UC Ground Report: Week Ending September 15, 2024
This week's "highlights" from the so-called University of California.
Welcome to the UC Ground Report, a weekly newsletter summarizing the biggest headlines and calls to action related to the University of California.
Another busy week for the UC and education space means a packed newsletter, and somehow we feel like we barely scratched the surface of everything that’s going on. Move-in begins later this week for the quarter-system UC schools (all but Berkeley and Merced are on the quarter system). The agenda for the upcoming Regents meeting at UCLA was published and it’s a doozy; on top of requesting more guns, ammo, and tear gas for UCPD at each campus, we are getting a sober view into the extent to which our campuses are truly militarized (see the “Military Equipment Inventory” on page 4 that itemizes down to the number of bullets in stock on each campus). Have thoughts on campus weaponry? Make sure to sign up for public comment. UCSC faculty and students + ACLU NorCal have filed suit against the Regents and 10 UCSC administrators for repressive campus bans related to the campus protests in the spring. Faculty colleagues at CSU Long Beach have started a petition to rescind a violation warning sent to five faculty members.
In this week’s issue:
Breaking news.
What happened at the UC this week.
Meanwhile, over at CSU.
National headlines.
Extra credit reading.
Save the date + community calls to action.
Nota bene.
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Breaking: UCPD requests even more military equipment to build up an arsenal across all 10 campuses
UCPD will be asking the regents for more military equipment - including drones, impact munitions, and pepper balls - at an upcoming meeting on September 19th. [source: UC Davis Cops Off Campus]
Last week, the agenda for the Regents meeting on Sept 18-19 was released, and watchdogs everywhere were stunned to see the proliferation of military weapons on campus.
This “killer” post from Stop LAPD Spying Coalition summarizes the arsenal that UCPD is requesting to buy this academic year.
Hidden away on the day 2 agenda for the Compliance and Audit Committee is a nondescript item labeled “C1: University of California Compliance with State Assembly Bill 481”. AB 481 [bill text] requires law enforcement agencies to:
Obtain approval at a regular meeting prior to purchasing military equipment.
Produce an annual report on its use and inventory of military equipment and submit to that governing body for review.
Within 30 days of submitting and publicly releasing the annual report, hold a well-publicized community meeting where the general public may discuss and ask questions related to the military equipment.
Lots of great coverage on this from UC Davis Cops off Campus and Cat Hamilton on Twitter and Stop LAPD Spying on Instagram.
Make sure to read the Regents’ (dense) documents yourself:
What happened at the UC this week.
Let’s take a look at UCLA’s new Time, Place and Manner policies
Students For Socialism at UCLA — September 14, 2024
[an Instagram post from @sls_UCLA, @ucladivest, and @slapofucla]
An Instagram post from Students for Socialism at UCLA, UCLA Divest, and Student Labor Advocacy Project offers a clear overview and analysis of the new Time, Place, Manner rules announced by UCLA over the last two weeks. Expect to hear more about these TPM rules as new and returning students move in over the coming days.
UC Santa Barbara Quietly Cancels New Student Convocation
Santa Barbara Independent — September 13, 2024
Santa Barbara Independent covered the “quietly cancelled convocation” last week. UC Intel Network also wrote directly to UCSB orientation staff and as of publication, still have received no response or explanation. UCSB’s claim to The Independent via media liaison that they plan to focus on “interactive events” for new students is laughable, particularly considering that the graduate student convocation is still a go on Wednesday September 25. It’s clear that, up until some point during the summer, UCSB was planning to have their new student convocation for incoming undergraduate students. Such a significant last minute change for a university that typically takes years to institute change is… interesting. Read our letter to UCSB.
UCI and OFAS has failed its students
New University — September 15, 2024
Severe issues with financial aid packages and communications at UC Irvine caused significant concern last week, and, in some cases, forced some students to withdraw completely from the university due to no longer being able to afford tuition and fees with the revised packages on offer. UC Irvine’s campus newspaper, New University, reports that “students are in a frenzy, with many scrambling to figure out what comes next” and condemns the university’s handling of this financial aid crisis, stating that “accountability without effective action is objectively null and void.” Read the editorial and hear stories from impacted students on the UC Irvine Reddit forum.
