It was not a friendly crowd that faced Chancellor Linda Katehi on Monday afternoon, but they clearly wanted to hear what the chancellor had to say, even as many chanted for her to resign. The crowd listened politely, quickly shouting down those who wished to catcall or heckle the chancellor.
“I’m here to apologize,” Chancellor Linda Katehi said, “I feel horrible for what happened on Friday.”
“When you tell me you don’t want to be students at a university like we had on Friday,” she said, “I’m just telling you, I don’t want to be the chancellor of the university we had on Friday.”
“Our university needs to be better than it is and it needs all of the community to come together to do that,” she added.
“I know you don’t believe everything that I say here today, and you don’t have to. It is my responsibility to earn your trust,” the chancellor said.
According to the University News release, “She spoke briefly – respecting the request that all speakers limit their remarks to about a minute.”
But she was not any speaker, she was the speaker. The speaker that everyone had come out to to hear, to listen to her address the students and say something. And she didn’t.
Some will argue this was not the venue. But it had to be the moment when she made it clear that this wasn’t what she was about.
The problem is, she already tipped her hand as to what she was about. She did it in the moments before everyone in this community was engaged in this issue – they saw atrocity, she saw a threat to public safety and saw the police response as necessary but unfortunate.
The chancellor had her moment, but instead the people who stood out the most on this day were the students, who very maturely and articulately told their accounts of the horrors of what happened.
It was Professor Nathan Brown who captured the chancellor’s sudden contrition, telling her as she waited to speak, “What we see in the chancellor’s statements are the same techniques of backpedaling and obfuscation that are used by the powers that be every time there is an act of police violence in this country.”
“They are efforts to defer and displace criticism,” he added, as well, to “defer and displace calls for her resignation. Those calls now number in the tens of thousands.”
“There is no place on our campus for administrators who order the use of force against peaceful protestors,” he said.
And there was nothing in Chancellor Katehi’s words that responded to that.
What we have heard in the last few days are about a chancellor who has not been around, has not stepped forward and led.
The amazing thing that we now know, thanks to the Reverend Kristin Stoneking, is from that letter, the police had already had a major miscommunication and foul up at Mrak Hall, as police officers had arrived in riot gear for a peaceful demonstration.
Assistant Vice Chancellor Griselda Castro told Reverend Stoneking “The police were not supposed to be in riot gear and the administration was also not happy about their response,” but she also defended the administration, calling them “overworked” and saying that they were “doing the best they can.”
Perhaps worse yet, the reverend was also told, “The Chancellor is unavailable due to her triple-booked schedule to move forward her agenda of globalization and internationalization of the university.”
This is, in fact, the growing criticism of the chancellor, that she is rarely at the university and rarely available to act as the chief administrator. The word is that she is out on the road attempting to make a name for herself and set herself up as the successor to President Yudof when he retires down the road.
What this incident seems to suggest is that no one took control of the police, and without leadership, the police overreacted to a fundamentally non-threatening situation.
So far the police chief and the two perpetrators have been placed on administrative leave and there is a task force, and the matter has been sent to the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office for review. But we all know these are all techniques of letting the situation calm down.
Make no mistake, Chancellor Katehi is on life support.
I rarely watch the news, but what I saw last night on MSNBC is important, to place this into context. UC Davis and what happened is the talk of the country.
On Lawrence O’Donnell’s show there were images of the pepper spray video that we first saw on Saturday. He interviewed on the air those who were pepper sprayed, as UC Davis Student Kase Wheatley, and then Michael Moore came on to talk about UC Davis.
Now I know Michael Moore is a polarizing figure, but if you focus on Michael Moore himself and even to some extent what he says, you miss a point here.
The point is that Michael Moore is talking about UC Davis, which has now become a symbol for what is wrong with this nation.
Michael Moore asked, “When are the police going to arrest the real criminals?” referring to all of those whose actions led to the collapse of the US economy.
The imagery of Lt. Pike spraying pepper on the protesters has been morphed into a symbol unto itself. It is a symbol that has galvanized the public in ways that other images could not.
Far from nipping this in the bud, as one commenter on the Vanguard suggested, it has thrown gasoline on the fire – over 5,000 people at the event yesterday, millions watching UC Davis transformed into a symbol.
This was captured very well by Michael Moore, who said last night, “The Police in Davis, California, doing this to non-violent citizens – if you were writing the script for this, you would actually write this in.”
