UC Berkeley professor has spent a week living in his office in protest at school’s inaction on antisemitism
A University of California Berkeley professor has been living in his office for a week as part of a sleep-in protest against the school administration for not doing enough to stop antisemitism and protect free speech on campus.
Prof. Ron Hassner, a political science professor at Berkeley for the past 20 years, has been sleeping on a mattress beside his desk in the university’s Social Sciences Building since March 7.
He told The Post he’ll hold out “as long as it takes” until UC Berkeley leadership addresses rampant antisemitism on campus — following an incident last month when a violent mob forced Jewish students to evacuate an auditorium where an Israel Defense Forces soldier was scheduled to speak.
He has not been able to shower during his first full week — or 168 hours — of protest and is forced to use a public bathroom in the hall.
But he has been able to teach the 100 students in his “War in the Middle East” class thanks to Zoom, with many also popping in to see him and offer support for his protest.
“You know, I thought I was going to be bored and lonely but there have been students in my office at all hours of day and that’s awesome,” he told The Post cheerfully of his visitors, who often stay till late and eat with him.
“It’s been sort of a student ‘Grand Central,’” he said of the overwhelming show of support.
“My office is getting smellier by the day but students are coming by the dozen.”
He claims even members of the university’s leadership have visited, suggesting that many feel powerless over cracking down on student protests, which include a blockade of a historic main gate.
“I know they share my concerns. I know they are worried about racism in all of its forms. I know that they don’t like it when students are protesting out of control,” he said.
He said he has three specific requests before he leaves.
“First and foremost I am asking the university to open up a gate on campus that anti-Israeli students are barricading illegally,” Hassner told The Post, referencing the school’s historic Sather Gate — a front entrance that has been an epicenter of anti-Israel activism on campus and blockaded by anti-Israel demonstrators for the better part of last month.
“They’re harassing Jewish students. They’re letting some students in, others not. They’re blocking them, they’re surrounding them, they’re taking their photos,” Hassner said.
Second, he’s asked that “every time a speaker is barred from speaking … intimidated or shouted out, the university apologizes to them and invites them back.”
“My third request was that the university provide Islamophobia and antisemitism training to all staff and personnel that handle the safety of students on campus because it turns out that many on this campus are ignorant of students, of what students need, what terrifies students, and what they consider to be threatening,” he added.
UC Berkeley’s Asst. Vice Chancellor Dan Mogulof told The Post that the university “remains committed to fostering an environment conducive to robust free speech and in which all members of its community feel that they may engage in campus life without fear of harassment.
“The administration is committed to confronting antisemitism and holds Professor Hassner in great esteem and it is in conversation with him about his concerns,” Mogulof said.
The administration’s failure to address the student protesters’ activity culminated on Feb. 26, when activists broke through the glass doors of the Zellerbach Playhouse, where a small group of students gathered for a talk about the war in Gaza with IDF soldier and attorney Ran Bar-Yoshafat.
The anti-Israel activists hurled slurs at Jewish students and assaulted some of them as they smashed glass windows and broke through a door to get into the building. The students and student organizations involved are being investigated by the university.
“I think that really shocked the university — that’s not normal behavior on the Berkeley campus,” Hassner said of the incident, which he called an “extreme case” of the student protests.
But the anti-Israel protesters making the most noise represent only a minuscule part of the student body, the professor said, describing them as less than one percent of those enrolled.
About one percent of one percent, he estimated, were “extremists” who “shove and curse and they spit” — which he says exist on both sides.
“The New York Post readers aren’t going to believe me when I say this — but 98% of Berkeley students don’t give a damn,” Hassner said. “It’s just not why they’re on campus. They care just as much about Israel and Jews as they do about Japan. It’s just not on their radar.”
Hassner noted that back in November during a nationwide school walkout protesting the war in Gaza, only about 400 or so Berkeley students gathered to demonstrate out of the school’s roughly 40,000 students.
What’s needed on campus, he said, is more civil discourse and for the school to commit to upholding freedom of speech.
“More dialogue is needed. Universities need to stand more firm when it comes to free speech,” Hassner said. “They can’t turn a blind eye to student protests that drown out speakers, or intimidate speakers or intimidate students — free speech has to be protected.”
But until the school meets his request, Hassner says he’ll remain in his office — which he hopes will inspire other educators around the country.
He said he’s more comfortable than he thought — with food deliveries pouring in from people all over the country: “I’ve eaten more matzo balls in the last week than I’ve probably eaten in my entire life.”
The professor said he’s received messages of support from all over the world.
“It’s an important thing, to give students hope. And I wish other faculty members around the country would do the same thing,” he said. “I think this could become part of a movement that really encourages people and shows Americans that antisemitism is an issue that needs to be fought by all of us together.”
