Erik Jepsen/Guardian
Student protesters occupied the Chancellor’s Complex for over six hours on Friday, calling for administrators to shut down the university and respond to a list of demands issued one week before by the Black Student Union.
The BSU altered their requests from the original 32 demands to a conslidated list. For example, the BSU no longer calls for a change to a holistic admissions system, but instead wants the current comprehensive review system to include additional points for first-generation students and those who attended schools in the fourth or fifth quintile.
The sit-in was in response to the discovery of a noose hanging from a light fixtureon the seventh floor of Geisel Library on Feb. 25 — the latest in a string of racially charged events, including a “Compton Cookout” party held Feb. 15 and slurs aired on Student-Run Television Feb. 18.
According to a police bulletin e-mailed to all students and faculty Thursday night, the UCSD police received reports of a noose — historically used in black lynchings — at approximately 10:30 p.m. on Feb. 25. The incident is being treated as a crime with “intent to terrorize.”
Leaders of the BSU immediately planned a protest for the following morning at 8 a.m. The Library Walk rally drew approximately 300 participants, including speakers from BSU, the LGBT community and faculty.
Sociology professor Ivan Evans spoke heavily about the “special horror of lynching” and called for the students to take direct action.
“They have gone where they should not have gone, and I believe we should respond appropriately,” he said. “I don’t believe it is the chancellor’s role to shut the university down, and I believe it would be difficult for her to do so. I believe it is our role to do that.”
Campuswide Senator Desiree Prevo referenced the recent reaction from members of student media organizations to A.S. President Utsav Gupta’s funding freeze last Friday, a reaction to BSU requests to shut down controversial humor newspaper the Koala. Prevo said this was not a free-speech issue.
“The Bill of Rights, in which the free-speech document came from, was never meant to include my people — our people — so how do you expect me to respect free speech, when I was never supposed to have free speech?” Prevo asked.
Chancellor Marye Anne Fox emerged from the Chancellor’s Complex to speak to the crowd. She said all criminal violators would be punished.
Vice Chancellor of Resource and Management Gary Matthews then came forward, revealing that a female student had confessed to hanging the noose around 9:30 a.m., and had turned in her two accomplices.
According to a letter to the Guardian from the student who hung the noose, the incident was “a mindless act and stupid mistake.” The student, whose identity has not been released, has been suspended for an indefinite period of time.
California Law AB 412, passed in August 2009, states that hanging a noose in a public area is a misdemeanor punishable up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine. However, the suspended student has not yet been taken into custody.
Protesters expressed their unhappiness with the administration reaction, and marched to the Chancellor’s Complex at noon.
Fox emerged once more to assure protesters that the university was taking action against hate on campus.
“I strongly condemn the offensive acts of hate and bias that have occurred over the past days,” Fox said. Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Penny Rue echoed Fox’s sentiments.
John Hanacek/Guardian
“You can’t imagine how pained we are over this,” she said. “We are heartsick.”
However, Fox made no mention of a campus shutdown, prompting protesters to pressure her to meet with the Academic Senate to determine if one was feasible. Meanwhile, demonstrators moved into Fox’s office to host an impromptu sit-in.
At approximately 2 p.m., the chancellor said she saw no reason for a shutdown, causing protesters to occupy her office until 5 p.m.
At 5:30 p.m., members of the BSU emerged from their meeting with Fox to announce that she had not adequately met their demands.
“They handed us over a bullshit-ass document,” BSU Vice Chair Fnann Keflezighi said to the crowd after the meeting. “Basically, it said everything that we already knew, no concrete things on how they’re going to implement anything. They’re dumber than we thought they were — dumber than I thought they were.”
According to the 11-page document responding to the BSU’s original demands, the university will begin taking steps to create a permanent task force to increase diversity awareness on campus and fill the vacant program-coordinator position for the African-American Studies Minor. (The full text of this document can be found online at www.battlehate.ucsd.edu/docs/implementation_of_demands.pdf.)
Despite escalating racial tensions on campus, many demonstrators expressed the belief that the incident has created greater solidarity within the UCSD community.
