I wrote a lot about the pepper spray incident here and on twitter - I felt in many ways like I had to report on what was going on for the outside world. Here are some of my key posts:
- 11/19 A day of almost pure joy in #DavisCA and at #UCDavis, until ... #OccupyUCDavis
- 11/20 My accidental encounter with the #OccupyUCDavis crowd at #UCDavis #impressed
- 11/22 An exhausting and exhilarating day at the #OccupyUCDavis rally
- 11/23 Reporting from #UCDavis Town Hall meeting re: #OccupyUCDavis
- 11/23 Should #UCDavis faculty "walkout" from teaching to "support" students? I do not think so
- 11/25 Email from #OccupyUCDavis to #UCDavis faculty - Call for a General Strike
- 11/28 Just another Monday at #UCDavis: contentious UC regents meeting, a strike (sort of) & some occupying #OccupyUCDavis #OUCD
- 11/29 Town Hall #2 - Chancellor Katehi meets w/ Faculty/Staff; Katehi receives much support
- 12/1: Top 10 reasons to still consider attending #UCDavis #OccupyUCDavis
And then Winter break happened and things calmed down a bit at UC Davis. Plus, I got busy and needed to go back to running my lab and doing some work. Not that nothing happened during this time. Lots did in fact. The best place to find out about what happened is the Davis Enterprise which continued coverage of everything going on (see list on the right side of this page).
Catching up to today - now the issue (for me and other faculty/members of the Academic Senate) is that we have to vote on some resolutions regarding the pepper spray incident.
Below are the three for which I am supposed to vote. I am asking anyone out there for input on these. All of them seem pretty, well, lame to me and I am inclined to vote no on all of them. But I am reserving judgement and looking for feedback from others out there. Any comments / suggestions welcome.
#1 Motion Concerning the Chancellor's Judgment
TO: Professor Linda Bisson, Chair, Davis Division of the Academic Senate
Dear Chair Bisson
The undersigned members of the Davis Division of the Academic Senate hereby petition you to put the following motion of non-confidence in the leadership of the Chancellor to a vote of the entire membership of the Davis Division of the Academic Senate at the earliest date that is feasible under Senate rules.
Motion: In light of the events on the quadrangle of the UC Davis campus on the afternoon of Friday November 18, 2011, in light of Chancellor Linda Katehi’s email to faculty of November 18 in which she admitted that she had ordered the police to take action against the students who were demonstrating on the quadrangle and said that she had had “no option” but to proceed in this way, and in light of the failure of Chancellor Katehi to act effectively to resolve the resulting crisis in the intervening days,
Be it therefore resolved that the Davis Division of the Senate of the University of California lacks confidence in the leadership of Chancellor Katehi, and
Be it also resolved that the result of the vote on this motion be communicated to the Board of Regents and the President of the University of California.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Yours sincerely,
View signatories
#2: Five-Resolution Vote of Confidence
To: The Davis Division of the Academic Senate
Re: Petition for Ballot on Issues
We, the undersigned members of the UC Davis faculty, petition the Davis Division of the Academic Senate to hold a vote on the issues below.
Preamble
Whereas non-violent political protest, free assembly, and free speech are constitutional rights valued at the UC Davis,
And whereas the response of the UC Davis Police Department to peaceful protestors on November 18, 2011 was appalling,
And whereas in the UC Davis culture it is customary for representative(s) from the highest levels of the administration to engage in direct dialogue with demonstrators,
And whereas prior to November 18, 2011 Chancellor Linda Katehi worked diligently to elevate the national and international stature of the Davis campus,
And whereas the presence of an accomplished scholar at the top post has helped UC Davis attract and retain outstanding scholars, including faculty members serving at the highest levels of administration,
And whereas in the last two years, Chancellor Linda Katehi developed a bold plan for campus growth that includes an aggressive fund-raising campaign that will alleviate the burden imposed by ever decreasing state financial support,
And whereas Chancellor Linda Katehi apologized to University community for the events of November 18, 2011,
And whereas Chancellor Linda Katehi publically stated that she will ensure that such events do not recur,
And whereas the events of November 18 transformed Linda Katehi into a Chancellor who engages in a full and open dialogue with students, staff, and faculty,
And whereas Chancellor Katehi moved expeditiously to replace the flawed communications in the two days following the events with a campus-wide dialogue through a series of town hall meetings with students, staff, and faculty,
And whereas a Chancellor with first-hand experience of the horrific events of November 18, 2011 is better qualified to deal with its aftermath,
And whereas dispatching police before engaging in a direct dialogue with protesters, while running counter to the UC Davis culture, does not outweigh the Chancellor Katehi’s impeccable performance of all her other duties,
And whereas Chancellor Katehi’s resignation would have devastating effects on the moral and academic standing of the campus, thereby making it highly unlikely that UC Davis could attract a Chancellor of her stature,
And whereas it is time to promote a constructive healing process rather than risk more harm by pressuring the Chancellor to resign:
Resolution:
Be it therefore resolved that the Davis Division of the Academic Senate:
Condemns both the dispatch of police in response to non-violent protests and the use of excessive force that led to the deplorable pepper-spraying events of November 18, 2011.
Opposes all violent police responses to non-violent protests on campus.
