Don’t crush student movement

Note: The following is a copy of a letter sent to the chancellor

Dear Chancellor Katehi,

Thank you for your e-mail explaining that health-and-safety concerns for students have governed UC Davis policy toward the Occupy protesters on the Quad. In fact, the only recent threats to student health and safety seem to have come from the police, a few of whom acted lawlessly and stupidly Friday night. Many students know that “health-and-safety concerns” have been used as excuses to curtail civil liberties and crush workers’ strikes by dictators like Hitler, oligarchs like Calderon, and even “democrats” like the U.S. Marshal’s Service, who in the last 10 years have beaten up hundreds of peaceful Americans on our own National Mall. The pretext of “health and safety” insults the intelligence of the students who were attacked Friday; it rings a little hollow to any young people who are already figuring out that many adults, when pressured, can be relied upon to become frightened, hypocritical, selfish and autocratic. And many students have been radicalized simply by witnessing police attacks on peaceful protesters. I was.

I respect you and your difficult position, and I think that generally your leadership has been very wise, even inspiring. As a history teacher and ’64 Cal graduate (read Free Speech Movement) my advice is to send some pizzas down to the students, set up a porta-potty on the Quad, and wait until they get tired of camping in the rain and cold. They’re not hurting anyone anyway, are they? In fact, I am proud of them, and so is everyone I know. They’re principled and they’re using their education for the good of society. Isn’t that what we wanted?

Best wishes, and thank you,

Sherrill Futrell

Davis

Short URL: http://www.davisenterprise.com/?p=107219

Posted by Letters to the Editor on Nov 22 2011.
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