For those of you that live under a rock, the Occupy Movement protesting injustice was peacefully occupying University of California at Davis (UCDavis) on Friday 11/18/11. While surrounding the PEACEFULLY protesting students, costumed goons in riot gear (a.k.a UCDavis police) chemically attacked the dissidents; see for yourself:
As the above video was exploding on the internet, Chancellor Katehi released this vanilla statement. In it, she writes:
Notice the use of passive voice to escape accountability. "10 protesters were arrested and pepper spray was used." She could have easily said, "UCDavis arrested 10 protesters and we pepper-sprayed them." Overall, there was no condemnation of the initiators of force. There was no sympathy for the victims. Just your standard statement.
As these images seared themselves into the mind of Americans, calls for resignation, most notably, a junior faculty member, Nathan Brown - who hilariously refers to himself as an asset to the university -(sorry, Nate, there are fewer leaders than there are followers and my friend, you're a follower and therefore not as much an asset as you think) spilled forth. I was seething mad and had penned a Resign-And-Take-This-Black-Eye-With-You missive to Chancellor Katehi.
But as I was hot with anger, UC Davis students were cold with theirs. They staged a silent protest outside of the building in which Katehi was giving interviews. Word has it that she stayed in the building for 2-hours fearing for her safety. But when she eventually left, this was the scene... turn up the volume:
From this point forward, I think Katehi understood that what she does next is how history will remember her. Up to this point, she was merely expressing sadness. By Monday, 11/21, she gave a full-throated apology:
What amazed me was that she appeared WITHOUT personal security to address thousands of enraged students. To me, Katehi appears contrite. She put the chief of police on (paid) administrative leave as well as two officers.
Katehi's statement that police defied her explicit orders for "no arrests and no police force" is credible: the police chief stated that decision to chemically attack the dissidents was made at the scene because armed-to-the-teeth officers (hold your laughter) were "surrounded" and "unable to get out."
Since the CYA, damage-control emails first emitted from the Chancellor's office, Katehi has:
This is shaping up to be an ivory-tower administrator caught flat-footed, but taking measured-but-decisive action to get to the bottom of this.
Chancellor Katehi isn't out of the woods, but she has belatedly risen to the occasion and deserves to keep her post until the investigations prove otherwise.
As the above video was exploding on the internet, Chancellor Katehi released this vanilla statement. In it, she writes:
Following our requests, several of the group chose to dismantle their tents this afternoon and we are grateful for their actions. However a number of protesters refused our warning, offering us no option but to ask the police to assist in their removal. We are saddened to report that during this activity, 10 protesters were arrested and pepper spray was used. We will be reviewing the details of the incident.
Notice the use of passive voice to escape accountability. "10 protesters were arrested and pepper spray was used." She could have easily said, "UCDavis arrested 10 protesters and we pepper-sprayed them." Overall, there was no condemnation of the initiators of force. There was no sympathy for the victims. Just your standard statement.
As these images seared themselves into the mind of Americans, calls for resignation, most notably, a junior faculty member, Nathan Brown - who hilariously refers to himself as an asset to the university -(sorry, Nate, there are fewer leaders than there are followers and my friend, you're a follower and therefore not as much an asset as you think) spilled forth. I was seething mad and had penned a Resign-And-Take-This-Black-Eye-With-You missive to Chancellor Katehi.
But as I was hot with anger, UC Davis students were cold with theirs. They staged a silent protest outside of the building in which Katehi was giving interviews. Word has it that she stayed in the building for 2-hours fearing for her safety. But when she eventually left, this was the scene... turn up the volume:
From this point forward, I think Katehi understood that what she does next is how history will remember her. Up to this point, she was merely expressing sadness. By Monday, 11/21, she gave a full-throated apology:
What amazed me was that she appeared WITHOUT personal security to address thousands of enraged students. To me, Katehi appears contrite. She put the chief of police on (paid) administrative leave as well as two officers.
Katehi's statement that police defied her explicit orders for "no arrests and no police force" is credible: the police chief stated that decision to chemically attack the dissidents was made at the scene because armed-to-the-teeth officers (hold your laughter) were "surrounded" and "unable to get out."
Since the CYA, damage-control emails first emitted from the Chancellor's office, Katehi has:
- Shown contrition (apologized).
- Dropped charges.
- Paid medical bills of victims.
- Removed culpable cops.
- Relegated campus police.
- Asked for independent investigations.
- Requested Yolo County DA to investigate the use of force.
This is shaping up to be an ivory-tower administrator caught flat-footed, but taking measured-but-decisive action to get to the bottom of this.
Chancellor Katehi isn't out of the woods, but she has belatedly risen to the occasion and deserves to keep her post until the investigations prove otherwise.
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