“If you were trying to build the protest movement, you would say, how do we get the police to behave in this matter because when they do, this thing is just going to explode across this country.”
“The students at UC Davis now have solidarity movements in support of them all across the country,” he continued.
Michael Moore noted that this was just a movement of 11 students, “Just 11, this wasn’t a demonstration of 30,000, this wasn’t a large encampment of 200 tents in Portland. This was just 11 students in a not very well known UC campus, and the images of this have resonated around the world… This will be an iconic moment in the Occupy Wall Street movement which clearly now has shifted to an even larger movement on campuses.”
“People will remember years from now that UC Davis was the moment when Occupy Wall Street went to the college campuses,” he said.
I understand that he may be wrong. But that is what the talk was on cable television last night across the country. UC Davis has become a symbol of a movement.
Kase Wheatley was asked by Laurence O’Donnell whether the apology was sufficient, and he responded: “No, not at all. They are empty words. To be honest I think the Chancellor is very similar to a robot, I think people feed her things to say and then she regurgitates them.”
“I don’t accept her apologies. I don’t want her apology, I want a resignation,” he said.
Another student on MSNBC suggested that the chancellor can show she is sorry by resigning and joining them.
Mr. Wheatley’s words raise an interesting point as to just who is advising Ms. Katehi, who is generally seen as she was on Monday with her husband flanking her.
Her initial response was ill-considered. Her subsequent statements are not enough to overcome those hardships.
We have to question the wisdom of speaking to the students if she were only intending to speak for two minutes and offer platitudes without substance.
This entire thing has been undoubtedly mishandled. It is very clear it is not all Ms. Katehi’s fault, but I have to keep going back to that moment last week at Mrak Hall. The UC Administration knew there was a mess up. They admitted it. Sure, they put the blame on the police, but it was there and they knew it.
At the same time, the excuse was that they were “overworked” and the chancellor “triple-booked.” Two days later, this happened. To me, that is on the chancellor. And based on that, and everything else that is happened, she needs to be dismissed by the Regents or she needs to step down.
Everything else that she says on this matter is, as Nathan Brown put it, “backpedaling and obfuscation.”
The Vanguard therefore joins the call of those asking for the chancellor to resign.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
She has taken responsibility, she has apologized, she has called off the dogs, what else do you want? Well she, Yudof or the Regents could announce what her penance will be. A hollow acceptance of responsibility is standard procedure for embattled leaders in addition to “backpedaling and obfuscation.”
Without an explanation of the consequences of her acceptance of responsibility her leadership will be too impaired to succeed. Of course how will her leadership be judged a success?
It has gone without notice but she voiced her real concern on UCTV of completing her goal of raising $1 billion for the university thus exposing that her masters are the 1% and those above her that also serve the elite. But I can’t see how she can continue to run UC Davis without the money drying up. When the money dries up she is out. The only way forward for her is public acceptance of some disciplinary action short of resignation. Lacking that she is toast.
I reccommend reading something more balanced: thegradient.info
You hit on the exact problem – how is she going to meet her fundraising quota if her university and by extension her leadership has become a symbol of all the problems facing higher ed and this nation.
I’d say, give her a little credit for what she’s done since she first jumped to conclusions (based on reports from her police chief). Therefore, “Katehi’s Visit Does More Harm Than Good” is not accurate, even for the commentary you provide. Consider what you would have been saying if she had not show up.[quote]“Her subsequent statements are not enough to overcome those hardships.We have to question the wisdom of speaking to the students if she were only intending to speak for two minutes and offer platitudes without substance.”[/quote] What would you have had her say at this point instead?[quote]“Now I know Michael Moore is a polarizing figure, but if you focus on Michael Moore himself and even to some extent what he says, you miss a point here. The point is that Michael Moore is talking about UC Davis, which has now become a symbol for what is wrong with this nation.”[/quote]Well, maybe. That’s your point anyway. But, it’s a tad overstated.[quote]“The Vanguard therefore joins the call of those asking for the chancellor to resign.”[/quote]What are your reasons for her resignation being the best solution? Please be specific, rather that relying on the fiery rhetoric of Michael Moore, Kase Wheatley, Lawrence O’Donnell, Nathan Brown and Kristin Stoneking, Their words are as empty, predictable and meaningless as Chancellor Katehi’s.