UC Berkeley launches one of the nation’s few Palestinian-Arab studies programs amid demand
Los Angeles Times — September 10, 2024
[a tweet from @TeresaWatanabe]
UC Berkeley will be launching a new Palestinian and Arab Studies endowed program and endowed chair, the result of years of planning and a $3.25 million gift. The chair will be held by UC Berkeley professor Ussama Makdisi, a scholar of modern Arab history. “This gift allows us to meet evident student demand and interest in modern Palestinian history,” Makdisi said. “It permits us to explore the complex and long history of a multi-religious Palestine in the context of the wider Arab world. Most of all, it invites us to expand scholarly and ethical horizons, and connect Palestinian history more deeply with parallel fields of inquiry such as Indigenous, Latinx and Black history.” The program will fund research and cultural activities, and is hosting its inaugural conference on November 12 and 13, 2024 at UC Berkeley. Read the announcement in Berkeley Letters & Science.
Apology letters. Suspensions. After protest citations, students face campus consequences
Los Angeles Times — September 9, 2024
This latest piece on student protests from Jaweed Kaleem, who’s got the academic repression beat on lock for the Los Angeles Times, offers a sobering overview of the stiff and often vague legal and academic repercussions faced by students across California campuses including USC, UCLA, UC Irvine, Cal Poly Humboldt, Pomona College, and Cal State LA.
Civil Rights Groups Sue UCSC for Unlawful Campus Bans and Response to Student Protests
ACLU Northern California — September 9, 2024
On Monday, ACLU and civil rights groups filed suit on behalf of UCSC faculty and students against the Regents and 10 UCSC administrators for campus bans that impacted over 100 people and the university’s overall response to the encampment. Full legal text here.
Such a legal move by pro-Palestinian demonstrators in partnership with ACLU has been seen as an encouraging, proactive move by others in the community who are used to being targeted, reactive, and on the defensive.
“It’s time to hold UCSC accountable for its illegal use of Section 626.4 campus bans against students and faculty as a tool of censorship,” said attorney Thomas Seabaugh. “Our clients did not engage in conduct that posed a threat of significant injury to anyone or anything. Banning them on the spot was not just heavy-handed, it was unconstitutional and a violation of basic democratic rights and academic freedoms. We’re suing to ensure that in the coming school year, UCSC officials comply with the law and respect the constitutional limits on their power to ban students and faculty from campus.”
Named in the press release are the UC Regents, UCSC Chancellor Cynthia Lavrie, UCSC Provost / EVC Lori Kletzer, UCSC Chief of Police Kevin Domby, and seven other UCSC administrators.
ACLU NorCal also published Stories of Activism Under Siege: UCSC's Crackdown on Student Protests that includes testimony from a UCSC faculty member and student.
Additional press coverage on the ACLU NorCal lawsuit:
SF Chronicle: Students, professor sue UC Santa Cruz after being banned from campus following protests
KQED: UC Santa Cruz Students, Professor Sue Over Campus Bans After Pro-Palestinian Protest
Lookout Santa Cruz: Gaza protesters sue UC Santa Cruz over ban from campus
Santa Cruz Sentinel: Pro-Palestine protestors sue UC Santa Cruz over campus ban
Meanwhile, over at CSU.
SFSU, PYM, Bay Area Labor 4 Palestine convene the first-ever Bay Area Popular Convention for Palestine
Bay Area PYM — September 15, 2024
From their post: Today, a coalition of over 65 organizations and 700 individuals convened together, representing sectors across the Bay Area. These sectors unified for the Popular Convention for Palestine, put on by students, laborers, sector based formations, and community organizations. See the Instagram post.
Over the summer, San Francisco State University parlayed the momentum from their recent divestment announcement into energy to form a broader Bay Area Coalition and had their first convention on Sunday in Oakland. Stay tuned for more coverage from that event. See the post on Instagram.
