UC Regents: Publicly condemn the use of violence in the policing of campus protest

Publicly condemn the use of violence in the policing of campus protest

Greetings,

When the Board of Regents met at UC Riverside last Thursday (January 19, 2012), police officers engaged in violence against students and staff members who had gathered to protest. News reports and video footage document officers jabbing protesters with batons and firing projectiles. This follows outcry within the UC community, across the United States, and internationally about police violence toward protesters at UC Berkeley on November 9 and UC Davis on November 18. We, the undersigned faculty of the University of California, San Diego, believe that the use of violence against students and staff exercising their right to peaceful protest is entirely unacceptable. Such use of force by police against peaceful protesters runs directly counter to values of reason, dialogue, and free expression that are basic to the very idea of the university as an institution. We therefore call on the Board of Regents to publicly condemn the use of violent tactics in the policing of campus protest.

Publicly condemn the use of violence in the policing of campus protest

Protect the right to peaceful protest.

Sincerely,

Professor Charles Thorpe
Department of Sociology

Professor Morana Alac
Department of Communication

Professor Lisa Cartwright
Department of Communication

Professor Ivan Evans
Department of Sociology
President, UC San Diego Faculty Association

Professor Martha Lampland
Department of Sociology

Professor Chandra Mukerji
Department of Communication

[Your name]