“I know you don’t believe everything that I say here today, and you don’t have to. It is my responsibility to earn your trust,” the chancellor said.
Even Katehi recognizes her leadership has been compromised but the only way to rebuild her credibility is to accept consequences for her failure. Short of doing so the only path that remains is one that leads to her eventual resignation. There is no other path to redemption she must face some discipline, failure to do so can only end with a much larger consequence.
These bigoted attacks against women in authority must end. For shame David!
I felt that showing up and speaking at all required a lot of courage on her part. It was better that she was showed up as she had promised. I wish she had more to say and clearly speaking to over 6,500 (last head count from the balloon picture) angry people is not something she knew how to deal with. She apologized and voiced her responsibility and regret for what happened. However it is clear that we have lost our leadership. Mrak Hall continues to be in lock down with limited access for the public, while the rest of the campus is open for business.
Mr. Toad:
[quote]It has gone without notice but she voiced her real concern on UCTV of completing her goal of raising $1 billion for the university thus exposing that her masters are the 1% and those above her that also serve the elite. But I can’t see how she can continue to run UC Davis without the money drying up. When the money dries up she is out. The only way forward for her is public acceptance of some disciplinary action short of resignation. Lacking that she is toast.[/quote]
What kind of logic is that? If she raises the money then she is automatically a slave to elite masters? Good lord. Are you kidding me? I guess then, for the sake of all of our universities, let them all not raise funds and go broke for fear of the ruling elite…
Ok – this is a blog focusing on local issues. I get that. But, is there anything else going on these days except the pepper spray incident?
I agree with Murphy that this is an interesting take on the situation: [url]http://thegradient.info/[/url]
I think that she would be equally criticized if she hadn’t shown up, that had she said anything other than what she said it would have been unacceptable, and that her presence and short comments were appropriate to the situation and the forum.
When your goal is to raise $1 billion you don’t get there with UNICEF coin boxes. You get there by sucking up to the rich.
The goal of raising $1 billion is to reduce the dependence on state funding, which has been cut steadily and severely over the last few years. As for raising it from “the rich”, the old dictum about robbing banks applies: that’s where the money is.
[quote]Perhaps worse yet, the reverend was also told, “The Chancellor is unavailable due to her triple-booked schedule to move forward her agenda of globalization and internationalization of the university.”
This is, in fact, the growing criticism of the chancellor, that she is rarely at the university and rarely available to act as the chief administrator. [/quote]
For me, the triple booked comment is particularly unfortunate, bc it speaks directly to the issue of privatization of a public university, as if there were no controversy in regard to that issue. I am frankly more concerned about that aspect of things than the issue of the Katehi’s comments yesterday. She apologized for the pepper spraying incident, took responsibility for it. What more was expected in front of a clearly hostile audience and within the 1 minute time frame allotted to her?
[quote]Ok – this is a blog focusing on local issues. I get that. But, is there anything else going on these days except the pepper spray incident?[/quote]
Well, there is still the ongoing Topete trial…
There are also the union picketers picketing Nugget (at least they were yesterday) because the nugget is non union.
[img]Michael Moore asked, “When are the police going to arrest the real criminals?” referring to all of those whose actions led to the collapse of the US economy.[/img]
So he wants to arrest Frank, Dodd and Obama, and their facilitators? Certainly they all contributed to the collapse of the economy, along with their Republican colleagues Bush and Delay.
Well, perhaps Corzine will be arrested soon. That would be a good start. (For those of you who don’t know who that is, Corzine is the former Democrat governor of New Jersey that led a recently collapsed investment firm that apparently embezzled hundreds of millions of dollars of customer funds.)
Prof. Brown: “What we see in the chancellor’s statements are the same techniques of backpedaling and obfuscation…”
Chancellor Katehi: “I know you don’t believe everything that I say here today, and you don’t have to.”
DMG: “there was nothing in Chancellor Katehi’s words that responded to that.”
Maybe Chanellor Katehi’s statement above is related to the sentiments of Prof. Brown.
Oh, and the picketers on the Dave Pelz bike overpass with the “Shame on you Mori Seiki” claiming they are bad for Davis even though they are building a factory that will employ ~150 people.
dg,
“Well, there is still the ongoing Topete trial…”
Topete was sentenced to death by the jury.
One other way for her would be to fight against further tuition increases.
[quote]Topete was sentenced to death by the jury. [/quote]
Oh, I am well aware of that. However, the trial is not over until formal sentencing on January 12th.
