SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento State students barely glanced at the circle of tents pitched Wednesday in the library quad and signs declaring support for Palestinians amid the war between Israel and Hamas.

Wind swept through high trees shading the area where professors brought their students to hold class just outside the encampment. A protester sat by a nearby fountain and read a book as music drifted through the area.

Wednesday marked the third consecutive day various groups erected tents outside the commons to demand the California State University system divest from companies backing Israel.

Protesters initially had permission from university officials until 11:59 p.m. Wednesday to stay on the grounds. That deadline was extended Tuesday night so long as the demonstration stayed “peaceful” and met the school’s codes of conduct guiding protests, as has been the case so far, Sac State officials said.

“It has been really its own community,” said Sac State senior Hamzah, who has been protesting. He declined to provide his last name due to fears of being doxxed by counterprotesters.

Groups taking part in the protest include the Sacramento State branch of Students for Justice in Palestine, which sent a list of demands to the university, the Jewish Voice for Peace and myriad others.

The protest must not “incite or promote illegal activity or disrupt the educational process,” according to Sac State’s guidelines.

The scene, and the tactics by protesters and the university here, were far different than the protests and unrest over the Mideast conflict that have erupted into arrests and violence elsewhere in California and across the nation.

That chaos came into full view hours earlier, on Tuesday night, as police swarmed and cleared out a building at Columbia University occupied by pro-Palestinian demonstrators while dueling protesters clashed at UCLA before police moved in to quell the violence.

And, if protests stay peaceful at Sacramento State, they will likely continue in the two weeks ahead of finals.

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