Open Letter to Chancellor Katehi
I am an alumnus of this great university (’82). I have watched as your predecessors have brought UC Davis from low in the university rankings to one of the great research institutions in the world. And all of this has been tarnished by your one decision to evict a small number of peaceful protesters expressing their first amendment rights. How ironic. You say that “We are a campus known for its civility and our commitment to respect, equality and freedom of expression runs deep.” Yet the incident on Friday says just the opposite to the Davis campus and those around the world who saw the police brutality perpetrated by the UC Davis Campus Police Department. Never in the history of the university (even during the Vietnam protests) has the UC Davis institution been so dishonored. All of this happened under your tenure and because of your decisions to evict peaceful protesters that were expressing their first amendment rights. Many have called for your immediate resignation due to your actions and the actions of the UC Davis Police Department. You have chosen at this time not to resign. However, over the coming months we will find out how this horrible event transpired. I think that eventually it will become clear to you that your resignation will become necessary in order to restore the trust of the students, faculty and the public in our great institution. Even though you did not make any tactical decisions that were carried out by the UC Davis Police on Friday, the result was the complete opposite to your “commitment to respect, equality and freedom of expression” as expressed in your open letter to the campus on The Civility Project. The dishonor you brought to the UC Davis University can never be repaired. For that reason alone, I am asking you to step down from your position so that the institution and its community can start the healing process. Additionally, every alumnus that I have spoken to (which are many) supports this request unequivocally.
Respectfully,
CDR Dennis Smith, MSC, USN