[i]”Michael Moore asked, “When are the police going to arrest the real criminals?” referring to all of those whose actions led to the collapse of the US economy.”[/i]
I rarely agree with Michael Moore. Ever since I met him in San Francisco in the late 1980s when he was working for Mother Jones–a guy I worked with who grew up in Flint, MI introduced us–I thought Moore was a two-bit, low-intellect communist. However, in this case I must agree. We need to arrest Barney Frank ([url]http://www.forbes.com/2009/02/13/housing-bubble-subprime-opinions-contributors_0216_peter_wallison_edward_pinto.html[/url]) for his actions which ‘led to the collapse of the US economy.’
Mr. Toad: “[i]One other way for her would be to fight against further tuition increases.”[/i]
Sure. Where would you suggest the money come from, then, that the state is cutting to the UC system? I agree the tuition increases are onerous, but I don’t know of any easy solutions to that problem. I do agree it would be good for the system chancellors to go to a regents’ meeting and express their concerns about these problems.
“Oh, and the picketers on the Dave Pelz bike overpass with the “Shame on you Mori Seiki” claiming they are bad for Davis even though they are building a factory that will employ ~150 people.”
Dgrundler, that’s what I don’t get. The big bad corporations that they want to villainize are where many of these college Occupiers will one day be asking for a job. Or then again maybe they all plan to work for the government?
“I rarely agree with Michael Moore. Ever since I met him in San Francisco in the late 1980s when he was working for Mother Jones–a guy I worked with who grew up in Flint, MI introduced us–I thought Moore was a two-bit, low-intellect communist. However, in this case I must agree. We need to arrest Barney Frank for his actions which ‘led to the collapse of the US economy.'”
Totally agree Rich, if these Occupiers are for real and that’s one of their causes why aren’t they setting their sites on him?
RICH: [i]”I met him in San Francisco in the late 1980s when he was working for Mother Jones.”[/i]
Correction: It was in 1986 when we met, not “the late 1980s.” My friend Dennis, who had known Moore for most of his childhood, knew that I was ardently anti-communist (as well as anti-Nazi and anti-Jihadi and anti any sort of totalitarian ideology), so he thought it would be a kick to bring together me and a guy like Moore, who called himself back then “a Marxist.” But nothing came of my meeting Moore. I don’t remember anything he said to me or I said to him. We met at a dinner party thrown by another friend of ours. I do remember the meal: it was extremely good Fillipino food.
EMR: For me, the triple booked comment is particularly unfortunate, bc it speaks directly to the issue of privatization of a public university, as if there were no controversy in regard to that issue. I am frankly more concerned about that aspect of things than the issue of the Katehi’s comments yesterday. She apologized for the pepper spraying incident, took responsibility for it. What more was expected in front of a clearly hostile audience and within the 1 minute time frame allotted to her?”
Elaine, were you there? I was and altho the assembly leader once stated 1 minute, no one kept to that, or few and I am sure the chancellor could have had more time. As for hostile crowd, yes, not friendly but very restrained and pretty respectful considering the issues. I read in a SF paper tho that she was hassled leaving which was unfortunate. I did not see that.
Again from my standpoint her leadership has been in question from the start and has not gotten better. She may be making millions for UCD but that should not be the only ruler of measure.
Re: Mori Seiki:
According to Davis Wiki ([url]http://daviswiki.org/Mori_Seiki[/url]), that banner protest is from the carpenter’s union of Sacramento, due to the fact that the Mori Seiki plant is being built by competitive labor, not union labor.
As an aside … I would imagine that the people in the construction trades, right now, have a very high rate of unemployment. For those in unions, it probably exceedds 50%. As such, they have plenty of time to drive over to Davis from Sacramento to kvetch about who Mori Seiki’s subcontractors are hiring to build their plant. If big buildings were being erected or new schools or surface water projects were under construction, those union carpenters wouldn’t care too much about a small plant like Mori Seiki. But because construction in general is so down in the dumper and union construction is likely even worse off than competitive construction, the syndicates think now is a good time to blame someone who is hiring, but not hiring them.
“Sure. Where would you suggest the money come from, then, that the state is cutting to the UC system?”
From the salaries of those at the top. From having fewer administrators. From an oil severance tax. From sales taxes on services. From a split roll on property taxes. From a top state tax rate of 11%. From increased vehicle license fees.
