Pepper Spraying Students at UC-Davis

[erincon23]

I've seen this footage a couple of times today of campus police in full riot gear pepper spraying students peacefully sitting on the sidewalk at Univ Cal-Davis. They were protesting tuition costs that have doubled in the last 7 years. This just makes me sick! The cop was just walking up and down past the kids who were sitting with linked arms, spraying them directly in the face. Nobody has made any claim that the students were anything less than peaceful, there was no threat to anyone, yet two cops, one carrying a riot baton, were attacking these students. I don't want to get political in any way, but as a parent-- and as a person! , this just made me ill.

 

[eliza61]

reminds me of......

 

[Aisling]

Shocking! But doesn't pepper spray sting like heck?? Those kids didn't flinch!

 

[DisneySarah80]

Just wanted to add - The police had warned them several minutes before that if they did not get up and leave, they would be sprayed.

 

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

Just wanted to add - The police had warned them several minutes before that if they did not get up and leave, they would be sprayed.

And to add to this, they were being told to leave because organized protest is against campus policies.

 

[eliza61]

And to add to this, they were being told to leave because organized protest is against campus policies.

most protest is against the rules. that's the general nature of protest. So should they have sicced attack dogs on them? what about just shooting them?
Just trying to reconcile why we supposedly have the right to peaceful protest, its most often met with violance. I thought it was excessive. glad the officers have been put on leave.

Some on these boards had a great post from Ganhdi I wish I could find it.

 

[minniecarousel]

I was so shocked when I saw this too! The Police Chief (or whatever she is called) at UC Davis defended the practice, stating that the police felt outnumbered and feared the crowd. Geez...I didn't see that on the video! That was the most vile show of police force I've seen on video. When students (or "occupiers") are running rampant, ruining property, you can understand police force - but not this!

And this was at UC Davis, for crying out loud! It's not UC Berkeley! (sorry, this got to me - the Davis students are generally the mild studious types)

That polce chief has been put on paid admin leave, pending an investigation.

 

[PeterPan09]

most protest is against the rules. that's the general nature of protest. So should they have sicced attack dogs on them? what about just shooting them?
Just trying to reconcile why we supposedly have the right to peaceful protest, its most often met with violance. I thought it was excessive. glad the officers have been put on leave.

Some on these boards had a great post from Ganhdi I wish I could find it.

You're right. It wouldn't be protest if it wasn't against the rules.

The kids did the right thing. They didn't fight, they didn't threaten, they simply sat there and exercised their constitutional rights. But once again, there seem to be many in our country who feel those rights should be applied only to certain people-mainly the ones they agree with.

 

[DisneySarah80]

Not really trying to take sides in this, however.... It stinks that (if true) the school has doubled their prices within the last 7 years. Having said that, there are plenty of other schools out there for these kids to go to. If they truely are upset about the increas in pricing, then go to a new school.

No one is twisting their arms to stay there - And in all truth, if the schools attendance level gets cut in half, that will get their attention way more than a few "hippie college students" that are staging a sit in.

 

[minniecarousel]

UC Davis is part of our public university system - campuses at Berkeley, LA, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz,San Diego, Merced, Riverside....and I may be forgetting one or two. These fees are set by the Board of Regents and are the same state-wide. The other public university system here is the State University system which has more campuses and are slightly less expensive. Then the other alternative in the public sector are Community Colleges. The fee increases are coming after students have already presumably budgeted for the 4 years (minimum) they need to get a Bachelor's degree.

Peaceful protest on California campuses is nothing new. The deliberate spraying of these students is unacceptable behavior by campus police.

 

[erincon23]

I'm from Chicago, and am no stranger to police brutality to protesters, peaceful or otherwise (1968, anyone?). But to see that cop strolling past the line of students, spraying them (and one newscaster said this is a particularly "sticky" brand of pepper spray, meant to be difficult to wash out), really got to me. Sure, protest may be against campus policies, but they weren't causing disruption, harassing anyone, making it difficult to enter or leave buildings -- the cops' best reaction would have been to stand and make sure nothing happened until the kids got bored or hungry and left.

California's having terrible budget issues and it's directly affecting their public school system -- where are these kids supposed to go that's cheaper, as one PP suggested? Especially when you're a couple of years into your degree, you don't want to leave, have credits not transfer, leave professors and programs you like. That's not a realistic solution. In IL, most of our public universities "stick" tuition at your freshman year rate for 4-1/2 years, but if you're planning on a certain amount of money for school, it can be a big problem to be expected to come back with half again as much the next year.

 

[themilesfamily]

I believe in the right to peacefully protest in the United States of America. It's called freedom of assembly. I think that what those police officers did was indefensible. You don't walk up and pepper spray people who are sitting quietly, not even speaking. This was just handled badly -- beyond badly.

The police chief and two of the officers involved are now on administrative leave. There are calls for the chancellor of UC-Davis to resign. She has apologized, but so far has refused to step down.

We'll see where things go.

 

[DisneySarah80]

I'm from Chicago, and am no stranger to police brutality to protesters, peaceful or otherwise (1968, anyone?). But to see that cop strolling past the line of students, spraying them (and one newscaster said this is a particularly "sticky" brand of pepper spray, meant to be difficult to wash out), really got to me. Sure, protest may be against campus policies, but they weren't causing disruption, harassing anyone, making it difficult to enter or leave buildings -- the cops' best reaction would have been to stand and make sure nothing happened until the kids got bored or hungry and left. California's having terrible budget issues and it's directly affecting their public school system -- where are these kids supposed to go that's cheaper, as one PP suggested? Especially when you're a couple of years into your degree, you don't want to leave, have credits not transfer, leave professors and programs you like. That's not a realistic solution. In IL, most of our public universities "stick" tuition at your freshman year rate for 4-1/2 years, but if you're planning on a certain amount of money for school, it can be a big problem to be expected to come back with half again as much the next year.

Really? I'd be pretty pissed if my towns tax dollars went to the police officers "waiting it out" for some college kids to get "bored or hungry".
I'm not saying what they did was right, there were other ways of getting these kids up, however, the police warned them they would spray them if they did not leave. They gave them several minutes, and they just sat there. If the police don't act on their threats, people will take notice to that, and run a muck everywhere they want.

 

[Alsobrook]

Pepper spray is for sissies.

Please don't think of comparing this to water cannons.

By the way, when they tell you "move or we're using pepper spray" and you don't move.....I guess it would be no surprise that pepper spray is coming, right?

 

[PeterPan09]

I'd be pretty upset if my tax dollars went to police who couldn't handle a peaceful group of kids without resorting to pepper spray.

 

[eliza61]

Not really trying to take sides in this, however.... It stinks that (if true) the school has doubled their prices within the last 7 years. Having said that, there are plenty of other schools out there for these kids to go to. If they truely are upset about the increas in pricing, then go to a new school.

No one is twisting their arms to stay there - And in all truth, if the schools attendance level gets cut in half, that will get their attention way more than a few "hippie college students" that are staging a sit in.

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing’ ~ Edmund burke.

I found this very interesting because when I remember seeing a clip of the montgomery bus boycott where a women said "I don't know why the negroes are so upset, they can get to where they are going on the back of the bus".

some times you take a stand for no other reason than it's the right thing to do. I love these "just" solutions that seem to break every thing down so easily. "just" go out and get a job (like the millions of unemployed were just waiting for someone to give them that idea) or "just" sell your house. as if magically putting a for sale sign outside your house is going to make the market suddenly get better.

"just" upping and transfering to another school is not like changing your shoes.

 

[DisneySarah80]

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing’ ~ Edmund burke.

I found this very interesting because when I remember seeing a clip of the montgomery bus boycott where a women said "I don't know why the negroes are so upset, they can get to where they are going on the back of the bus".

some times you take a stand for no other reason than it's the right thing to do.

Thats a stretch there. On one hand, you have two races of human beings being treated differently due to the color of their skin. No matter how you loot at it, that is very wrong.

On the other hand, you have college kids who have every right to go to a different college, or pay the tuition fees. They have a choice - A choice that blacks weren't even given. Does it stink that they are raising their prices? Yes. Is it their right to do it. Yes. Is it the students right to find a new school - Even go across the country if they so want? Yes. Is it illegal for them to protest on the school property? Yes. Did the police use tacticts that were a bit "harsh"? Yes. Did they need to do something? Yes.


Lets get a grip here - This isn't the 60s and no one is protesting young men dying in a war that they haven't asked to be apart of. This is people not wanting to pay the required price for their schooling.

 

[themilesfamily]

the police warned them they would spray them if they did not leave.

Then that was the police officer's first mistake in handling the situation.

Giving someone a "warning" doesn't give law enforcement license to act inappropriately or use excessive force.

Not only are these officers on administrative leave, but it's being reported that civil rights lawsuits are being filed against the police. And I'll bet my bottom dollar the police don't come out on top here.

The latest from the UC-Davis chancellor is that she is "horrified" by the pepper spray incident. She's definitely trying to back away from these actions.

 

[mamacatnv]

I saw the footage this morning and I originally thought the students were all handcuffed and I was disgusted and disturbed. Now I am clearer on the issue. The police were sent in to remove the tents and instead confronted the kids.

I have a college kid who is opinionated etc. and I too find this very disturbing. They warned the kids to move it and the kids refused I don't see that anything the officers did in regards to the students would have come out favorably.

That said....

I think the whole thing just reeked of a bunch of uniform clad bullies who were on a bit of a power trip and don't really understand why they just don't leave the kids be. If you give them no attention, they will most likely eventually go away.

Instead what we have now is a major brewhaha over whether or not the use of pepper spray was reasonable.

 

[SandrA9810]

My math professor teaches higher engineering math at the community college, he teaches a lot of UC Davis students, as it's cheaper to take the course at the CC than it is to take it at their regular campus.

Good luck trying to graduate with an AA from the CC. They're so over-run with students, it's nearly impossible to get registered for the classes you need. There's plenty of students that have been there longer than 4 years. Most the problem stems from them needing remedial classes, that are completely full. The new students get a later date to sign up.
The next math class up that my bf is taking (Math 90) was completely full the first day. And the first day was only "priority" students. Mostly those with an LD and a few other cases (like first one in family to college). He registered in 2005, and signed up for classes 3 days later. He was number 34 on the waitlist (34 + the 38 seats available).

It's the same thing every semester with so many students. There's a guy sitting across from me in class, also registered in 2005 just now high enough on the registration list to get into the classes he needs. It's not just my bf, but students every where waiting 3-4 years to graduate.