Will the chancellor resign?
On Friday, Nov. 18, the UC Davis chancellor had a second chance, and she blew it.
In fact, students were demonstrating — among other things — in solidarity with Berkeley students who were brutalized by police a few days before. Hence, the chancellor knew or should have known that resorting to a police response to prevent encampment would have been full of dangers for students’ safety, especially at UC Davis, where students have never been violent in their demonstrations.
After those appalling events, the chancellor’s response was inept and not credible. She asserted that UC Davis policy mandated no encampments overnight. But, then, what about the encampments of Whole Earth Festival that have occurred here over the past 45 years?
Another unacceptable statement of the chancellor is that the presence of “non-university affiliates” would have created a dangerous mix for our students. But this is a public university and there are millions of taxpayers in California who support it. Every one of those taxpayers has the right to step on it and demonstrate alongside students, staff and faculty. It is a simple matter of constitutional rights.
There remains a clear question: Will the chancellor, whose actions endangered students and damaged the UC Davis image on the world stage for the foreseeable future, who repeatedly asserted that she is fully responsible for what happened on Nov. 18, be responsible enough to resign and allow UC Davis a fresh restart?
This would be a good role model for young females and males on this campus and elsewhere.
Quirino Paris, professor of agricultural and resource economics
Sabyasachi Sen, professor of chemical engineering and materials science
Daniel Cox, professor of physics
Noah Guynn, associate professor of French and Italian
Aldo Antonelli, professor of philosophy
Gale McGranahan, emeritus professor of plant sciences
Kentaro Inoue, associate professor of plant sciences
Davis
Short URL: http://www.davisenterprise.com/?p=114891
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Posted by Letters to the Editor
on Dec 12 2011.
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If you watch the videos, Lt. Pike talks on a device a few minutes before the pepper spraying. Who does he talk to, what chain of command did he communicate with, and what was said?
Until this is explained, all we have is “he said” “she said” speculation about the lead up to this event.