[quote]Again from my standpoint her leadership has been in question from the start and has not gotten better. She may be making millions for UCD but that should not be the only ruler of measure.[/quote]
I too question her leadership, but more so on the issue of privatization of the university than on a single mishandled protest. What I don’t know is if she is taking her marching orders from on high or not as to the issue of privatization…
Because I wasn’t at the event, I can only react to how it was covered by conventional and social media. My reaction to yesterdays event is that Katehi did just about what she needed to do to rectify her initial tone-deaf response to the pepper-spraying. She’s clearly not a comfortable public speaker the way someone like Obama, or most other successful political candidates often are.
After apologizing, I think she dissuaded some from thinking she should resign. She will never make everyone happy.
The problem I think I’m seeing is that the message of the student protest is being subsumed too much in reacting to the pepper-spraying. This would be a really good time for the Occupy UCD to clarify why they are protesting. The best I can glean is that their cause is against the steadily steepening costs of higher education. Right now it’s getting hard to tell the difference in cost between private and public education. That would be a worthwhile thing to communicate to the public, and to focus against Sacramento.
UC’s budget shortfall for 2011 was just about $1 billion.
[url]http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/25880[/url]
I’m fine with some of your suggested tax increases, but as you’ve probably noted the legislature won’t pass them.
Yes but there seems to be a vacuum of leadership. Many of the Regents are among the richest people in the state and yet their only answer is to raise tuition. Where is the moral outrage of the leadership in demanding better financing from the state? How many of them come from no new taxes parts of the state? To suggest that they are powerless abdicates the responsibility they accepted by joining the Regents.
I expect the fiery rhetoric* will dissipate when each of Chancellor Linda Katehi’s critics review her most recent comments with a more compassionate perspective. She appears thoroughly regretful and remorseful about the consequence of her actions (or lack of action if you will), and should be allowed to repair the damage. Isn’t it time to “stop beating the girl!?!”
_______
*A typical example: “I don’t accept her apologies. I don’t want her apology, I want a resignation,” Kxxx Wxxxxxxx said.
Hometown Haiku
U.C. Davis famous for
Bakke and pepper
Intolerance over all
@ Mr. Toad: [url]http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regbios/[/url]
An interesting crowd. I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of them agree with you.
Here’s a short analysis that summarizes the problem: [url]http://www.nbcbayarea.com/blogs/prop-zero/UC-Regents-Meeting-Protesters-133861588.html[/url]
wdf1: [i]”The problem I think I’m seeing is that the message of the student protest is being subsumed too much in reacting to the pepper-spraying. This would be a really good time for the Occupy UCD to clarify why they are protesting. The best I can glean is that their cause is against the steadily steepening costs of higher education. Right now it’s getting hard to tell the difference in cost between private and public education. That would be a worthwhile thing to communicate to the public, and to focus against Sacramento.”[/i]
I think this is an excellent point. This is the problem in general with the occupy movement… and frankly much of the generation involved in the protests. They are aimlessly angry and passively aggressive. From their message or lack of message, they demonstrate a consistent general tendency for avoidance of taking charge; avoidance for taking responsibility; avoidance for getting involved at the front-end influence and decision point. It is just all back-end complaining and demands… hostile agitation because they feel something is wrong and they want someone to fix it for them.
There are specific issues that justify their dissatisfaction: Hyper-inflation of college costs is certainly one. Another is the lack of employment opportunities. However, IMO, the reason these kids are all over the place in their rants and demands are that they are basically resisting their forced move to adulthood. They are complaining about not being cared for. They want what their parents got… but more… and with less work. They have their tattoos, piercings, iPads, iPhones, Driods, Hi-speed Wifi, and daily Starbucks addiction, and way too much time on their hands because their basic needs are provided by their parents or their nanny government. They are lost… without purpose… without the self-confidence and skills required for taking care of themselves.
We are witnessing another of a long list of costs for all the massive mistakes of the baby boomers. They teed it up with decades of greed and overspending combined with a message to their kids that they would not have to struggle in life. That message was a lie because the structure for it was built on unsustainable debt. Now the debt is due; yet the kids have no experience for what it takes to survive on their own and build a life from scratch.