“I came to the protest because I’m part of this community and this coalition,” Muir College senior Indiana Rogers said. “These are people that I know, and people that are being disgraced.”
In addition, members of the Newman Center Catholic Community at UCSD planned to spread roses in Geisel Library at the site where the noose had been hung to show support for the BSU.
“We wanted to put something loving there instead of something so hateful,” said Anita Bradford, a graduate student in the history department. “We wanted to show our support.”
The BSU plans to mobilize again on March 1 at 10 a.m. on Library Walk, where they will continue to pressure the administration to adhere to their demands.
Additional reporting by Regina Ip.
Readers can contact Angela Chen at shchen@ucsd.edu.
Related posts:
Three things.
1. The party was organized by a black comedian.
2. The Koala is a minority run comedy paper/tv show.
3. The noose was left by a minority student who admires her friends ability to tie nooses.
Why should the school be shut down?
@UCSD
Please read a history book.
Gee, Undergrad–can you address the factual assertions raised by “UCSD”? Because it makes all the brouhaha seem even more ridiculous than it did before. So glad the BSU “consolidated” its list of demands. I demand that the student who started this ____storm be identified and charged with the hate crime everyone is so upset about.
Gee, Undergrad–can you address the factual assertions raised by “UCSD”? Because it makes all the brouhaha seem even more ridiculous than it did before. So glad the BSU “consolidated” its list of demands. I demand that the student who started this storm be identified and charged with the hate crime everyone is so upset about.
@ UCSD
1. How long are you going to repeat the same old lie about Jigga Jones? He did not organize the party but used it, after the fact, to call attention to himself. And even if he HAD organized it, it was still offensive. If a Jewish student paints a swastika on the wall, it’s still offensive to Jews (and to the rest of us.)
2. The KOALA is not “minority” run. Their editor, Gregorian is Armenian, and the last time I checked, that is Caucasian.
3. The “minority” student could be Asian–very likely since about 50% of the school is Asian or Asian-American.
This student who left the noose in the library did not actually tie it: her male friend did. And according to her statement, she did not actually hang it from the light fixture but left it on a table in the library unintentionally. We still do not know who actually put the noose up on the light fixture and we still don’t know the name of the male student who actually tied it or what his motivations might have been.
@Malby
Even though UCSD started with a lie and two misleading generalizations, I answered his points. You all need to stop listening to Rodger Hedgecock and stop posting on student newspapers.
Armenians are an ethnic minority distinct from European culture. Genetically, linguistically, religiously, culturally. Go to LA and see the thousands of immigrants struggling to make it. Shows you feel perfectly at ease making clueless comments about others.
And to heck with shutting this campus down. It costs a lot of money to attend this school and with finals coming up in two weeks, I can’t see any legitimate justification. The institution isn’t a threat to anyone and has acted completely within reasonability–even if improvements can be made.
“1. ….. If a Jewish student paints a swastika on the wall, it’s still offensive to Jews (and to the rest of us.)”
As a Jewish person if I ranted, berated, and abused the administrators for days on end and claimed they were doing nothing to protect me and that I felt the campus needed to be shut down because my life was sooooooo in danger due to antisemtism that was boiling out of control THEN it turned out it was done by a Jew? Well, I’d feel embarrassed as hell. And feel I needed to apologize to everyone I called anti-semetic and was abusive towards. The BSU does not deserve to claim victimhood if the perp was black any more the I would claim I was the victim of anti-semitism if a Jewish person faked a hate crime, or if a gay person faked an anti-gay hate crime.
Even if this crime was committed by a black person it still would not justify the level of hysteria. There have been swaskikas that have shown up at colleges and none have raised an alarm to the point people were demanding the school be closed down.
“The Bill of Rights, in which the free-speech document came from, was never meant to include my people — our people — so how do you expect me to respect free speech, when I was never supposed to have free speech?” Prevo asked.”
Gee, logic at it’s finest. You can say that (“The Bill of Rights was never to include me”) about 90% of the population. 90% of us could say we shouldn’t have to obey the laws or constitution because we were once excluded from it. Prevo’s comment is the height of ignorance and arrougance and the typical way of saying the law doesn’t apply to her because she is black.
