Below is the letter the Council of University of California Faculty Associations sent on February 12 to the UC Regents and President Drake asking them to urge the San Francisco District Attorney’s office to not pursue criminal charges against those arrested for protesting at the January UC Regents meeting.
Dear President Drake and UC Regents,
The Council of UC Faculty Associations calls on you to urge the San Francisco District Attorney’s office not to pursue criminal charges against the 13 students, alumni, and staff arrested for their protests at the UC Regents meeting on January 25. We also ask that you drop any student conduct charges against the students or disciplinary actions against the staff.
On Thursday, January 25, 13 students, alumni, and staff from UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis, UC Merced, UC Berkeley, and San Francisco State University were arrested at the UC Regents’ meeting in San Francisco while carrying out a peaceful protest. The protestors demanded that the UC Regents divest from military companies enabling and profiting from the Israeli occupation of Palestine, the apartheid system imposed upon Palestinians, and the ongoing genocide in Gaza. These protestors were among numerous students, faculty, alumni, and staff from the University of California system who participated in the Regents meeting’s customary public comment sessions and spoke out on topics including divestment, Opportunity For All, the gap between UC leadership and students’ needs, the potential ban on political statements by departments, and various other items on the Regents’ public agenda.
As scholars, educators, and mentors, we know that critical speech and peaceful protest are valuable tools of a university education and social movements. The students and staff who disrupted the Regents meeting were engaging in the important work of critique for issues in which they believed strongly. Even if some of us do not agree entirely with the specific critique expressed by these colleagues, we are disturbed that this critique is to be punished with criminal charges. In these challenging times, when peaceful pro-Palestinian protest is under attack on college campuses across the country, it is deeply disappointing that the University of California should follow this trend.
Sincerely,
Constance Penley, CUCFA President and Professor of Film and Media Studies UC Santa Barbara
On behalf of the Council of UC Faculty Associations