Stop The Hostile Climate

MARCH 2ND: SECOND PUBLIC HEARING!

2006-02-28T00:58:00.000-08:00

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2nd PUBLIC HEARING to Investigate HOSTILE CLIMATE & the Need
to Increase Underrepresented Minority Students at UC-Berkeley
===============================================
Thursday, March 2nd 6-8PM
2060 Valley Life Sciences Building, UC Berkeley
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CONVENED BY (partial list): Coalition to Defend Affirmative
Action, Integration, and Immigrant Rights and Fight for
Equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN), Associated Students
of the University of California (ASUC), Graduate Assembly,
Asian American Association (AAA), Oscar Wilde House (LGBT-
themed co-op), Global Resistance Network

-- UCB Director of Undergrad Admissions Walter Robinson will attend --

TESTIFY and show your support at the public hearing!

PARTIAL LIST OF WITNESSES:
Eugene Garcia, former dean of UC-Berkeley's Graduate School
of Education and chair of the UC Latino Eligibility Task
Force
Shanta Driver, attorney and national spokesperson for BAMN
Ali Cruz, senior, English and Theater
Phillip Persley, freshman
Gabriela Galicia, freshman
Carla Peterman, graduate student, Environmental Sciences
Ernie Macías, ASUC senator, senior, American Studies
Jane Li, sophomore
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This second public hearing continues the work of last fall's
hearing, at which students, faculty, and community members
will speak out on the increased hostile climate caused by the
drop in underrepresented minority student enrollment. The
November 10, 2005 Public Hearing succeeded at spurring
campus-wide discussion on hostile climate, changed campus
policy to allow the displaced Katrina students to continue
their studies at UC-Berkeley, and prompted an investigation
into the discriminatory actions of administrator Sherman
Boyson. The joint efforts of students, faculty, and staff to
combat the drop in underrepresented minority student
enrollment have resulted in a 19% increase in applications
from underrepresented minority students. We have an important
window of opportunity--admissions decisions are being made
through March 30, and students will decide whether to enroll
through the spring. This 2nd Public Hearing will strengthen
the public record and further buttress efforts to boost
underrepresented minority enrollment.

The end of affirmative action, by closing off
underrepresented minority students from UC-Berkeley, has
profoundly altered campus life. The drop in underrepresented
minority student enrollment has fostered a rise in
discrimination and created an increasingly hostile
environment for underrepresented minority students. Through
isolation, subtle and not-so-subtle comments, and other
actions, black, Latina/o, and Native American students are
repeatedly sent the message that they are not welcome on this
campus. The basic fact of resegregation has inevitably meant
a more hostile climate for Asian and Pacific Islander, Arab
and Muslim, women, and LGBTQ students. The quality of
education for all students has suffered: frank discussion of
racism, sexism, homophobia, and other social problems,
especially within the traditional academic departments, is
discouraged and stifled. The entire campus is more
segregated, and there is less intermingling among ethnic
groups. The false argument of "meritocracy" and the
assumption that grades and test scores are the ultimate
measure of a student's capacity and talent have fostered a
campus climate that is more atomized, grade-driven, grueling,
and fundamentally unsatisfying.

Students will speak on their experiences with discrimination
and hostile climate at this hearing. They will be supported
by expert testimony from professors. All testimony will be
compiled in a report to Chancellor Birgeneau and the UC
Regents, as well as resolutions brought by various student
organizations and those present at the hearing itself.

Come testify on your experiences and show support to students
who are taking a stand to tell the truth about the impact
that the ban on affirmative action has had at Cal. Together,
we can reverse this trend, increase underrepresented minority
student enrollment, and fight for an academic environment
that is truly welcoming and rewarding to all.

Press Conference Report

2005-12-13T21:13:00.000-08:00

Thanks go out to Alex for the nice pics and video of the press conference at UC Berkeley yesterday. The event was great! We got good press and a lot of support. The woman in the video is Tamara Johnson from Southern U expressing her pain and disbelief at the lack of compassion and disregard for her right to a decent education away from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Here is the full report from Alex's post on Indymedia.

You can view the video in glorious Quicktime here. It's 11mb so let it load before playing it. Get the Quicktime plugin. Thanks...

PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY!

