Editorial: Tuesday’s debacle gets nothing done

At Justin Fong’s last meeting as student regent, the
former UCLA student who worked tirelessly to rescind the
university’s anti-affirmative action policies reflected on
the day the UC Board of Regents approved him as its lone student
member. He remembered being asked by another regent what he had
learned after being arrested for disrupting a previous regents
meeting. Fong’s answer: that getting arrested didn’t
get the job done.

Ңbull;Ӣbull;Ӣbull;

Tuesday’s regent meeting turned ugly after students,
demanding to speak with regents as they took a vote, were
confronted with a forceful response by university police. Police
used batons to push them back, but students linked arms, refusing
to budge. After a few minutes of struggle, students left in tears,
some bruised and scratched. The university police reported that
officers endured minor injuries as well.

And sadly, for a university in financial crisis and a student
body facing massive fee increases, almost nothing was
accomplished.

The underlying frustration of the protesting students is
understandable. Last year, their university placed its budget
problems squarely on their shoulders and is threatening to do so
again. Moreover, the board responsible for raising fees is terribly
inaccessible, made up largely of corporate tycoons who just
don’t care much about the concerns of UC students.

Even after Tuesday’s events, university officials seemed
unconcerned. John Moores, chairman of the Board of Regents, laughed
the situation off, saying police gently pushed students away
““ hardly accurate. Chancellor Albert Carnesale, who
watched the episode unfold, said he would not discuss the incident,
since it was regental matter.

But as frustrating as the situation was, the students who
clashed with police Tuesday did more than disrupt a meeting ““
they also disrupted a chance to be heard. Before the confrontation,
Matt Kaczmarek, chair of the UC Students Association, delivered a
well-received presentation to the board. As police met protesters
inside, students were talking with new UC President Robert Dynes
outside. Then, everything seemed to deteriorate.

Ңbull;Ӣbull;Ӣbull;

As a regent, Justin Fong said students who protest would just as
much like to talk over a cup of tea with university officials. But
as it is, only a few students out of nearly 200,000 are lucky
enough to be taken seriously.

The responsibility falls largely on university officials to take
students more seriously. Attitudes like Moores’ are just
insulting. But the students are responsible, too. They must do
everything possible ““ from writing letters to participating
in legitimate protest ““ before they result to tactics
they know will only be disruptive.