This post was updated April 25 at 12:04 a.m.

UCPD has deployed additional police officers as the one-year anniversary of the first Palestine solidarity encampment approaches.

The department began increasing police presence on campus Thursday, with officers from other campuses being spotted around Dickson Plaza and Murphy Hall. Mutual aid support from UC San Francisco and mutual aid entities across the state were also requested, said Jeffrey Chobanian, UCPD’s acting administrative bureau captain, in an emailed statement.

No specific threats to the campus triggered the deployment, he said.

On Thursday morning, some students received a notification that the exterior doors of Murphy Hall would be locked until May 5 in anticipation of potential protest activity. People can gain access by using BruinCard readers if they have been assigned permission or by “stating their business” to a security guard, according to an email from UCLA DataX. 

Chobanian said in the emailed statement that the increased police activity is expected to continue as the department continues working toward a safe and secure campus. 

“Community members should expect a heightened and visible law enforcement presence as we continue our efforts to maintain safety and security,” he said in the statement. 

Around 8 p.m., four UCPD cars sat outside Dickson Plaza facing Royce Hall.

Friday will mark one year since the first Palestine solidarity encampment on UCLA’s campus began outside of Royce Hall – one of several that took place on college campuses across the country. 

Several activities have been planned in the upcoming week surrounding the initial encampment’s anniversary, including a screening of a documentary about the 2024 Palestine solidarity encampments at Columbia University and other college campuses organized by Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA, as well as a town hall discussion from the LA Anarchist Breakfast Club in Dickson Plaza. 

Eugene Volokh, a professor emeritus at UCLA School of Law, said he believes law enforcement should protect the rights of protesters, counter-protesters and third parties. Officers should receive proper training to prevent any instances of police misconduct, he added. 

“I don’t think you can have free speech without police or others out there who are able to protect both the speakers and third parties,” Volokh said. 

Benjamin Kersten, a Jewish Voice for Peace at UCLA organizer, said his students noticed the increased police and security presence around Dodd Hall and Lu Valle Commons, saying it was “disorienting” to see armed officers on campus. 

Kersten, an art history doctoral student, said they noticed that instead of listening and engaging with students, there has been an outpouring of measures designed to shut down advocacy. 

“It’s incredibly disorienting when this is supposed to be a place of education, our workplace, to see armed officers all over the place,” he said. “It raises the question for me of what does it mean to make campus safe? And when we’re talking about campus safety, safe for whom?”