Thursday, May 21, 1998
Meeting with Carnesale postponed
POLITICS: Arrested protesters take extra time to prepare for
chancellor
By Mason Stockstill
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
The meeting between Chancellor Albert Carnesale and student
protesters scheduled for Wednesday was postponed, because the
students, many of whom had been arrested late Tuesday night, felt
that they would not be well-prepared for such a meeting.
Chad Williams, chair of the African Student Union and member of
the Affirmative Action Coalition, called the chancellor’s office
Wednesday morning to cancel that day’s meeting, and told the
chancellor that students would be in touch on Friday to reschedule
the meeting.
"Because the chancellor made the decision to arrest the
students, and because we were not released until two in the
morning, we thought that it was in our best interests not to meet
right then," Williams said.
Representatives from the chancellor’s office said that the
chancellor did not object to the postponement.
The chancellor had set the meeting time after a day-long
occupation of Royce Hall that ended with 85 student arrests.
The students were arrested on the charge of "failure to
disperse," a "low-grade misdemeanor," according to Nancy
Greenstein, UCPD director of communications.
Arrestees were given dates to appear in court 30 days from the
date of their arrest, said Stacy Lee, USAC president-elect.
Police entered Royce Hall at 8:00 p.m. after protesters inside
the building refused to vacate. The protesters were all gathered on
the balcony overlooking the entrance, standing in a circle. Police
then took students one at a time, read them their rights, and
placed them under arrest.
Students were charged and booked inside Royce, where police had
set up a temporary booking station.
Twenty of the arrested students were handcuffed and led out of
Royce, into Los Angeles County sheriff’s office buses before being
released late that night.
As the protesters were led out behind Royce, students gathered
on the top of parking structure five, near the Anderson school, and
chanted, "We are with you!"
The chancellor is out of town until Friday, and was unable to
comment.
The Affirmative Action Coalition has yet to announce dates for
further protests.