Change.org Petition: “DEFEND ACADEMIC FREEDOM! RESCIND CSULB FACULTY VIOLATIONS & PLACE MORATORIUM ON TPM POLICY”
Change.org — September 10, 2024
Five faculty members at CSULB recently received a violation notice related to a teach-in on May 2. “Coincidentally” (sarcasm), these same faculty are the authors of a scathing piece in Mondoweiss from late May: Boeing University: How the California State University became complicit in Palestinian genocide. The timing of the warning is extremely suspect and feels more like administrative overreaching and retaliation than anything else.
A CSULB faculty member created a Change.org petition demanding that CSULB rescind the violation notice and also place a moratorium on the new Time, Place, Manner policies. As of publication, the petition has 1,556 signatures. Please sign the petition now and spread the word to get more signatures to support these faculty and put a moratorium on the repressive TPM.
Change.org petition for the five faculty members.
ACLU Letter dated September 5, 2024: “RE: CSULB’s Attempt to Enforce Unconstitutional Amplified Sound Policy” says the policy the five professors “violated” is an unconstitutional policy.
Letter to the Editor from Long Beach State faculty: Is CSULB using ‘TPM’ to selectively target professors?
A critical read, the original article in question: “Boeing University: How the California State University became complicit in Palestinian genocide” published in Mondoweiss on May 20, 2024
Policy review:
National headlines.
[Opinion] Why I am resigning as a Brown Trustee
Wall Street Journal — September 8, 2024
Looks like we’ve got another Genocide Joe. Last week in WSJ Opinion, (former) Brown University Trustee Joseph Edelman opines on his recent resignation due to the divestment vote: “I find it morally reprehensible that holding a divestment vote was even considered.”
Joe, please. You’re only resigning because you know divestment is going to pass, and this is your last shot at being heard. You’re calling out all the pitchforks as a last ditch attempt. Good luck with that.
Brown President responds in her own op-ed: Brown Responds on Divestment From Israel: “Universities must be places that confront difficult questions.”
Extra credit reading.
Protestors rally on Southside for People’s Park, ceasefire in Gaza
The Daily Californian — September 9, 2024
UC Irvine announces most successful fundraising year on record; Donations included two $50 million gifts.
OC Register — September 9, 2024
Save the date + community calls to action.
[NOW] Sign up for public comment at the Regents meeting this week. Deadline is Tuesday 5 PM for the Wednesday meeting, and Wednesday 5 PM for the Thursday meeting. We can’t stress enough how important this is. Let us know if you’d like guidance or support on putting together your own statement or if you have questions about how it works. Seriously, sign up for public comment right now.
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[NOW] Multiple UCLA organizations and student leaders have joined forces to reinstate UCLA lecturer Dr. Beth Ribet. Disabled Student Union at UCLA (DSU UCLA), Student Labor Advocacy Project (SLAP), UC-AFT and UCLA student leaders have drafted a resolution to reinstate Dr. Ribet and urge supporters to send a letter to UCLA Sociology Chair. Learn more at their Instagram post and contact DSU UCLA or SLAP to sign on to the resolution.
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[NOW] Sign the Change.org petition to support allies at CSULB with their demands that administration rescind faculty violations and place a moratorium on the new TPM policies. The petition was created by a CSULB faculty member.
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[NOW] Sign the petition to reinstate Denise Caramagno, the first UC employee to be terminated due to advocacy for Palestine. The petition was created by the UCSF chapters of SJP, FSJP, and JVP.
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[Sept 17 at 9:30am PT] Sociologists for Palestine are hosting a BDS teach-in. Register here.
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[Sept 18-19] The next UC Regents meeting is at UCLA this week on Wednesday 9/18 and Thursday 9/19. The agenda is live and public comment signup is OPEN. We can’t stress enough how important it is to make your voice heard during public comment. Let us know if you’d like guidance or support on putting together your own statement or if you have questions about how it works. Seriously, sign up for public comment right now. P.S. UCLA is at the epicenter of the TPM policy changes, and the location for the Regents meeting is now off-limits for “expressive activities”. So it’s safe to say that next week will be “interesting”.
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[NOW thru Nov 4] UCLA is accepting (written online) public comment for their new time / place / manner policies until November 4. We think that UCLA is the experimental campus testing out these new repressive policies; if these policies are codified, they will certainly make their way to the other campuses. Make your voice heard because these policies affect all of us. Take a minute to let UCLA know what you think.
Nota bene.
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