Chancellor should not resign

We should be careful about insisting that the chancellor resign because of the police violence.

She may quite likely have had no idea what the police would do when she told them to remove the tents. She may have been as surprised as the students were by the use of pepper spray and excessive force.

It is far more important at this time for the campus to develop procedures for assisting students who organize protests. In particular, the administration should make every effort in advance to help avoid problems involving sanitation and tents.

The administration must see itself as a facilitator of any future peaceful assemblies, whether or not it endorses the goals of the protestors. Demonstrations such as we have recently seen here and elsewhere play an essential role in helping democracy survive.

At times like these it is critical that those who usually have no voice can speak out loud and clear. Going to the voting booth once in two or four years may not be enough.

Sherman Stein

Davis

Short URL: http://www.davisenterprise.com/?p=108080

Posted by Letters to the Editor on Nov 22 2011.
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