Student organizations and union groups from across the state have sent an open letter to Cal State University Chancellor Charles B. Reed, claiming that the violent clash between protesters and police at last Wednesday’s Board of Trustees meeting was caused by “leadership failure” and “police aggression.”
The letter also repeats Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s call on the board to reconsider a 9 percent tuition increase at a special Dec. 5 meeting, in wake of the meeting’s relocation.
But the CSU contends that the board relocated the meeting under provisions of California’s open meeting law and, on Friday, Reed said the board would not reconsider the hike.
Under the Bagley-Keene Act, when a public meeting is “willfully interrupted,” state officials may order the meeting room cleared and continue in session but the law also mandates press representatives and news media be allowed to attend.
During the violent clash between protesters and police Wednesday, many members of the media complained that they had not been notified of the reconvened meeting.
“Fundamentally, none of this would have happened if you had given students and community members an opportunity to speak,” the letter said of the events.
The board gave protesters a total of 30 minutes, or three minutes per speaker, for public comment but many felt that was not enough and continued to chant well beyond the allotted time.
After the chanting did not stop, the board adjourned the meeting and ordered police to move protesters out of the Dumke Auditorium.
“When you ordered the police to clear the room (an action you failed to take in person),” the letter said of the events, “they engaged in unwarranted, aggressive crowd control tactics.”
The letter continued, “The police pushed protesters from behind as they attempted to exit the building. Police gave contradictory and confusing orders to the crowd.”
Protesters were eventually moved out of the Chancellor’s Office, where they regrouped with others and attempted to gain re-entry.
“The police pepper-sprayed students, workers and community members without warning,” the letter contended. “And the police ignored efforts by our police liaisons to make contact and productively de-escalate the situation.”
As police pepper-sprayed and struck protesters with batons, three protesters were arrested after tumbling onto police and gaining access into the building.
The letter contends that police pulled these protesters in.
When police arrested the three protesters, they were able to partially close a glass entrance door leading into the Chancellor’s Office but, as the door was being closed, it shattered, injuring two police officers.
It is unclear whether protesters, police, or both caused the door to shatter.
As this happened near the entrance of the Chancellor’s Office, the board met and approved, 9-6, a $498 tuition increase for the CSU’s next academic year.
Since 2009, the CSU has approved six separate tuition increases, nearly doubling the 23-campus system’s cost of attendance.
In fall 2008, students paid $3,048 on top of mandatory campus fees. If the 9 percent hike is not bought out by the state, students will pay $5,970 on top of mandatory campus fees.
The average CSU student may pay as much as $7,017 next fall, and CSULB students may pay as much as $6,738
California Faculty Association President Lillian Taiz, Cal State Long Beach College of Liberal Arts Student Council President James Suazo and CSULB Political Science Graduate Student Association President and Occupy CSULB organizer Donnie Bessom, as well as a number of other student organization and union leaders, signed the letter.
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