Demands that police deployment against protesters be considered only after all reasonable administrative efforts to bridge differences have been exhausted, including direct consultation with the leadership of the Davis Division of the Academic Senate.
Accepts Chancellor Linda Katehi’s good faith apology.
Expresses confidence in Chancellor Linda Katehi’s leadership and efforts to place UC Davis among the top 5 public universities in the nation.
Catching up to today - now the issue (for me and other faculty/members of the Academic Senate) is that we have to vote on some resolutions regarding the pepper spray incident.
Below are the three for which I am supposed to vote. I am asking anyone out there for input on these. All of them seem pretty, well, lame to me and I am inclined to vote no on all of them. But I am reserving judgement and looking for feedback from others out there. Any comments / suggestions welcome.
#1 Motion Concerning the Chancellor's Judgment
TO: Professor Linda Bisson, Chair, Davis Division of the Academic Senate
Dear Chair Bisson
The undersigned members of the Davis Division of the Academic Senate hereby petition you to put the following motion of non-confidence in the leadership of the Chancellor to a vote of the entire membership of the Davis Division of the Academic Senate at the earliest date that is feasible under Senate rules.
Motion: In light of the events on the quadrangle of the UC Davis campus on the afternoon of Friday November 18, 2011, in light of Chancellor Linda Katehi’s email to faculty of November 18 in which she admitted that she had ordered the police to take action against the students who were demonstrating on the quadrangle and said that she had had “no option” but to proceed in this way, and in light of the failure of Chancellor Katehi to act effectively to resolve the resulting crisis in the intervening days,
Be it therefore resolved that the Davis Division of the Senate of the University of California lacks confidence in the leadership of Chancellor Katehi, and
Be it also resolved that the result of the vote on this motion be communicated to the Board of Regents and the President of the University of California.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Yours sincerely,
View signatories
#2: Five-Resolution Vote of Confidence
To: The Davis Division of the Academic Senate
Re: Petition for Ballot on Issues
We, the undersigned members of the UC Davis faculty, petition the Davis Division of the Academic Senate to hold a vote on the issues below.
Preamble
Whereas non-violent political protest, free assembly, and free speech are constitutional rights valued at the UC Davis,
And whereas the response of the UC Davis Police Department to peaceful protestors on November 18, 2011 was appalling,
And whereas in the UC Davis culture it is customary for representative(s) from the highest levels of the administration to engage in direct dialogue with demonstrators,
And whereas prior to November 18, 2011 Chancellor Linda Katehi worked diligently to elevate the national and international stature of the Davis campus,
And whereas the presence of an accomplished scholar at the top post has helped UC Davis attract and retain outstanding scholars, including faculty members serving at the highest levels of administration,
And whereas in the last two years, Chancellor Linda Katehi developed a bold plan for campus growth that includes an aggressive fund-raising campaign that will alleviate the burden imposed by ever decreasing state financial support,
And whereas Chancellor Linda Katehi apologized to University community for the events of November 18, 2011,
And whereas Chancellor Linda Katehi publically stated that she will ensure that such events do not recur,
And whereas the events of November 18 transformed Linda Katehi into a Chancellor who engages in a full and open dialogue with students, staff, and faculty,
And whereas Chancellor Katehi moved expeditiously to replace the flawed communications in the two days following the events with a campus-wide dialogue through a series of town hall meetings with students, staff, and faculty,
And whereas a Chancellor with first-hand experience of the horrific events of November 18, 2011 is better qualified to deal with its aftermath,
And whereas dispatching police before engaging in a direct dialogue with protesters, while running counter to the UC Davis culture, does not outweigh the Chancellor Katehi’s impeccable performance of all her other duties,
And whereas Chancellor Katehi’s resignation would have devastating effects on the moral and academic standing of the campus, thereby making it highly unlikely that UC Davis could attract a Chancellor of her stature,
And whereas it is time to promote a constructive healing process rather than risk more harm by pressuring the Chancellor to resign:
Resolution:
Be it therefore resolved that the Davis Division of the Academic Senate:
Condemns both the dispatch of police in response to non-violent protests and the use of excessive force that led to the deplorable pepper-spraying events of November 18, 2011.
Opposes all violent police responses to non-violent protests on campus.
Demands that police deployment against protesters be considered only after all reasonable administrative efforts to bridge differences have been exhausted, including direct consultation with the leadership of the Davis Division of the Academic Senate.
Accepts Chancellor Linda Katehi’s good faith apology.
Expresses confidence in Chancellor Linda Katehi’s leadership and efforts to place UC Davis among the top 5 public universities in the nation.
View signatories
#3: Motion Concerning Police Actions
TO: Professor Linda Bisson, Chair, Davis Division of the Academic Senate
Dear Chair Bisson
The undersigned members of the Davis Division of the Academic Senate hereby petition you to put the following motion to a vote of the entire membership of the Davis Division of the Academic Senate at the earliest date that is feasible under Senate rules.
Motion:
Be it resolved that that the Davis Division of the Senate of the University of California hereby (1) condemns both the dispatch of police and use of excessive force in response to non-violent protests on November 18, 2011;
(2) opposes violent police response to non-violent protests on campus;
(3) demands that police deployment against protestors be considered only after all reasonable efforts have been exhausted and with direct consultation with Academic Senate leadership.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Yours sincerely,
View signatories
