A reader comments on the above video:
Here's a powerful example of how UC-Davis students harnessed the power of silence to shame their school Chancellor on Saturday night. Powerful stuff.
Xeni Jardin provides more details on the incident, including this report:
A pretty remarkable thing just happened. A press conference, scheduled for 2:00pm between the UC Davis Chancellor and police on campus, did not end at 2:30. Instead, a mass of Occupy Davis students and sympathizers mobilized outside, demanding to have their voice heard. After some initial confusion, UC Chancellor Linda Katehi refused to leave the building, attempting to give the media the impression that the students were somehow holding her hostage. A group of highly organized students formed a large gap for the chancellor to leave. They chanted "we are peaceful" and "just walk home," but nothing changed for several hours. Eventually student representatives convinced the chancellor to leave after telling their fellow students to sit down and lock arms.
Another reader:
I graduated from UC Davis in 2006. Over four years, my average tuition was $5,200. The students who were pepper sprayed pay $13,200 – $150 less than the best private university in the state, Stanford.* They deserve a fucking medal.
Another:
The thing that strikes me in the UC Davis video is the posture of Lieutenant John Pike, the man who directs pepper spray into the faces of those students at point blank range. Pike's visor is up and his manner is completely relaxed – this is not a man who is concerned about a threat of imminent violence against him. He looks like someone spraying a weed with Roundup.
Let's call the pepper spraying incident what it was: punishment. There was no threat of danger to the police. No, those students were punished by the police for refusing to obey. When they tried to protect themselves, the police ensured that they received the full dose of punishment, literally down their throats.
The thing is, punishment is a government act that is controlled by the Constitution. Three separate amendments in the Bill of Rights apply. Under the Fifth Amendment, government punishment cannot be meted out without "due process of law." The Sixth Amendment requires a fair trial before punishment. Under the Eighth Amendment, "cruel and unusual punishments" cannot be employed no matter what kind of "due process" is given. All of these Amendments apply to the Davis police force and Lieutenant John Pike through the Fourteenth Amendment, which applied these duties (and the First Amendment) to the states. This act was not just evil, but a violation of our most sacred Constitutional precepts.
The Davis police website even indicates that the force has a "Professional Standards Unit" that is required to "ensure the department complies with current law, community needs and industry standards." Of course, I don't think I'd get very far with that approach. The name directly above the description of the "Professional Standards Unit" is Lieutenant John Pike.
Another adds:
Apparently they had a "Civility Project" at UC Davis. Chancellor Katehi touted it on her blog last month. (Money quote: "We are a campus known for its civility and our commitment to respect, equality and freedom of expression runs deep.") I couldn't help noticing that she has a contact form on her website. I have made use of it.
*Update from a reader:
ANNUAL tuition at UC Davis: roughly $13,000. Tuition PER QUARTER (students take three per year) at Stanford: $13,000. Public college tuition has risen exponentially in recent years, but your reader's statement is off by a factor of three. If only Stanford were $13,000 a year…
(Illustration from Occupy Lulz via Xeni Jardin)
The Dish 