The baby boomers have compounded the problem by doubling-down electing politicians to help them continue to deny their responsibility for the mess. Feeling good has been the primary pursuit of the children of the greatest generation… and so why are we surprised when they reject political leaders that force introspection. Baby boomers being told they have been wrong or have misbehaved because it is a real downer. Better to elect pseudo-leaders that are skilled at deflecting blame and stirring up class warfare.
The positive aspect I see in the occupy movement is that it might actually be the crucible for many of these kids to break away and move to adulthood. This may be what they need to begin to solve their individual and collective life-puzzle; and to begin to work cooperatively to take charge and clean up the mess caused by their chronically-life-confused parents. Before that starts to happen, I expect things will have to get much worse. For example, when living in a tent is not a choice, but a necessity.
There will be no further annual contributions by my family to the fund drive, UNTIL THE OFFICERS INVOLVED ARE FIRED.
Only money will motivate the administration IMHO. Hit them where it hurts.
I encourage other UCD alumni to withhold donations until the firings happen.
This is the chance for the Chancellor to REALLY stand up and preserve her legacy. If she does not she will be remembered as a tool of the 1%.
The whole world is watching Chancellor !!!
“Better to elect pseudo-leaders that are skilled at deflecting blame and stirring up class warfare.”
Right Jeff, you can put most of this on the instigator divider-in-chief.
He doesn’t care what harm he’s doing to this country as long as he gets re-elected.
Wow, Jeff, all this time I thought it was related to this: [img]http://davismerchants.org/vanguard/education.jpg[/img]
Guess I should have studied psych in college instead of plant science.
Don, did you read this part of my post:
[quote]“There are specific issues that justify their dissatisfaction: Hyper-inflation of college costs is certainly one.”[/quote]
I agree that this is a valid issue for the students. I would protest with them on this if they were focused on just this and not stuck parroting the irrational class warfare complaints from the Democrats in office.
Here is an interesting study of attitudes of different generations: [url]http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2010/02/24/millennials-confident-connected-open-to-change/[/url]
Jeff: [i] “I would protest with them on this if they were focused on just this…” [/i]
Lack of focus does seem to be a common problem with grass-roots movements.
“If she raises the money then she is automatically a slave to elite masters? Good lord. Are you kidding me? I guess then, for the sake of all of our universities, let them all not raise funds and go broke for fear of the ruling elite…”
Not one penny of the money she’s raising is going to help the students. Not one penny of it will go to undergraduate scholarships, or to reduce student fees, or to hire more teaching faculty. It is NOT to help compensate for state funding cuts. The money will go to research, to benefit the same large corporate donors who are providing this funding. It’s about enriching the university on the backs of faculty and students, and turning UC into the “University of Corporations”.
[quote]Not one penny of the money she’s raising is going to help the students. Not one penny of it will go to undergraduate scholarships, or to reduce student fees, or to hire more teaching faculty. It is NOT to help compensate for state funding cuts. The money will go to research, to benefit the same large corporate donors who are providing this funding. It’s about enriching the university on the backs of faculty and students, and turning UC into the “University of Corporations”.[/quote]
Source?
justoutsidedavis: [i]”This is the chance for the Chancellor to REALLY stand up and preserve her legacy. If she does not she will be remembered as a tool of the 1%”[/i]
According to IRS data, from 1992 to 2008, 73% of the 400 richest taxpayers were in that category for only a single year and only one-tenth of 1% of them were in the group for the entire 17-year run. Meanwhile, roughly 80 percent of American millionaires are the first generation in their families to be rich. In other words, the top 1% is a mathematical palace that many people visit, but where few reside for long.
But… the top 1% is a funny thing. If you go t rid of all the 1 percenters tomorrow, a new top 1% would take its place. [b]”There will always be a top 1 percent!”[/b]
First, applaud the liberal left for selecting a Marxist-style campaign slogan that is perpetual. However, seeking a real solution, the only decision is who do you want to be the top 1%: those that earned their wealth producing value in a free-market system – or elite political technocrats benefiting from crony capitalism and kept in power by populist-favored income redistribution?
Selecting the former means that all are free to pursue the allusive and temporary visit to 1%-land.
Selecting the latter means that only those politically connected can get there exploiting the hard work of others.
Boone: the 1% is simply the percent of the population. As long as there is a population, there will always be fractions of populations, and heck, even ratios too.
The current argument has to do with the large amount of wealth in the top 1%. Not that there is such a concept as 1%.
