“In regards to students taking [back CLICS], I think they should take whatever’s theirs, in my mind,” Vice President of External Affairs Samer Naji said.

According to a statement signed by university administrators including Executive Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Suresh Subramani and Vice Chancellor of Student
Affairs  Penny Rue, CLICS will remain a study space until the university renovates the library into classrooms. The date of the renovation is still unknown.

This student movement to reclaim CLICS was a response  to the library closing at the end of the 2010-11 academic year. Closing CLICS was estimated to save the university $450,000 this year alone — a fraction of the total $3 million cut made to the university’s library budget according to the Feb. 17, 2011 Guardian article “CLICS May Close Next Year Due to Budget Cuts.”

“It’s the state and the state is not making us a priority,” Naji said. “They’re forcing these tough decisions on the administration. When the administration is able to allow us to reclaim a study space, that’s a victory for students and for the administration in my opinion because it’s showing the state that neither party is doing OK with the cuts that are coming down, and that adds pressure on the state [which makes them] more hesitant to cut the budget. “

Students had the support of Vice Chancellor Gary Matthews, who asked police officers to leave and not interfere with the movement.
Subramani told the San Diego Union Tribune that the campus is prepared to overlook the forced entry and that administrators would not try to force the students out of the space.

A.S. officials involved in the movement assured faculty that students would be responsible for providing security, banning alcohol, cleaning the space and ensuring that only UCSD students were using the space.

Administrators reminded the students that there was a 24-hour study area available in Geisel Library during finals. Students responded that the area was crowded, noisy and isolated from other parts of campus.

While most students were interested in having the space to study, some also felt the break-in was a statement against budget cuts.

Additional reporting by Laira Martin.