““They handed us over a bullshit-ass document,” BSU Vice Chair Fnann Keflezighi said to the crowd after the meeting. “Basically, it said everything that we already knew, no concrete things on how they’re going to implement anything. They’re dumber than we thought they were — dumber than I thought they were.”
Not very articulate there are you Keflezighi? You may want to exercise some common sense and realize 1) they do not have an obligation to throw any perk you demand your way simply because you are angry 2) any demand they may give into they have a right to look into it, they don’t need to give you an answer within 5 mintues. 3) If you keep being abusive to them I hope they cut off all contact with you. Calling them “dumb”? Sadly enough your the one who is dumb who thinks berating and abusing them will make anyone more sympatheitic to you. You are manipulative and at this point it has nothing to do with racism- but using racism as a shakedown for money and power.
Martin Luther King, Jr. won the hearts and minds of America through his dignity, honor and rational behavior. He shamed his opponents who acted like mobs.
The most memorable thing about Brown v. Board of Education was the well-dressed black children who risked their lives to get an education. They did not demand the school be shut down, but instead the doors opened to them. The mob was the white people who tried to close the school and were acting out in anger.
The important milestones in US history by civil rights leader were achieved by quiet men of dignity. They made their opponents look irrational in their anger.
““They handed us over a bullshit-ass document,” BSU Vice Chair Fnann Keflezighi said to the crowd after the meeting. “Basically, it said everything that we already knew, no concrete things on how they’re going to implement anything. They’re dumber than we thought they were — dumber than I thought they were.”
I can’t help but notice how minorities dismiss everyone else as inferior to them, yet continue to cry and call themselves disadvantaged. Now look at the parking lot. Half of these disadvantaged minorities drive better cars than their evil white professors with multiple PhD’s.
Racism begins with our families, parents, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, grandparents, people we admire, respect and love.
However, as we grow and mature we come to the realization that what we were told by our family when we were children were slanted lies base on their prejudices. We realize that most people are like ourselves and not so different and want the same things, like a home, steady work, a Medicare plan and schools for our children (if you travel you will see this). We realize that most people are of good hearts and goodwill.
This reminds me of a parable from the good book where a Levite and Priest come upon a man who fell among thieves and they both individually passed by and didn’t stop to help him. Finally a man of another race came by, he got down from his beast, decided not to be compassionate by proxy and got down with the injured man, administered first aid, and helped the man in need. Jesus ended up saying, this was the good man, this was the great man, because he had the capacity to project the “I” into the “thou,” and to be concerned about his fellow man.
You see, the Levite and the Priest were afraid, they asked themselves, “If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?”
But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: “If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”
That’s the question before us. The question is not, “If I stop to help our fellow man in need, what will happen to me?” The question is, “If I do not stop to help our fellow man, what will happen to him or her?” That’s the question.
God bless all my brothers and sister that stood side by side with our brothers and sisters in need, when you saw a wrong you tried to correct it, you may argue the methods but not the reasons. I know God will not discriminate by country of origin, our sex, our orientation, color of our skin, or our religion as men do.
I came across this site after seeing something about protests about UCSD. I was surprised to see the protests are an old SDS retread about racial “oppression”…I was kinda thinking you guys would be protesting about fee-hikes and such.
I used to go to that school in early 90’s…All I can remember was studying my ass off and I barely got B’s. When I moved up to UCR I got straight A’s and never really felt challenged like at UCSD. Seems to me like there were protests about fee-hikes then it got derailed by this racial stuff. Seems like another MSM end run getting people to argue about race while universities are gutted financially…follow the money.
Still remember when there was a Third College, though I was at Warren. Keep studying hard and keep making UCSD the REAL ACADEMIC UC in California. Btw SDS are race baiters no better than those racial oppressors they are against
Benito, god is an invention of man used to control and manipulate others.
Shut down the UNI/ Yup ,sure thing, all the time,hard work and money to get ready for finales………and your crying”Only we can shut it down”,here is a straight forward answer.Go fuck yourselves, you whiney,over dramatic ,looking for a hand out fucking professinal victims.
Interesting post… Subscribed!!
anonymous free proxy find proxy