Police officers arrested two protesters and struck several others with plastic pellets during a demonstration Thursday surrounding the UC Board of Regents meeting at UC Riverside.

The two individuals arrested were booked on suspicion of felony assault of a police officer, according to Riverside campus spokesperson Kris Lovekin. Nine police officers also sustained minor injuries and about 11 people in the crowd suffered bruises from the pellets, Lovekin said.

For UC Riverside junior Stephen Fong, the protests on his campus marked a dramatic shift in the atmosphere of the student body.

Fong works in the Highlander Union Building, where Thursday's meeting was held and where hundreds of protesters gathered to demonstrate in support of increased funding for higher education.

"I remember standing on this ledge and everyone was chanting and all of a sudden chants were turning into screams," Fong said. "The whole mood changed almost instantly from chanting and protest to mayhem and chaos. I felt anxious and… from that point on, everyone was afraid of the cops."