Hobbs signs Bill to make university camps a crime

Governor Katie Hobbs wrote her permit on Wednesday to laws according to which school administrators must have the campers “to dismantle the camp immediately and to clear the campus”. Violations of the indictment for violation are arrested.

Hobbs did not explain her decision and there was no immediate answer from her press consultant.

The democratic governor was signed after the support of the cross-party support of non-partisan opposition-Zum proposal by Rep. Alma Hernandez, D-Tucson.

Hernandez said that she introduced the measure after Pro-Palestinian protests last year, not only those who attract national attention, as at Columbia University, but also at the University of Arizona, Arizona State University and the Northern Arizona University. She said Jewish students were bothered and were forced to take alternative routes through the campus.

All three incidents in Arizona were divided by the police. Tear gas and pepper balls were used on the Tucson campus.

But nobody from the University or the Arizona Board of Regents, which monitors the three public universities in the state, signs in favor of legislation or said that it supports or needs the change in law.

During the debate of the Senate last month, Hernandez received support from legislators, including Senator John Kavanagh, a Republican of Fountain Hills.

“These people take the public university country and worry about themselves so that other people cannot use it,” said Kavanagh during the discussion about the measure. He said there were cases elsewhere in which anti -Semitic groups intimidated Jewish students and removed their right to free movement around the campus. '

Others, such as the Democratic Senator of Tempe, Lauren Kuby, questioned the need for the restrictions.

“These rooms are long -term rooms for public discourse, the academic examination and the political contradiction,” said Kuby.

There is also the fact that there seems to be the existing state law universities and community colleges the authority to limit such demonstrations. It shows that the schools can impose “appropriate perspective and content -neutral restrictions on time, place and the type of expression”, which are “a convincing institutional interest”.

In addition to camps on crime, legislation will also require that disciplinary measures are taken against students to refuse to go.

Rep. Anna Abeytia questioned the wisdom of this legislation. “As an activist in the heart, this is not a good bill for those of us who are activists and go out and protest,” said the Phoenix Democrat when she voted against the plan in the house.

“Storage is a form of sit-ins,” she said. “And sit-ins have a long history, especially in the chicano culture. ''

The democratic representative of Phoenix, Quanta Crews, said she fears how the proposal could be used to remove other protests.

“There are young people who do not try to intimidate other people … who don't try to create an anxious environment,” said the crews.

She said it was one thing if the legislation were necessary to give the police more authority to deal with those who intimidate the others. But this measure is excessive, she said.

“I have the feeling that it could be done against different groups that do not intend to harm other students, and just try to properly exercise their first amendment,” said the crews.

Enemies also had technical concerns.

The new law not only prohibits temporary accommodations or tents overnight, but also such objects if they “stay up for a long time.” “

Senator Analisene Ortiz, D-Phoenix, called the unconstitutional vague and said that it could not only apply to demonstrators in tents, but also to parasols that were set up by bourgeois groups.

This language also attracted the attention of Rep. Alexander Kolodin, a Republican of Scottsdale.

He said it could contain tables and shadows that are set up by conservative groups such as Turning Point USA to register voters on campus, or “pro-life organizations if they distributed literature.” “

And he made no secret of his conviction that the enforcement will be based on who is affected.

“Don't let us fool us who runs these universities,” said Kolodin. “Is this template really against students for justice in Palestine? Probably not. It is used against turning points and pro-life organizations?

Hernandez defended the scope of the invoice during the debate. She said the students against the apartheid, which had set up at the UA camp a year ago, refused to go and present the school with a “ridiculous list of demands”, such as:

“These people didn't intend to go,” she said.

The new law is expected to come into force at the beginning of the next school year, whereby the specific date comes into force depending on the termination of the legislative meeting.