This post was updated Nov. 21 at 6:46 p.m.

Two graduate students who were arrested Wednesday outside Murphy Hall were released after UCPD determined they had not committed a crime.

Steve Lurie, the associate vice chancellor for campus and community safety, said in a 4:29 p.m. written statement Wednesday that video evidence determined both students, who were originally arrested for alleged battery at 2 p.m., had not committed a crime.

Lurie added in the statement that the detained students would be referred to UCLA Student Affairs for possible conduct issues.

A group of about 30 graduate students in the Department of Mathematics entered Murphy Hall – where the offices of UCLA’s senior administrators are located – on Wednesday afternoon. Jas Singh, a graduate student in the math department, said the group entered to deliver a letter to Dean of Physical Sciences Miguel García-Garibay.

The letter criticized cuts made to the working hours of math teaching assistants, which Singh alleged have negatively impacted the quality of education that undergraduate students receive. The Department of Mathematics also eliminated paid graders for the 2025-26 academic year, citing budget constraints. 

[Related: ​​UCLA math department TA, grader cuts spark concern over student learning, support] 

Lurie said about 30 people allegedly attempted to push past security after a guard opened the door for one person, which prompted a response from UCPD. At least six police vehicles were outside the building around 2 p.m. 

Singh disputed Lurie’s claim that the graduate students attempted to push past security in an emailed statement Wednesday evening.

“We walked in one at a time once the door was open,” Singh said in the statement. “Nobody pushed past security. Our Bruincards were even checked one-by-one as we entered.” 

Lurie said in a Thursday written statement that a security officer performed a citizen’s arrest, which is when a private citizen detains another person suspected of a crime. UCPD then detained the students, something that is required by California law when a citizen’s arrest is made.

Lurie said Wednesday night that he viewed video footage of the incident and no longer believed a security guard was pushed. He added that the video did not show the graduate students acknowledging security or presenting IDs. 

Murphy Hall was locked Wednesday, which Lurie said is typical during UC Board of Regents meetings at UCLA. Security guards posted at the building’s multiple entrances checked IDs to let people in throughout Tuesday and Wednesday.

Multiple unions and faculty associations – including the UCLA Faculty Association and United Auto Workers Local 4811, which represents UC academic student employees, along with other workers – sent a letter to UCLA administrators Nov. 20, alleging that the UC should “cease and desist from arresting union members and supporters” during activities protected by the First Amendment and California labor law. The groups also called on the UC to ensure the graduate students do not face criminal charges or disciplinary proceedings. 

“Two rights are ironclad in California: the right of organized labor to strike when contract negotiations fail and the right to speak freely in public,” the letter said. “This week, the University of California violated both.”

The math graduate students were arrested after leaving the building, Singh said. One police officer told Daily Bruin reporters to stand back as they recorded the detainments several feet away. 

A UCPD spokesperson did not respond in time to a request for comment. 

Singh added that he was not aware of why the graduate students were told to leave.

“We wanted to talk to the dean of our division about this issue that’s affecting the math education at the university and our pay and our ability to live,” Singh said. “We’re trying to deliver a letter, which over 1,000 people – community members, undergraduates, parents had signed on to in support of this – and, I don’t know, they turned us away.”

Contributing reports from Alexandra Crosnoe, News editor.