2005-12-12T07:33:00.000-08:00

DISPLACED KATRINA STUDENTS FEAR NEW REFUGEE CRISIS

* UC-Berkeley students demand refuge for New Orleans students, removal of racist and sexist UCB advisor

PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY AT 4:00 PM (Monday, Dec. 12)

UC-Berkeley students (including students victimized by UCB advisor Sherman Boyson) speak out and hand in thousands of petitions

Location: California Hall, UC-Berkeley (north of Sather Gate, near Bancroft + Telegraph)

===========================

It is Christmas time, yet unlike the family from the Biblical tale, college students from Xavier and other New Orleans universities do not know if they will find shelter come next semester. Students at UC Berkeley and Bay Area high schools are uniting to submit more than one thousand petition signatures calling upon Chancellor Birgeneau to allow the displaced Katrina students to stay.

UC-Berkeley and other colleges are telling students displaced by Hurricane Katrina that they must evacuate -- again -- and find a new place to continue their studies. In the meantime, many of their home universities have limited capacity -- Xavier University president Norman Francis told USA Today, "If they all came back, (we) might not be able to serve them all." (October 26, 2005)

"Other colleges and universities, including UCLA and St. Mary's College, are meeting the needs of the Katrina students and the will of the campus student body by allowing their Katrina students to stay. Berkeley ought to do the same and lead on this issue," said Cassie Caravelo, UC Berkeley senior and BAMN organizer.

A report released last week by the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution said that New Orleans remains in "a state of emergency." Housing and transportation are available only to residents with sufficient means, and the federal government has still not committed to building a levee capable of withstanding a Category 5 hurricane. (December 7 New Orleans Times-Picayune, December 10 Los Angeles Times)

"The re-settlement is as bungled and as callous toward human welfare as the evacuation was," said Yvette Felarca, ASUC senator and organizer with the sponsoring group BAMN, the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, and Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary. "UC Berkeley ought to do better than FEMA and other agencies that failed to meet the needs of the people of New Orleans and ensure that these students can finish their studies here and be fully integrated into our campus community."

"This university ought to be ashamed of itself, treating us like refugees," Tamara Johnson told the Berkeley Daily Planet December 9. "They want us to evacuate twice."

===========================

Students will also submit petitions demanding the removal of UC-Berkeley Social Welfare undergraduate advisor Sherman Boyson. Over the course of several weeks, Mr. Boyson physically threatened Erika Williams, a black sophomore, called her the "b---- word and a "n-----." He also physically assaulted Helen Kim, an Asian sophomore at cal, calling her "b----." Representatives from the Oakland Black Caucus and Oakland's well-established Allen Temple Baptist Church will also express their support for Boyson's removal.

"Recent bouts of similar old-fashioned style racist attacks have been surfacing in the Bay Area, such as the racist videos produced by Stanford students and by San Francisco police officers. In lieu of this kind of hostile climate, it is especially important for UC Berkeley to send a clear and definitive message that such gross expressions of racism and sexism will not be tolerated," said Ronald Cruz, BAMN organizer. "We demand accountability now. Boyson should be removed from his position of power over students." Erika Williams and Helen Kim have since obtained a temporary restraining order against Sherman Boyson.

Other women students have come forward since recounting sexist mistreatment at the hands of Boyson.

Berkely Daily Planet writes about Katrina Students and Erika Williams

2005-12-10T10:23:00.000-08:00

Thanks go out to the Berkeley Daily Planet for putting pen to paper and publishing a couple of articles on the current problems at UC Berkeley. If you didn't see already, go pick up a copy of the Planet's weekend editiion. I've linked the articles below so it's just a click away:

Article on the plight of the Katrina students at UC Berkeley

Article on UC Berkeley Advisor Sherman Boyson's racist and sexist attacks on Erika Williams

A HUGE UPDATE!!! The Testimony Is In!

2005-12-08T15:11:00.000-08:00

It's finally here! The transcripts from the public testimony given at the hearing on November 10th 2005 is now in our hands and up on the site for your information. Many people have written in their support for both the Katrina students and for Erika Williams' fight to remove Sherman Boyson from his position in UC Berkeley. We thank you all and wish for your continued support as the campaign moves forward into the new year.

The petitions to both campaigns have been added to the sidebar for easy access, so if you haven't done so already, go ahead and sign online here and now.
OK, now for the testimony. The following list will be in the order speakers were taken at the actual hearing. Just another reminder, if anyone is interested in ordering a DVD copy of the full public hearing on hostile climate please contact us at 21stcenturyjustice@gmail.com.

