UC Berkeley Chancellor Birgeneau not happy with the police brutality of last week

[lunatica]

Here is his email to the UC Berkeley community after seeing videos of the beatings.

*******************

Dear Cal Campus Community:

I returned to Berkeley yesterday after a week-long trip to Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai where we successfully advanced some important new partnerships that will benefit our campus.

While away, I remained in intermittent contact with Provost George Breslauer and other members of our leadership team and was kept informed, as much as possible, about the Occupy Cal activities on campus. However, it was only yesterday that I was able to look at a number of the videos that were made of the protests on November 9. These videos are very disturbing. The events of last Wednesday are unworthy of us as a university community. Sadly, they point to the dilemma that we face in trying to prevent encampments and thereby mitigate long-term risks to the health and safety of our entire community.

Most certainly, we cannot condone any excessive use of force against any members of our community. I have asked Professor Jesse Choper, our former Dean of Law, and current Chair of the Police Review Board (PRB) to launch immediately a review of the police actions of last Wednesday and Thursday morning. As is normal process, University Police Chief Mitch Celaya is concurrently undertaking an operational review of last week's events. He has requested that it be conducted by a senior member of the command staff at one of our sister UC campuses. This report will be provided to the PRB. I am confident that Professor Choper will provide a fair and balanced judgment as speedily as possible.

We believe that we can best move forward by granting amnesty from action under the Student Code of Conduct to all Berkeley students who were arrested and cited solely for attempting to block the police in removing the Occupy Cal encampment on Wednesday, November 9. We will do so immediately.

I believe that as a campus community, we can and must join together and focus on our common goals - inducing the state to reinvest in public education, working to repeal Prop. 13, finding a way to reverse Prop. 209, and instituting reforms that will help California regain its status as the door to the American Dream through public higher education. Thanks to the efforts of our students who worked effectively with Assemblyman Cedillo, myself and other members of our campus community, we were able to ensure that the legislature in Sacramento passed AB 130 and AB 131 which Gov. Brown ultimately signed. This example of successful and peaceful activism with students and campus leaders working together can guide us in how we can collaborate to effect real change that will benefit us all. We share the aspirations of the Occupy movement for a better America. I am confident that as a campus community we will find a peaceful and productive way forward.

Robert J. Birgeneau
Chancellor, UC Berkeley

[tblue]

1. That's my alma mater right there!

That is one beautiful letter. He gets it. Such a mensch.

[Rabblevox]

3. He's covering his ass. NOT a mensch, a corporate tool. He has DONE nothing. /nt

[tblue]

14. Oh. Really?

Dang. Okay, I think I get it now.

[EFerrari]

5. He's saying he'll drop charges against students who were beaten with batons.

He's a huge horse's ass.

[Fire Walk With Me]

11. Part of the reason the students are protesting are tuition hikes which will go into senior school

staff's pockets. They are protesting HIM.

[EFerrari]

12. Exactly. n/t

[Rabblevox]

2. Sounds like CYA to me, I'm not buying it. Berkeley Chancellors have a long and ugly history...

of being pro-police, pro-military, and anti-community. I don't know Birgenau, but I know UC Berkeley, and the admin has a consistent history of being evil rat bastards.

I am NOT giving them play because the Chancellor wrote a pretty email. Not given their history (both ancient and recent).

Nope.

[Moravecglobal]

10. University of California Chancellor denies californians admission

. Chancellor Robert J Birgeneau ($450,000 salary) displaces Californians qualified for public university education at Cal. for a $50,600 payment by a foreign student. The need for transparency at UC Berkeley has never been so clear.

UC Berkeley, # 70 Forbes ranking, is not increasing enrollment. Birgeneau accepts $50,600 foreign students at the EXPENSE of displaced qualified instate Californians (If amortization of fixed assets funded by Californians are included in foreign and out of state tuition calculations they would pay more than $100,000+ and would NOT subsidize instate tuition)

UC Regent Chairwoman Lansing and President Yudof both agree to discriminate against Californians for the admission of foreigners. Birgeneau, Yudof, Lansing need to answer to Californians.

Opinions make a difference; email UC Board of Regents [e-mail]

[Uncle Joe]

4. At least one officer if not more should be disciplined or dismissed from duty.

There was no excuse for the abuse.

Thanks for the thread, lunatica.

[EFerrari]

6. Is there a link for this? ETA here it is.

http://bit.ly/uQpf4M

[Downwinder]

7. He could get the videos much faster in Seoul than he can

in Berkeley. Why wait to view them? Must have received a little static in the Orient.

[SoDesuKa]

8. Birgeneau Stands a Good Chance of Being Fired

Birgeneau has to backpedal quickly because he's more easily gotten rid of than Oakland's Mayor Quan. All that has to happen in Birgeneau's case is that he become the focus of student unrest. He's already drawing fire from angry alumni, who can easily withhold financial contributions.

Birgeneau is the guy who brought back big time football, isn't he? That alone is enough of a reason to dislike him. He may be a sweetheart, but he's not my sweetheart.



Berkeley's $2 million football coach

[lunatica]

13. The Coach is the highest paid person at UC Berkeley

UC Athletics department brings in tons of money. But it's not like they spread it around.

[Moravecglobal]

9. Oust University of California Berkeley Chancellor Birgeneau

Chancellor Birgeneau in touch with campus while in Korea and allows UC police violence on Birgeneau's students protesting increases in tuition. Fire Chancellor Birgeneau.
Further UC President Yudof, Cal. Chancellor Birgeneau($450,000 salary) dismissed many much needed cost-cutting options. They did not consider freezing vacant faculty positions, increasing class size, requiring faculty to teach more classes, doubling the time between sabbaticals, cutting & freezing pay & benefits for chancellors & reforming pensions & the health benefits.
They said such faculty reforms “would not be healthy for UC”. Exodus of faculty, administrators? Who can afford them and where would they go?
We agree it is far from the ideal situation, but it is in the best interests of the university system & the state to stop cost increases. UC cannot expect to do business as usual: raising tuition; granting pay raises & huge bonuses during a weak economy that has sapped state revenues & individual Californians’ income.
There is no question the necessary realignments with economic reality are painful. Regent Chairwoman Lansing can bridge the public trust gap with reassurances that salaries & costs reflect California’s ability to pay. The sky above UC will not fall when Chancellor Birgeneau is ousted.

Opinions? Email the UC Board of Regents [e-mail]

[KamaAina]

15. There were Alameda County sheriff's deputies there

the same ones that provided a lot of the firepower at the Port of Oakland blockade on the 2nd.

I would guess that they, not UC campus police, were mostly responsible for the attack.