“Down with percentages!” “And fractions!”
civil discourse: The main point is that there will always be a wealthiest 1% and the other 99%. The other point is that most of the 1% were at one point in the 99% group, and within 20 year, 90% of those that made the top 1% fall out of it.
Classism in this country is irrational because of income mobility.
It is kind of funny when you think about it… all those kids screaming that they are in the 99% are demanding more redistribution of the 1%’s wealth… they are just taxing their future as they work their way to higher income brackets. But, this is what they learned from their parents… kicking the bill down the road.
This graph says just about everything you need to know why higher education costs so much more today than it did 25-30 years ago:
http://www.lao.ca.gov/reports/2010/edu/educ_prisons/web-images/SB_const amend_fmt.jpeg
Yes, the California Teachers Association shares some of the blame. Yes, other unions have made all public services more expensive. Yes, stupid, wasteful projects like high speed rail have hurt us. But the heart of the crisis in funding higher education falls on the CCPOA and its ‘get tough on crime’ policies, which doubled the cost of prisons as a share of the budget.
[img]http://www.lao.ca.gov/reports/2010/edu/educ_prisons/web-images/SB_const amend_fmt.jpeg
[/img]
Income mobility is more theoretical than real, if it even still exists at all:
[url]http://davismerchants.org/vanguard/EMPAmericanDreamReport.pdf[/url]
Rich’s chart:
[img]http://davismerchants.org/vanguard/SB_const amend_fmt.jpeg[/img]
So – let out all the non-violent drug crime prisoners, reduce the size of corrections and spend the money on education… so that the public employee unions can siphon more pay and benefits and UCD can build more ego shrines. Problem solved.
This part was fine….
[i]So – let out all the non-violent drug crime prisoners, reduce the size of corrections and spend the money on education[/i]
Quick, what percentage of UC employees is unionized?
For those that are, here are the lavish contracts that were recently finalized.
[url]http://health.universityofcalifornia.edu/2011/11/08/uc-unions-reach-accores-amid-tough-economic-climate/[/url]
Works for me, Jeff .
This is interesting:
“The University of California announced today (July 13) that it has reached agreement with the Federated University Police Officers Association on a new contract for UC’s 249 police officers.
Mindful of the economic challenges facing UC, the parties agreed to extend the current contract with a few changes:
The agreement will be effective from July 1, 2011 to Sept. 30, 2012, and will continue year to year unless UC or the police union give written notice within 60 calendar days immediately before Sept. 30, 2012 or any anniversary that follows.
Starting July 1, 2011, police officers who have been at the top steps for at least one year will receive a monthly payment of $100 for 15 months. The payment is temporary and will not affect salary. Officers who are currently at a top step and move up a step in the pay scale due to longevity will stop receiving the monthly payment.
Police officers will pay 2012 health premium rates starting in January 2012.
Police officers will make contributions to the UC Retirement Plan at the same level as other UC employees.
The agreement does not include new wage increases. Police officers will continue to progress through the steps in the pay scale based on years of service and eligibility, as outlined under the current contract.
Contract talks concluded quickly due to the collaborative approach and good will that both sides brought to the negotiations, UC officials said.”
[url]http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/25920[/url]
Yeah, some people begrudge employees decent wages and would make education a luxury only the elect can afford . Some folks, who played by the rules and got the fuzzy lollipop stick have decided not to take it quietly . Some kids whose student loans will amount to more than my first house cost figure they’re paying the fare, they ought to be heard . Instead of seeking solutions to the problems, too many people respond with labels like bums and slackers. Others cry out for more suffering and jail time. This is how many of you have responded to this cry from your children and neighbors .
On topic, I do not believe for a moment that Katehi has one iota of remorse over the pepper spray incident . I think she is P.O.ed about the wrinkle in her career .
Every time I see a comparison of Education costs vs. Correctional costs, I cringe. The two are completely unrelated. When looking at the Department of Corrections budget, one should look at the total costs for implementing the budget vs. the total cost of not implementing the budget. That is to say, it may cost x to incarcerate these prisoners; however, if you cut x out of the budget, other costs will most assuredly increase. The extent of those increases may be more than x.
If you say we should take x away from the department of corrections and give it to the department of education, the total realized cost to taxpayers will increase.
dgrundler: [i]If you say we should take x away from the department of corrections and give it to the department of education, the total realized cost to taxpayers will increase.[/i]
What do you say to criticism that the state of Texas has roughly the same number of prisoners but runs on a fraction (I remember hearing 1/3) of California’s corrections budget?
