[5] On February 10, tensions escalated when graduate students initiated demonstrations which sought to block traffic flow in and out of campus.

Members of the UCSC's COLA movement apologized and claimed to not know there was an ongoing midterm, adding that the disruption was intended to explain their cause to the reluctant STEM students.

[13] In a message circulated on January 6, interim provost Lori Kletzer stated that "[The grading strike] has made meeting and working together impossible... and has delayed the implementation of plans to better support graduate students.

"[5] Later in the same month, UCSC Chancellor Cynthia Larive voiced her disapproval of the strikes as well as citing the potential harm to undergraduate students.

[3] In an open letter published on February 14, Janet Napolitano, then president of the UC system, wrote that the wildcat strike "is the wrong way to go."

"[14] In a response letter published February 19, the UC Academic Council called on Napolitano not to retaliate against striking graduate students and to lessen the police presence on campus.

[16] On February 28, 2020, more than 82 graduate students were terminated of employment for participating in the strike,[17][18] causing them to lose their health insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic.