Pepper Spraying Students at UC-Davis

[bekkiz]

I went to UC Santa Cruz, a school in the same system but one that is much more known to attract this type of protesting spirit (I was literally chastised by my RA for not taking more of a stand LOL Sorry, I was busy!). I generally look at the UC system as a whole to be much more liberal. I am floored and horrified by the actions of these officers, and I am 99% sure the Chancellor knew exactly what was about to happen.

This is a fantastic article by a UC Davis professor. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-ostertag/uc-davis-protest_b_1103039.html

I also believe a big part of this is the general disillusionment about higher ed in general. For 25 years, people have been told that college is the end all be all in terms of job advancement. Now you have a bunch of 20 and 30 somethings with beautiful diplomas, huge student loans and jobs that have nothing to do with their education (or no job prospects at all). It is frustrating to be sold a bill of goods that is not the golden ticket you were promised.

 

[themilesfamily]

Nope, sorry, it has nothing to do with the color of their skin...worlds apart.

I can't really see the color of their skin through all that pepper spray.

 

[sparklynails23]

What idiots. Has that chancellor and the campus police never heard of the internet? Chancellor will soon be fired.

 

[twinboysmom]

Completely unnecessary. Think some heads will roll over this.

 

[EmmaBrault]

"The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees Freedom of Speech. This guarantee generally safeguards the right of individuals to express themselves without governmental restraint. Nevertheless, the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment is not absolute. It has never been interpreted to guarantee all forms of speech without any restraint whatsoever. Instead, the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that state and federal governments may place reasonable restrictions on the time, place, and manner of individual expression. Time, place, and manner (TPM) restrictions accommodate public convenience and promote order by regulating traffic flow, preserving property interests, conserving the environment, and protecting the administration of justice."



http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Time,+Place,+and+Manner+Restrictions

 

[EmmaBrault]

Looks pretty similar to me.

The difference is one group is being targeted for the content of their speech while the other is being targeted the time and place of it.

 

[EmmaBrault]

Absolutely not.

So people should be able to protest wherever they want?

 

[Jex]

I'm shocked, how dare the police respond the way they did. Never mind the fact that the protesters were breaking the law, and told repeatedly the consiquences of thier actions if they refused to disperse. How dare the police uphold the law.

 

[Aisling]

But they didn't look like it hurt/bothered them. I thought pepper spray was painful.

 

[themilesfamily]

The difference is one group is being targeted for the content of their speech while the other is being targeted the time and place of it.

Are you sure about that? I'm not.

I read your blurb from the online legal dictionary. I think the word you need to consider there is the word "REASONABLE." Was the police reaction to the student protest reasonable? And if spraying pepper spray into the face of students sitting silently on the ground is unreasonable, the question then becomes whose policy was this? Was this a decision made by a couple of police officers or was this a policy mandated by a higher authority within the university?

I would point to this from the Los Angeles Times today: "Police agencies use pepper spray to subdue violent suspects or break up aggressive crowds, not to gain compliance from peaceful, non-threatening people."

The president of the California University system said he is "appalled" at what happened here. The Chancellor of UC Davis said she is "horrified." The UC Davis faculty association issued a statement accusing the Chancellor of a "gross failure of leadership" and asking her to resign. The DC mayor said he was "aghast" at the behavior of the police.

There is a very strong reaction here for a reason.

 

[Shutterbug]

http://www.katu.com/news/national/Berkley-pepper-spray-incident-134239258.html

"Free speech is part of the DNA of this university, and non-violent protest has long been central to our history," UC President Mark G. Yudof said in a statement Sunday in response to the spraying of students sitting passively at UC Davis. "It is a value we must protect with vigilance."

UC Davis said early Monday in a news release that it was necessary to place police Chief Annette Spicuzza on administrative leave to restore trust and calm tensions. The school refused to identify the two officers who were place on administrative leave but one was a veteran of many years on the force and the other "fairly new" to the department, Spicuzza earlier told The Associated Press. She would not elaborate further because of the pending probe.

 

[EmmaBrault]

Are you sure about that? I'm not.

Considering they were impeding the primary function of a limited public forum, it seems likely. If they weren't blocking entrance ways they would have a stronger leg to stand on. Whether the police should've used different means to break things up is debatable, but there is no right to disrupt the ability of others to get where they need to go on even a public university campus.

 

[AlwaysMoving]

The president of the California University system said he is "appalled" at what happened here. The Chancellor of UC Davis said she is "horrified." The UC Davis faculty association issued a statement accusing the Chancellor of a "gross failure of leadership" and asking her to resign. The DC mayor said he was "aghast" at the behavior of the police.

There is a very strong reaction here for a reason.

Those sound like the common responses of people who are trying to avoid losing their jobs.

 

[No.17CherryTreeLane]

Are you sure about that? I'm not.

I read your blurb from the online legal dictionary. I think the word you need to consider there is the word "REASONABLE." Was the police reaction to the student protest reasonable? And if spraying pepper spray into the face of students sitting silently on the ground is unreasonable, the question then becomes whose policy was this? Was this a decision made by a couple of police officers or was this a policy mandated by a higher authority within the university?

I would point to this from the Los Angeles Times today: "Police agencies use pepper spray to subdue violent suspects or break up aggressive crowds, not to gain compliance from peaceful, non-threatening people."

The president of the California University system said he is "appalled" at what happened here. The Chancellor of UC Davis said she is "horrified." The UC Davis faculty association issued a statement accusing the Chancellor of a "gross failure of leadership" and asking her to resign. The DC mayor said he was "aghast" at the behavior of the police.

There is a very strong reaction here for a reason.

In the long version of the video, you'll see the officers try a number of times to remove the protesters in a peaceful manner (without pepper spray). The protesters pull away, squirm, or just refuse to move. I don't know if the use of pepper spray was warranted, but I do know that the protesters chose to ignore the warnings and the opportunities for a more peaceful arrest.

 

[themilesfamily]

Those sound like the common responses of people who are trying to avoid losing their jobs.

The only person at risk of losing their job in that list of individuals is the Chancellor, and I think she's definitely swimming against the tide at this point.

It's going to be interesting to see how all of this shakes out. Who stays, who goes, does this have a galvanizing or a dampening effect on the protestors, how will the courts view this?

Ahhh....democracy. Never dull.

 

[Scornelius]

I'm shocked, how dare the police respond the way they did. Never mind the fact that the protesters were breaking the law, and told repeatedly the consiquences of their actions if they refused to disperse. How dare the police uphold the law.

The kids attacked were sitting in their school quad, which is a fringe benefit of their $12K tuition fee. They weren't breaking any laws. Pepper spray is meant to subdue a perp when there is the imminent risk of violence. That wasn't the case. This was abuse of power, plain and simple. I'm absolutely blown away by how many people think this was an appropriate reaction to the situation.

But they didn't look like it hurt/bothered them. I thought pepper spray was painful.

I think those pictures were taken while they were still holding their breath. In videos you can see them start to writhe and gasp once they take that first gulp of air.

 

[Aisling]

I think those pictures were taken while they were still holding their breath. In videos you can see them start to writhe and gasp once they take that first gulp of air.

OMG!

 

[SandrA9810]

Clearly it isn't as hard as you are making it sound to get into classes. You just moved there (and only started at the CC very recently), yet you are in these classes.

Don't forget that CA has the Dream Act. We are going to give illegals priority status when it comes to college. It doesn't matter if you can afford it or not, our state will reward you with free tuition. As for moving here from out of state and getting priority status over residents, only Sandra can answer how she has gotten there.

I only got into the Math 70 class because of being special. I spoke with the professor during the summer about taking the class with him to get him to pass. There's no testing provided within school system for learning disabilities, and no exceptions are given until proven. The money just isn't there for private testing so the school can help him.
He's gone from an F the past two semesters to bordering on an A this semester. I've also helped two other students in the class all semester long, and he's referred students to me to help them before and after class.
He has also given me permission to take Math 90 in his class next semester, even though my registration date isn't till next month. Nov 2 started priority registration. I don't even want to know what the classes will look like then, or how many of the core classes I can actually register for.

 

[AlwaysMoving]

The only person at risk of losing their job in that list of individuals is the Chancellor, and I think she's definitely swimming against the tide at this point.

Probably so, but anyone in a high position has to be careful not to say the wrong things against those students, because it will have a negative impact on how the public will view them, which can have a negative impact on their career in the future. So, in a way, what they say can cause them to lose their job.

 

[themilesfamily]

Probably so, but anyone in a high position has to be careful not to say the wrong things against those students, because it will have a negative impact on how the public will view them, which can have a negative impact on their career in the future. So, in a way, what they say can cause them to lose their job.

Very true!