Irvine’s Most Hateful

JAELYNN VALEZ

In an appalling escalation of campus unrest, 47 people were hauled off in handcuffs at the University of California, Irvine after a pro-Palestine encampment turned into a violent takeover of a lecture hall on campus.

Jaelynn Valez was one of those arrested.

Valez shockingly chose to stay despite clear warnings from organizers that arrests were imminent. This was not just a protest – it was a brazen, hate-filled assault with antisemitic chants and Hamas propaganda being shamelessly circulated.

UC Irvine Chancellor Howard Gillman did not mince words, calling the takeover a “direct assault on the rights of other students.” 

Protesters’ demands “would require the university to violate the academic freedom rights of faculty, the free speech rights of faculty and fellow students, and the civil rights of many of our Jewish students.”

The protesters, including Valez, attempted to impose their extremist views on everyone else, essentially declaring that dissent would not be tolerated.

Even more horrifying, these radicals handed out pamphlets defending the brutal October 7 attack on Israel, attempting to rewrite Hamas’ internationally recognized status as a terrorist organization into a so-called “national liberation movement.” The absurdity of these claims is beyond belief, especially given Hamas’ long track record of violence and terror.

UC Irvine is sending a dangerous message: that the consequences of such violent, extremist behavior will be kept under wraps. These hateful individuals should not be allowed to slink away into anonymity; their peers, and future employers, deserve to know who they truly are.