We've had a fun first half of May here at OneTake Media - a pitch to produce our first proper surf film, the Mavericks Awards, new and branded Sartoro suits on the way, the Palisades pond skim, some Lake Tahoe Livin' - all outstanding stuff. But there was one point of occurrence that was not necessarily on our radar that has become of new interest for the OneTake Mafia.
After the Mavs Awards when Producer Reese and I were driving in SF after Half Moon Bay before grabbing a burrito and hitting the Balboa Cafe, we were intrigued by something we saw our of the corner of the window on Fulton Street in my 2003 Honda CR-V... while some may think of San Francisco as a desolate wasteland full of tents and encampments every other block, that is far from the truth for folks who live here and call it home (save a few spots in the Mission). San Francisco is pound for pound the most beautiful city in the US - which is why it came as a surprise to the both of us that there were tents lined up and around the main quad on the University of San Francisco's flagship campus. We knew we had to investigate:
*Credit to me for this blurry screenshot
Could this be some sort of new age spring weekend? Perhaps it was some of the seniors getting ready for their final weeks at college really trying to get the last little bit of fun out of the campus. Looked so fun! I'd heard about some of the Pro-Palestine/Hamas protesters around other campuses and how the fury had increased as of late - Columbia U was most nationally prominent, UCLA had some masked activists not allowing Jewish students enter parts of their own campus, but could this type of fervor his little old USF, smack dab in the center of Lone Mountain/NoPa? I didn't think it would, but I was indeed gravely incorrect.
Upon arrival, I was curious to see what was happening - it was late in the evening, but there were still people out and about and they had created what appeared to be a perimeter around the quad using some sort of rope, and the tents themselves were immaculate! No hand-me-downs or patch work BS around these parts!
I walked around and did a bit of commentary - nothing too crazy. We didn't speak to anyone at first, but our presence seemed very much on their radar as their was one person with a walkie talkie in the southeastern corner of the lawn ostensibly warning of our presence to someone else. We walked up and saw some of the signage about 'Freeing Palestine', etc. and realized this was not spring weekend we were crashing, or Woodstock 2024 - this was a social movement for the books! Wow, little old OneTake Media was indeed a part of history!
Once we got about halfway around the encampment, I couldn't help but begin asking myself of the encampment members - I was so curious. Surely they would want to speak, as passionate protesters, to as many people as possible about their message - what they are doing, working on, etc! But the first thing I noticed upon any sort of engagement was the deafening silence from any of the encampment members we came into contact with - and the fact they were all hiding their appearance with masks and hoods, even though they were all outside, and even in the dark of night. Not the most endearing/welcoming environment.
But alas, I stayed curious, and open hearted - I had a bevy of questions rush into my brain:
Whose original idea to starting this encampment? Why at the end of April/did it have anything to do with Finals?
Where are the tents from? They are state of the art.
What's the plan/vision? What are you attempting to do here?
Where are people showering and going to the bathroom? Where are you all getting food?
How are people allowed into the encampment? What happens if there are any defectors? What happens if some folks are not as dedicated to the movement as others?
How does one apply to become an encampment member?
Do you have any consideration for the rest of the students on campus who would like to enjoy the last weeks of the year and/or last weeks ever attending the university before graduation?
Why are you all wearing masks/not revealing your identities?
Who is the main organizer of this encampment?
Do you all plan on traveling abroad or doing more work in this activist realm going forward?
This is the biggest organized college protest since the 1960s in the war in Vietnam opposing conscription - do you see yourselves on that level of protesters?
Who owns the property on the quad? Have you claimed it for yourselves?
Amongst others... but made little progress until I found the 'media liason' to speak with. Surely this person would want to speak with us and get the message out!
But unfortunately this person (pronoun sensitive, credit to me) said we should come back tomorrow. Fair enough!
The night came and went, and we were back at it that afternoon, same suit and all:
Only this time around... it went even worse, as our efforts in conversation were thwarted once again, this time by a person wearing some sort of headscarf:
Sad, sad stuff indeed - but sometimes what folks are unwilling to say, in turn says the most about them.
