The CPH University Senate calls for an independent investigation into the protest response

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• Thadeus Greenson
• A speaker addresses the Cal Poly Humboldt University Senate.

The University Senate met at the Arcata Community Center because the Cal Poly Humboldt campus remained under police surveillance despite a strict lockdown. The University Senate voted overwhelmingly this afternoon to pass resolutions calling on the Humboldt County District Attorney to drop all charges against students and faculty involved in the pro-Palestinian protests that led to it that the administration closed the campus on April 27.

In a separate resolution, also passed overwhelmingly at the meeting, the Senate called for an independent investigation into the “events and related decision-making processes that followed the student protest actions on April 22, 2024.”

Both resolutions were approved at a standing-room-only special session where the Senate spent more than two hours hearing input from dozens of students, faculty and staff, and a handful of community members about the protests and the administration’s response to them, which have deeply divided the campus . As voices broke with emotion, rose and faltered, senators sat mostly in silence, listening to the first organized forum that allowed campus leadership to hear directly from the community they govern since hundreds on April 30 of police arrived on campus and arrested 32 people – including 13 students and a professor – while clearing protests that had occupied the heart of the campus for more than a week.

No charges have been filed against those arrested by the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office because it does not yet have police reports documenting the charges against them. Meanwhile, 72 students have been served with interim suspensions, although campus spokespeople have repeatedly refused to answer questions from the Journal detailing how the students were identified or what specific policies they violated.

Around 4:30 p.m. on April 22, demonstrators broke into Siemens Hall, which houses a handful of classrooms and administrative offices, including the president’s. Protesters stuck to their plan to stage a “soft occupation” of the building to draw attention to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the devastation it is wreaking on Palestinian civilians, which protesters say is attempted genocide. Protest organizers said they wanted classes and core administrative functions to continue while they held the spot.

However, a press release from the university today said vandalism had already begun inside the building by the time police arrived, after which protesters refused police requests to leave and began barricading entrances and exits .

Police wearing riot gear and carrying shields and batons later tried to force their way into the building as protesters pushed back, leading to a brief but violent exchange in which some officers were slightly injured and at least one protester suffered a head wound. The police then resigned and the building was occupied for a week. Protesters set up tents around Siemens Hall and used trash containers, tables and other furniture to create large barriers that blocked access to the heart of the campus.

During the occupation and its aftermath, President Tom Jackson Jr. faced harsh criticism, including a vote of no confidence from the Senate and a letter of resignation signed by more than 400 university staff and faculty members. Both the vote and the letter are due to his handling of the situation. Many said his early decision to call law enforcement violated the campus tradition of allowing peaceful protest and dramatically escalated the situation.

Jackson did not attend today’s meeting of the Senate, of which he is a member, and instead sent his chief of staff, Mark Johnson, as his deputy. When asked why Jackson was not present, Johnson said it was due to “legitimate concerns for his personal safety.”

At the start of the meeting, Johnson said there needs to be a “reckoning” on campus of the decisions of everyone involved in the protests and their aftermath, but added: “There is still some investigative work that needs to be done before that reckoning can happen.”

To that end, the Senate voted – with 23 votes in favor, no votes against and one abstention – to call for an independent investigation into the protests and the university’s response, giving the investigator the power to interview all those involved, and access to ” “All relevant documents” are granted.”

Senator Stephanie Burkhalter, a professor in the Department of Politics, said an unbiased account of what happened was crucial to reconciling different views on it.

“They’re trying to shape the narrative of what happened,” she said of campus administration, “and we really need an independent party to shape the narrative.”

Senator James Graham, a professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Management, said he was deeply concerned about whether the campus would be able to open in the fall unless steps were taken “to find out what happened and make sure we do it.” can prevent.” again.”

The vote urging the district attorney not to prosecute the student and faculty protesters was also crucial: 21 senators voted in favor, one voted against and four abstained.

Senator Tim Miller, representing the university library, said there was no consensus on campus that the protesters should have been arrested in the first place, noting that similar occupations at Sonoma and Sacramento state universities were resolved peacefully and without police.

As the meeting opened to the public, a steady stream of students, faculty and staff addressed the Senate, generally expressing concerns about the treatment of protesters and the hard shutdown and resulting police presence that disrupted campus life , moving classes online and causing widespread unrest among students and their families.

A group of students read a proposed draft of a Senate resolution calling on the university and the California State University system to divest from interests that benefit from the Israel-Hamas war and call for a ceasefire, the Senate President Jim Woglom, a professor at the University of California Department of Arts and Film, promised that the Senate Executive Committee would do so in the coming days.

Speakers’ comments ranged from the history of Palestine and the Israel-Hamas conflict and the humanitarian crisis on the ground in Gaza to Jackson and his government’s handling of the protests, which speakers almost universally viewed with sadness and disapproval, as well the president’s described the demonstrators as “criminals” who were not there for “noble reasons.”

“It’s still like a police state,” Meredith Oram, a counselor, said of the campus. “If I try to go to my office, I risk being arrested.”

Dan Barton, chair of the wildlife department, said the university had failed its students and threatened them with arrest if they exercised their rights to assemble, protest and speak.

“This is some dystopian shit,” he said, apologizing for not being able to think of “better words.” He continued, “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe in the mission of a public university, and right now we’re not fulfilling that mission.”

Another speaker accused the university of spending more each year on its police force than on its cultural centers and Title IX office combined, reflecting its values, and later criticized the university for policing black, brown and indigenous students she’s trying so hard to recruit to campus.

“When they called the police that night, they weren’t protecting us, they were protecting property,” she said.

Environmental science lecturer Loren Cannon expressed gratitude that it was the student protests that pushed people on campus to stop and be “horrified” by what is happening in Gaza, “what is happening to the people.” .

“We need to think about what is happening and what responsibility we have for it,” Cannon said, adding that gratitude over the government’s response turned to deep disappointment.

Cannon concluded by noting that Jackson was not present, saying he had never been present, and imploring the administrators in attendance to return the speakers’ messages to the president and ask him to respond in writing.

“He can’t just keep hiding,” Cannon said.

Lisa Tremain, head of the English department, said she had not planned to speak but felt compelled to. She feels like the university is creating a media narrative that criminalizes students and robs them of their voice.

She then addressed the students in attendance: “The reason the campus is still closed is because they are afraid of you.”

The meeting lasted 30 minutes longer than planned and ended with the announcement that a youth basketball league needed the community center floor for practice. As Johnson left the building, a group of students stood nearby and chanted, “Mark Johnson, please resign.”