The UC Student Association has released a statement opposing the cancellation of this week’s UC Board of Regents meeting, which the UC Office of the President announced Monday because of fears for public safety.
Read the association’s statement below:
The UC Student Association learned this morning that the UC Regents have cancelled this week’s meeting in response to concerns about public safety. UC students are strongly opposed to this decision.
“The decision to cancel this week’s Regents meeting came abruptly and without any consultation with students or other stakeholders. We do understand the concerns about public safety, yet the Regents also have a responsibility to the students and people of California to hold open meetings that allow for public access and participation. Cancelling the meeting is not a solution to any short term issues,” said UC Student Association President Claudia Magana.
UCSA would expect the UC Regents and UC Police Department to have better prepared plans to ensure that Regents meetings can take place, so that students and others can exercise their free speech rights, and that public safety is protected. “It is concerning that the UC Regents and UCPD were not properly prepared for this meeting, given the ‘credible intelligence’ that was gathered. UCPD deals with student demonstrations on a regular basis, and their top priority should be ensuring student’s ability to demonstrate safely. By cancelling this meeting, the UC Regents have done a great disservice to students, and our ability to participate in the governance of our University system,” said Magana.
UCSA is part of the ReFUND Coalition, made up of student groups, labor unions, and other stakeholders, which helped to organize the planned peaceful demonstrations for Wednesday. Along with the other members of the coalition, UCSA calls on the UC Regents to stand with us in advocating for new taxes on the wealthy and big businesses in 2012 and reforming Prop 13. “The UC Regents need to stand with us, not run away. In order to fully fund education, the state needs new revenue, and our UC Regents should support this goal. This is all that students wanted to hear this week from the UC Regents,” said Magana.
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