I focused this week on producing our other content in the funnel, planning for upcoming events, and some brand content with Sartoro (buy a damn suit) and figured we may put together a short video on our adventures later this week. But yet another wrinkle came into the story when the President of the University Father Paul Fitzgerald decided (maybe not so intelligently) to try and actually have a conversation with the protesters on the quad. Here is some of what ensued:
A couple of things off the bat: these kids are acting like they're prisoners at a university campus - nobody is making you stay there bro. In what world do you have any leverage to make demands? You are a guest at a university you decided to attend and pay tuition at - you are not an owner, you can choose to leave if you'd like, you have no ownership over any of the financial decisions that university makes. If you don't like that, that's fine - you can go elsewhere that more aligns with whatever values you pretend to or actually espouse. Freedom! Or could have not gone at all? That's the best way to change these universities - stop going if you think they're so bad. But the lure of the college degree/college experience is too tempting a siren song not to respond to. Topic for a different day...
If you're Father Fitzgerald - learn about what home field advantage means. This is what happens when you let the children take over the asylum. You can't level with these children on an even playing field and have them dictate the pace and expect them to have a good faith conversation. Gotta learn to thwart the offensive attack and do some cross referencing here - I know it's tough in the moment, but if I'm coaching him up with Danny Dials PR Inc., we gotta go with stuff like:
'Which companies would you like to see the University of San Francisco no longer invested in? And from where? How much money is currently invested and how do you know? Financial disclosures? Should students or Jewish descent, ethnically Jewish, or culturally Jewish be allowed on campus? You are guests at this university and thank you for contributing more to our endowment, excited to have you leave weekend of the 18th.' - amongst other counters depending on what else was stated.
I did reach out to Father Fitzgerald and his admin relayed to me that he was not available this weekend/for comment as he is focused on commencement ceremonies this weekend. I hope they go very well.
The potentially most offensive part of the situation is how disingenuous the actual protest sites are - these folks are glamping, getting food delivered, eating at a dining halls, using indoor plumbing, probably sleeping in their dorms half of the time. If these kids were actually out and about and building a small society on their own - I would admire it. Building infrastructure, gardening/farming, building a society - but no, they're just using all the same plumbing, they have their meal plans, they have the best tents on a literal turf quad, funded by Qatar and some other weird anti-Jewish organizations, in the spring in California. Real hard nosed protesting happening here...
Perhaps when the kids leave and go back to wherever they are planning to for the summer they will understand that the university is worried about the next class, getting that next set of checks in their bank accounts, and onward to the next group of kids. Their checks are already cashed, the tents will be off the quad soon, thanks and don't come back for your 5 year reunion at Ireland's Pub!
The collective university response to these protests seems to be quite bad - allowing campuses to be taken over in the first place, John Harvard statue desecrated, inability for UPenn and Harvard to disavow specific threats to Jewish students earlier this year, etc. - doesn't hurt them too much in the near term, but it significantly erodes their credibility as institutions going forward. In an age where their value is decreasing year over year, as their prices increase year over year, the true bedrock of why these universities remain important is their credibility and ability to stand firm on the tectonic plates of an everchanging society. I do not see many administrations able to control this narrative and get out front in a way that inspires confidence.
It's easy to hate the west until it's time for a hot shower, or a nice meal, or a new iPhone comes out, or it's time to go to the bathroom - and this type of idiocy has been bubbling up for quite some time now, especially on university campuses in different forms. From 'Occupy Boston' when I was in school, to Evergreen State, to the state of Chaz, to this current campus movement of feigned antisemitism, there will always be something to blame the west for.
What's that old Friedrich Nietszche quote? 'Build utopia the first thing people will begin to do is break things?' - Something to that effect - this appears to be another example. Credit to this guy for hopefully helping to educate the youth and not just get sucked into what's cool at the moment or what movement has fun chants:
God bless the USA! Hope everyone graduating this weekend is able to have an enjoyable experience - come write/work at OneTake Media if you were not in any of these encampments.
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