Something I have not seen in any of these threads is the role of John Meyer. Supposedly, the police dept. reports to him, not directly to the Chancellor. What has been his role in directing the recent actions of the UCD PD, and why have we not heard more from him in this respect? I would assume he would have to approve whatever actions were taken before they were presented to the Chancellor for approval. Anyone know anything about this?
Mr.Toad
11/22/11 – 11:43 AM
…
Hometown Haiku
U.C. Davis famous for
Bakke and pepper
Intolerance over all
Here’s another one:
U.C. Davis activists
Looking for trouble
Pepper sprayed now see double
Cute but not a haiku Rusty. Haiku has a 757 syllable pattern.
wdf1:
[quote]What do you say to criticism that the state of Texas has roughly the same number of prisoners but runs on a fraction (I remember hearing 1/3) of California’s corrections budget?[/quote]
I would say that we need to look into why corrections cost so much in the state. That is a discussion that doesn’t involve the department of education.
“Cute but not a haiku Rusty. Haiku has a 757 syllable pattern.”
Toad, count again.
Not all students agree with the Occupiers:
Davis Enterprise
“As ASUCD Vice President Bree Rombi read the resolution, several students gathered east of the speakers’ podium and silently held up handmade posters in support of Katehi and the UCD Police Department — an act that later led to tense debates among small clusters of students.
“Stop Ka-hatin’ on Katehi,” one poster said. “Occupy elsewhere,” said another.
“We feel that Katehi shouldn’t be blamed for what happened. We think the cops acted completely rationally,” freshman Curtis Turley said.
Added sophomore Adam Govani: “When you break the law, you have to accept the consequences.”
[quote]“It was Professor Nathan Brown who captured the chancellor’s sudden contrition…’There is no place on our campus for administrators who order the use of force against peaceful protestors’, he said (as he publicly humiliated her and discounted her comments [u]before[/u] she’d had her turn to comment).”[/quote]Who is this guy who you claim had some special insight about the “chancellor’s sudden contrition”? It didn’t take long to find out what he’s all about: [quote]“The administration, as a managerial class for whom the ideal university is a massive corporation in imperialist partnership with other massive corporations and banks, will never accede to our demands for self-management, greater student and community participation in university governance, and better working conditions….
Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi is working feverishly to control the media narrative about Friday’s police attack on protesters. She tried to hold a press conference yesterday, but we shut it down with our voices and bodies. Our demand is COPS OFF CAMPUS. Period.”
(And from an April 2011 piece aimed at humiliating UC President Yudof.) ‘It’s time to dump the zombie corpse of the UC administration. Faculty, students, and workers call for self-governance. The university belongs to those who use it!’
{ [url]http://bicyclebarricade.wordpress.com[/url] }[/quote] SODA, I always respect your observations, but I wonder if you were close enough to hear the extremely hostile crowd appreciation of Professor Brown’s stinging characterization of Linda Katehi?[quote]{ [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmD6XIOp2g4 [/url]}[/quote]This guy’s rhetoric, tactics and techniques remind me so much of Abbie Hoffman’s, I’d suggest university authorities look back to President Kennedy’s words from 1962:[quote]“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”[/quote]
Folks, the reality is that UCD and the surrounding area, is now under mob rule — “headed” by the English Department, currently one of the more useless units on campus.
[quote]So far the police chief and the two perpetrators have been placed on administrative leave [/quote]
Alleged?
SM [quote]Topete was sentenced to death by the jury. [/quote]
True, but the judge has to make an independent determination for the record and either concur with jury or not…
This was good. The walk of shame idea was powerful in my opinion. How impressive is it that these kids can use social media to coordinate all this cooperative behavior?
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8775ZmNGFY8[/url]
JB: [i]This was good. The walk of shame idea was powerful in my opinion.[/i]
I agree. I think it was the finest act of the students. Very original and effective, as far as my experience goes.
The Chancellor’s walk reflected good judgment on the part of demonstrators as well as courage on her part. The gang could have just as well booed, hooted, sworn, spit, tossed shoes or eggs, otherwise been disruptive, She could hidden behind riot-geared cop masses or snuck out a back route. Their actions belied any claims they were an out of control mob. Her actions belied claims that she cowered in terror. I give them both style points for what they each choose to do, resulting is a really cool video document.