JTjaden's blog

Editorial: Campuses must avoid overreach on protesters

Published: Wednesday, Apr. 20, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 16A

Universities are supposed to be citadels of free expression. That means that administrators – even those with the best of intentions – need to be extra careful not to squelch activism.

It's disappointing that officials at the the University of California,
Davis, and California State University, Sacramento, seem to have
forgotten that recently.

Understandably, UC Davis wanted to avoid a repeat of the March 2010 demonstration during which protesters threatened to march onto Interstate 80.

But the "Student Activism Team" – several dozen employees who, mostly on university time, have watched campus activists since last fall – goes too far.

The Aggie

Students and representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) held a press conference Tuesday to shed light on the Student Activism Team (SAT) - administrators' efforts to monitor campus action.

Eric Lee, junior political science major, Sarah Augusto, graduate student in sociology and two members from Sacramento County's and Yolo County's ACLUs said the team's covert formation was a breach of trust and an attempt to privatize the university.

"We students find this untenable and hypocritical," Lee said.

Augusto said she found the list of administrators and staff involved in SAT especially disconcerting. SAT members include staff from Student Housing, Financial Aid and resource centers, such as the Cross-Cultural Center and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Center.

"It suggests that the administration is targeting minorities and using staff that students are close with … why use staff members [who work for Student Housing and Financial Aid] with direct power over students, with access to so much information?" Augusto said.

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The Schools for All Campaign

The Schools for All Campaign works to ensure that all children attend schools that are inclusive, respectful, and welcoming -- schools that do not give up on students but rather strive to foster the potential of every child.

In California and throughout the nation, students are being subjected to bias, harassment, and discrimination. The failure to address these experiences is leading to a dangerous trend: Youths stop engaging, misbehave, are disproportionally disciplined, and, ultimately, become so alienated that they choose to leave school or are forced out.

This Week in Civil Liberties

A few themes emerged at the ACLU this week: Women's Health, LGBT rights and the death penalty. We also found a moment or two to speak out against hate speech — in the advertising epicenter of the world — Times Square!

DHS Concludes They Have Authority to Monitor Political Activities of Advocacy Groups

In March 2006, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Protective Service (FPS) issued a “Protective Intelligence Bulletin” from the “Intelligence Branch” of its “Threat Management Division.” The bulletin contained a “Civil Activists and Extremists Action Calendar” that identified dozens of peaceful advocacy groups and provided the details for over 70 demonstrations, almost entirely peace, environmental and social justice rallies and marches. With the exception of a single entry referring to a radio host’s call for “militant, pro-White rallies,” there was not a single item suggesting that criminal activity or violence was expected at any of these events.

Related: The first few pages of Police interrogation of juveniles: an empirical study of policy and practice. Here's an abstract on the study from the DoJ's National Criminal Justice Reference Service

Youth and Miranda rights

Background

In the 45 years since the Supreme Court, in Miranda v. Arizona, required police to warn suspects they were holding about their constitutional rights before questioning could begin, the Court has never said whether that requirement should be tailored differently when the suspect was a minor. The Court came close to answering that question “No” in a 5-4 decision in 2004, Yarborough v. Alvarado, but technically it did not actually do so. Even so, the North Carolina Supreme Court, in a 2009 decision now under review by the Justices, did answer “No,” saying that it found the Yarborough decision to be “persuasive.”

Although the Court has said that a minor’s young age should be a factor for some constitutional purposes — for example, minors cannot be executed for a murder they committed — it had not said how far that special consideration of vulnerability and immaturity is to extend. The case of J.D.B. v. North Carolina is expected to provide an answer, at least for the Miranda warnings equation.

Thursday, March 10, 2011
By Barbara Lindemann

Two conditions are fundamental to equal rights for women: opportunities to earn income and control over reproduction. Women have made major gains in both areas during the past 40 years, despite constant opposition. Once again, these gains are threatened.

Measures before Congress and actions under consideration in the states would reduce jobs and health-care services now available to women. As legislators avoid tackling the issues that led to their current fiscal crises, they propose economic measures that hit women harder than men, and bills that threaten reproductive health care. These short-term budget cuts will only bring greater expense in later years.

Four Places Women’s Reproductive Rights Are Under Attack In America

The current political climate is openly hostile to women's reproductive rights. Even contraception, a fairly neutral subject, is being challenged. Several legislations are threatening our reproductive health and well being. Here are four places in America where women's reproductive rights are under attack:

[...]

Congress: Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act

This past Friday the House of Representatives passed HR 217: The Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act, which will eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood. This measure will cut money for contraceptives, HIV testing, cancer screenings, and reproductive health services. Though this may be an attempt to punish Planned Parenthood for providing abortion services, Planned Parenthood does not actually spend any federal funding on abortion.

Attack on two Sikh men seen as possible hate crime

Police said Saturday that they don't know why someone gunned down two men – frail from heart attacks and advancing years – as they slowly ambled through a quiet Elk Grove neighborhood during their daily afternoon walk.

Surinder Singh, 67, died Friday afternoon on the sidewalk along East Stockton Boulevard near Geneva Pointe Drive. Gurmej Atwal, his 78-year-old friend, was shot twice in the chest. His family said he was in critical but stable condition.

In a statement released late Saturday, Elk Grove Police Chief Robert Lehner called on witnesses to come forward and said, "We have no evidence to indicate there was a hate or bias motivation for this crime; however, the obvious Sikh appearance of the men, including the traditional Dastar headwear and lack of any other apparent motive, increasingly raise that possibility."

Unanimously, Supreme Court Backs Veterans in 2 Cases

By ADAM LIPTAK
Published: March 1, 2011

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court issued two unanimous decisions on Tuesday reflecting solicitude for members of the military.

In one, the court relaxed a filing deadline that had served to deny benefits to disabled veterans. In the other, it made it easier for military personnel to sue private employers for discriminating against them based on hostility to their service.