Tuesday, May 26, 1998
Carnesale’s police state threatens student voices
DEMONSTRATION: UCPD, LAPD’s force can’t solve problems for
chancellor
By Chad Williams
UCLA has historically been the national focal point for
progressive student activism. UCLA students have been at the
forefront of demanding political, social and educational equality
for oppressed people throughout the world. This legacy continues in
1998. Over the past two weeks, UCLA has experienced an
unprecedented explosion in student activism and outrage. The anger
of thousands of students on this campus, culminating in the arrest
of 85 students on May 19, has been sparked by the words and actions
of a chancellor who has demonstrated a frightening insensitivity
and disregard for students’ rights and concerns.
While Chancellor Albert Carnesale has shown no concrete
commitment to diversity and to communities of color, he has shown a
clear commitment to suppressing the voice and collective rights of
students. As he has faced growing opposition by students because of
his refusal to take a stand on Proposition 209 and the concerns of
communities of color, repressive actions by the chancellor and the
police have escalated.
I am just one of several students who has been a victim of the
chancellor’s recent use of police force and brutality. At the
chancellor’s inauguration on May 15, students were greeted with
what can only be described as a military response. I was one of a
handful of students with tickets who were allowed inside of the
actual ceremony. We were followed by the police as soon as we
entered the building and led to our seats in the balcony. Because
of the miniscule number of student tickets that were made
available, it was our intention to disrupt the ceremony by allowing
the hundreds of students denied access inside. Before this
occurred, however, we were forcibly removed from Royce Hall and
given no explanation as to why.
There was absolutely no reason why the other students and I
should have been violently forced out of the inauguration ceremony.
It is our individual and human right to voice dissent and face the
consequences of those actions. This country was founded on protest
and the right of the individual to express their political beliefs
and opinions. By removing us from the inauguration and subsequently
not allowing any students who had tickets back inside is a
violation of our rights as students, citizens of this country and
as human beings.
A similar scene took place May 19. As we peacefully occupied
Royce Hall, a police presence of over 100 officers, including a
riot squad from the Los Angeles Police Department, armed with
shotguns and tear-gas, surrounded the building. At the same time
hazardous materials trucks moved into position behind Royce,
clearly preparing for the use of tear-gas on the crowd. Openly
wielding and loading their weapons in front of the growing number
of students gathered outside, the police made it clear that they
were prepared to use maximum force if necessary to control us.
After the demonstrators inside of Royce, myself among them, were
arrested and processed, we were handcuffed in shackles and chained
together. It amazed me that Chancellor Carnesale would rather
arrest students engaged in a peaceful protest than take a stand
against an unjust law.
I major in history and African-American studies. I have a strong
knowledge of my history and the history of African people in this
country. I have not forgotten, and will not allow others to forget,
the legacy of racism and oppression this country has demonstrated
towards and inflicted upon African people. I will not forget that
my ancestors were once slaves and were forced to wear chains and
shackles, just as I was last Tuesday. By Chancellor Carnesale
allowing this to occur, he has shown his respect for the African
community and our history. Actions truly speak louder than
words.
Chancellor Carnesale has transformed the UCLA campus into a
police state. This fact must be made clear. On May 19, he gave the
chief-of-police absolute authority to make arrests whenever he felt
necessary, completely ignoring the fact that the students were
engaged in a peaceful protest in a public building. In the past
when students have occupied buildings on campus, they have been
given time to fully make their statement. Several years ago during
demonstrations for UCLA divestment from South Africa,
then-Chancellor Charles Young allowed students to occupy Murphy
Hall and the Law School for several days. Chancellor Carnesale has
established a dangerous precedent for suppressing student protest
and our freedom of expression at the drop of a hat. As we met with
Chancellor Carnesale prior to the arrests, he was flanked by as
many as 10 police officers. Did he really think that we would
kidnap him and hold him hostage as the police indicated to us?
Chancellor Carnesale has illustrated that he cannot control this
campus, so he has given the police an unheard of amount of power to
do so. The events of the past two weeks plainly demonstrate
this.
The ASU has demanded that the chancellor take a stand. It is his
responsibility as chancellor to act as a leader, not a politician.
If he is in favor of Proposition 209, as all of his recent
statements and actions indicate, he must make this clear. If he is
not, he must denounce Proposition 209, just as Chancellor Young
did, as an unjust law that adversely impacts the ability of people
of color to obtain an education. We must make Chancellor Carnesale
accountable to us, the students, and not a group of UC Regents that
have pledged to uphold the racist agenda of Pete Wilson and the
conservative element of this state.
Martin Luther King, Jr., a true leader, stated that, "One who
breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a
willingness to accept the penalty." The ASU’s demand of defiance of
Proposition 209 was not made for symbolic reasons, but because we
see that UCLA is in a state of crisis. We demand non-compliance
because we are not narrow-minded individuals. We fully understand
the larger implications of this law on the future of our community
and the educational opportunities of our youth. If Chancellor
Carnesale is opposed to Proposition 209 and has any sense of
morality, he must defy this unjust law and be ready to face the
consequences. As long as he remains passive and continues to
promote and institutionalize the suppression of the student voice
with police assault, he must be prepared to respond to constant
campus and student unrest. We are ready, and more than willing.