of west campus operations
The affected zone -- North Torrey Pines Road to Interstate 5 -- encompasses most of UCSD's academic core, including Geisel Library, the Price Center, and the School of Medicine complex
The UC San Diego Central Campus Trolley Station closure on the Blue Line MTS route meant all Blue Line trains bypassed the station, affecting students and staff commuting from downtown San Diego and Mission Valley
UPDATEEmail
Approximate reconstruction527 chars
[UC San Diego confirmed that law enforcement had cleared the Gaza Solidarity Encampment from the Library Walk area. Sixty-four individuals were taken into custody on trespassing charges -- 40 students and 24 individuals with no university affiliation -- and all were booked and released the same day. West campus operations would resume the following day. The university stated that repeated prior requests to dismantle the encampment had not been honored and that the safety of the campus community was the paramount concern.]

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

UC San Diego's official Encampment Fact Sheet, published on the key-issues.ucsd.edu microsite, served as the primary institutional account of the clearance and arrest counts
Of the 40 student arrestees, all remained enrolled pending student conduct proceedings; no criminal charges were ultimately filed by the San Diego County District Attorney's office against the majority of those arrested
The encampment had tripled in size between May 1 and May 5, prompting Chancellor Pradeep Khosla to authorize the enforcement operation on Sunday evening
ALL CLEAREmail
Approximate reconstruction264 chars
[UC San Diego announced that normal west campus operations would resume the following morning, Tuesday May 7, 2024. The trolley station and bus routes serving the west campus had been reopened. In-person instruction would resume as normally scheduled for Tuesday.]

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

The campus returned to full in-person operations on Tuesday May 7, with the exception of ongoing student conduct proceedings for the 40 enrolled students who had been arrested
UC San Diego used Triton Alert's email channel throughout the operation rather than the SMS/voice channel, reflecting an institutional judgment that the situation did not meet the threshold for a full emergency-broadcast alert
The Central Campus Trolley Station served as a de facto staging area for media during the clearance, with reporters broadcasting from the station concourse as CHP officers moved in
Context

Background

The UC San Diego Gaza Solidarity Encampment was established on May 1, 2024 on the lawn adjacent to the Student Health and Wellness Building near Library Walk, organized by Students for Justice in Palestine and allied groups. The encampment was one of dozens to spring up across the UC system in spring 2024. By May 5, Chancellor Pradeep Khosla stated that the encampment had tripled in size and authorized police action. Shortly before 6:00 AM on Monday May 6, approximately 200 law enforcement officers -- California Highway Patrol, San Diego County Sheriff's Department, and UCSD Police -- encircled the encampment. At 5:58 AM, Triton Alert sent an email to all campus affiliates announcing the suspension of all west-campus non-essential operations and the shift to remote instruction. All classes for that Monday were moved online. The Central Campus Blue Line trolley station was closed, and MTS buses rerouted. Sixty-four people were arrested on trespassing charges -- 40 students and 24 non-affiliates -- and all were booked and released the same day. The UCSD Guardian and The Triton provided real-time live coverage of the operation. The case is notable for this archive because it illustrates how a university can use its emergency notification system to manage large-scale operational disruption (west campus shutdown, transit closure, remote-instruction mandate) during a planned law enforcement operation -- a pattern distinct from the reactive-emergency use cases that dominate the archive.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Dozens arrested as police clear UC San Diego encampment (KPBS Public Media)
    kpbs.org
  2. Student Paper
    Live Updates: Community Reacts to Encampment Clearing (The Triton)
    triton.news
  3. News
    64 arrested during clearing of Gaza Solidarity encampment at UC San Diego (Fox 5 San Diego)
    fox5sandiego.com
  4. Official
    Encampment Fact Sheet (UC San Diego Key Issues)
    keyissues.ucsd.edu
  5. News
    Police arrest protesters in raid of UC San Diego Gaza Solidarity encampment (Axios San Diego)
    axios.com
  6. Student Paper
    Law enforcement dismantles encampment and arrests protesters on Library Walk (UCSD Guardian)
    ucsdguardian.org
Tags
civil-unrestgaza-encampmentlibrary-walktriton-alertchpsan-diego-county-sheriffcampus-closureremote-operationstrolley-closurecaliforniapublic-r1
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion