SAN FRANCISCO “”mdash; The University of California published a formal report on university protest policies today.
The report’s recommendations include larger roles for administrators in managing protests on campuses, minimized use of force, and increased communication between administrators, police and protesters.
UC President Mark Yudof commissioned a task force in November 2011, following clashes between protesters and police at UC Berkeley and UC Davis during the Occupy movement, which included police use of batons and pepper spray, respectively.
UC officials first released a draft of the Edley Robinson report ““ named after its co-authors, UC Berkeley School of Law Dean Christopher Edley Jr. and UC General Counsel Charles Robinson ““ in May, and gathered feedback from the general public before compiling the final version.
Edley and Robinson’s task force received 84 total comments from the public, said UC spokeswoman Lynn Tierney.
While the report has not changed significantly from its earlier draft, it now specifies that the task force’s recommendations apply to protests involving civil disobedience rather than protests in general, she said.
Some of the report’s recommendations ““ although it is unclear which ones at this time ““ will be implemented systemwide, said Tierney, who will coordinate these efforts to change protest policies based on the report’s suggestions.
Policies about the use of police force will likely be implemented in the same manner across the system, Tierney said.
The UC Office of the President will work with each campus police department and administration over the next six months to determine which policies should be adopted on all campuses, according to Tierney.
Additionally, a senior official will be appointed on each UC campus to oversee the implementation of the report’s suggestions, Tierney said.
Some campuses, such as UC Davis, have already appointed chief administrators to take charge of protest policy changes and initiated changes of their own starting several months ago, she added.
UCLA officials have yet to determine their next steps in response to the report, as they received the report today, said UCLA spokesman Steve Ritea.
Tierney anticipates that the implementation of policies will vary by campus since they cater to different local needs.
Individual campuses and their respective police departments will have discretion on how they enact most of the report’s recommendation. This means that specific methods will differ from campus to campus, according to Tierney.
The UC will require each campus to report back to the university headquarters in six months on their progress regarding the new policies.
Campus leaders have a year to complete all the mandated changes, added Tierney.
Compiled by Emily Suh, Bruin senior staff.