Our Future, Our Nation; We Need Our Education
Illustration by Kenny Srivijittakar.
It has come to our attention that serious misconceptions regarding the conduct and intentions of protesters across the state have manifested (in many cases) into ill-will or callousness toward this noble and ambitious cause. It is not appropriate to pass judgement on the efforts of an entire enterprise based on rumors of misdeeds of a select few. Administrators’ allegations — that UCSC protesters wielded clubs and knives, denied people the right to exit campus or acted in any way that was disruptive, intimidating or destructive — were untrue, and caused unnecessary panic and concern.
It would be ignorant as well as erroneous to say that the administration was caught unawares by the March 4 actions. Organizers of the campus shut-down informed Student Services and other campus departments well in advance of the event. There is no denying that every faculty member on campus was aware of the imminent shut-down, and most planned the week’s courses accordingly.
Administrative responses that disrespect student actions, to the point of circulating misinformation and evoking irrational concerns, are reprehensible and do nothing for the already precarious student-administration relationship.
That being said, responsibility does not lie solely with the administration, legislators, etc. Organizers must conduct themselves appropriately and in accordance with First Amendment limitations if they want to gain the respect of authorities.
An example of protesters legitimately crossing the line happened last week at UC Davis, where students attempted to block traffic on Interstate 80. This action not only put students and commuters in danger, but was executed in conjunction with several other disruptive activities on campus as well. Fire alarms were falsely