The chancellor should resign

The Nov. 18 pepper-spraying of the peaceful Occupy UC Davis protesters on the campus Quad is by now appropriately infamous. After watching the videos circulating online, I could not contain my disgust.

I cannot help but compare in my mind the actions of the UC Davis police to the brutal suppression of peaceful protesters that I witnessed in Yangon, Myanmar, during the Saffron Revolution in September 2007. The tragic aspect of this is that the people of Myanmar live in a dictatorship; we live in a vibrant and open democracy.

The response of the university administration has been nothing short of underwhelming. Chancellor Linda Katehi has taken the extremely uninspiring step of establishing a task force to review university “policies and procedures.” Although she has expressed her “sadness” for the events and called the use of the pepper spray “chilling,” early on she offered no apology. Early on, she took no steps to hold anyone accountable.

This wooden response demonstrates an unfortunate and saddening disconnection with not only the plight of the students who were subjected to this treatment but also the fundamental principles of humanity that we cherish. As the university’s highest leader and the person who authorized the police’s removal of the protesters, she should hold herself accountable and resign.

Max Harrington

Davis

Short URL: http://www.davisenterprise.com/?p=107024

Posted by Letters to the Editor on Nov 19 2011.
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