Geo Group Protest Announced at West L.A. Campus for September 19, 2019

Posted on September 18, 2019, 11:18 AM

A protest of Geo Group, a company leasing space in the same building that houses the Pepperdine West Los Angeles Graduate Campus, has been announced for tomorrow, September 19, scheduled to begin at 10 AM and expected to end at 1 PM. University officials do not believe there is cause for alarm, but because previous protests have disrupted access to the building, the University has worked with building management and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) to coordinate preparation efforts and develop a security plan.

Tomorrow morning, building management will install temporary barricades at 5 AM, closing the plaza in front of our building to everyone except authorized building tenants and their guests. The bi-fold door in the building’s lobby will remain down, and the only open lobby entrance will be the set of double doors nearest to the security desk. The parking garage will remain accessible, and elevators from the parking garage will be operational unless protestors enter the garage and/or block access. 

Entrance into the building or plaza will only be allowed with a valid access card or Pepperdine ID. All students and employees must have their access cards or Pepperdine IDs—no exceptions will be permitted. Any guests must be registered with building management through Harold Taylor by 4 PM today, and they must be escorted into the building by a Pepperdine employee. Building security has requested Pepperdine faculty, staff, and students enter and exit only through the designated lobby doors or through the parking garage, to the extent that it remains accessible.

Please note these procedures are subject to change as events unfold. If protestors block designated access points, building security will coordinate with LAPD and receive instruction from officers onsite. The safety of the campus community is the University’s highest priority, and the community will be updated if significant changes occur.