Chancellor Katehi addresses "general assembly" on the Quad.

By Dateline staff and UC Office of the President

Before the pepper-spraying incident, protesters at UC Davis also had been angry about the UC Berkeley Police Department’s use of batons against protesters on that campus earlier this month.

During the weekend, UC President Mark G. Yudof lumped the incidents together, declaring in a statement that he intended to do “everything in my power as president of this university to protect the rights of our students, faculty and staff to engage in nonviolent protest.”

Today (Nov. 21), in a teleconference with all 10 chancellors, he asserted that they must do everything possible to protect the rights of students, faculty and staff to peaceful protest.

He reiterated that he was appalled by the images of students being doused with pepper spray at UC Davis and jabbed with batons at UC Berkeley. “We cannot let this happen again,” he said.

Yudof told the chancellors that he had directed senior staff at the Office of the President to move immediately to:

• Examine recent incidents involving use of force on UC campuses.
• Organize a thorough examination of police procedures, protocols and training.
• Put in place a structure to assemble recommendations for longer-term practices to ensure the safety of members of the UC community engaged in peaceful protest.

While expressing his confidence in the leadership of UC chancellors, he said he was directing senior staff to work with all of the campus police chiefs to bring together policies governing use of force at each of the locations, as well as requirements for the presence of senior administrators and observers in certain situations.

Further details about plans for the systemwide reviews of specific incidents of use of force and current protocols are expected to be shared with the public later this week.

Regents chair weighs in

Board of Regents Chair Sherry Lansing issues a video statement in which she says she is “shocked and appalled” by the images of police actions during recent student protests at UC Berkeley and UC Davis. She also voices her support for President Yudof’s review of systemwide procedures — a review meant to ensure that students can engage in peaceful protests.