Dmitri Garcia

"Yet, when I would raise my hand, when hot topics would be raised in class, topics of race, topics of immigration, I wasn't called on. They would call other people, and I would say, 'Well, at least someone is being heard.' I didn't make a fuss about it, I didn't want to be labeled a problem student."

Ron Williams

"Listening to what was said so far today reminds me that we all know and experience these injustices and racism and discrimination and excesses here at the University, but also, in America and society as a whole."

Ashley Thomas

"But I sit there every meeting and have this fear of becoming a stereotype of this angry black woman."

Dante Green

"Our experience on this campus has been very tough, because we don't want to get attached to people or teachers that we would usually get attached to. And we have a lot of concerns about what is in store for us in the future."

Laotian American Students Representatives Club

"Our numbers and our experiences are so different from the typical model minority, which is a terrible stereotype as it is. We don't come from over-educated backgrounds. We came from refugees of the Vietnam War that brought us here, poor and uneducated. Those are the backgrounds that brought us here."

Jocelyn Smith

"Everybody knows what “the look” is. “The look” is, “Where on earth are you coming from? Why are you sitting at our table? What are you?” It’s sick. It’s like you feel like you’re an alien from another planet. You feel like you’re from France, or something, like you don't speak English, like you’re not a human being."

Martha Hernandez

"The first semester here at Cal, my best friend and I were taking a college writing course. One day she went to her class and asked her teacher for help. The teacher told her that she would not pass her class because she was too proud of being Mexican, and too proud of speaking Spanish."

Derwyn Johnson

"Walking around on this campus, it’s kind of sad that you can go one day and count the number of black and Latino students, in one day, and the number doesn't change. You can do it again and again, and keep coming up with the same low number."

!!!CENSORED!!! Letter to the Daily Cal...

2005-11-27T18:47:00.000-08:00

Last week the Daily Cal's editorial board made an ill-advised decision not to print a letter by Yvette Felarca, the president of BAMN's Berkeley chapter, on the racist treatment of Erika Williams and the alarming increase in hostile climate on the UC Berkeley campus in our community. Not the best decision made by a college newspaper that prides itself on "journalistic integrity" to wantonly crush free speech. Especially, when the voices of underrepresented students who are, daily, being shown that UC Berkeley is not the place for them to thrive, are the ones being crushed.

Here's the editorial in full:

To the Daily Californian:

A male administrator (Sherman Boyson of the UCB School of
Social Welfare) threatens to "kick the shit out of" a female
student (Erika Williams, UCB sophomore). He calls her
"b---h". Over two weeks later the same administrator shoves
the student's roommate (Helen Kim, UCB sophomore) and calls
her a "b---h" and repeatedly calls the first student, who is
black, a "n----r," specifically "just a n----r." Days later
this administrator tries to trip the student on a crowded
bus.

Over a period of weeks the administrator engages in a
campaign of explicit racist and sexist harassment and
intimidation, including threats and even legal assault.

Threatening to "kick the shit out of" a woman student,
calling women students "b---h", shoving a woman student,
trying to trip a woman student on a crowded bus, calling a
black student "just a n----r" -- if a college administration
allows its members to remain in their position after doing
such things, it sends an unmistakable message that racist and
sexist harassment and abuse will be tolerated. It sends the
message that deep-seated animosity, disrespect, threats of
violence and intimidation toward women and minority students
are OK.

This is simply not acceptable -- not at Cal, not at any
school in the country.

This whole set of events is shocking; it is a scandal. It is
also a litmus test of how the UCB administration responds to
incidents of racist and sexist abuse. If the UCB
administration takes only token action in the face of slurs,
intimidation and threats of violence against minority and
women students by its own administrators, what is its
attitude toward improving the hostile environment on the
campus? If this behavior is acceptable by a UCB
administrator, what type of behavior is off limits? Because
Erika Williams and Helen Kim came forward, several other
women have now made clear that they were treated to
pronounced sexist mistreatment by Boyson.

Blaming the victim is the traditional bigoted response to the
brave people who speak out about racist and or sexist abuse
-- the Daily Cal should not facilitate or participate in that
despicable tradition. This is not a "moment of anger" as one
of the Daily Cal letters pretended -- it occurred over a
period of weeks. An apology rings false when it comes only
after the administrator has discovered that the two women he
has slurred, threatened, harassed and legally assaulted are
students at the University that employs him.

The UCB administration must make clear that this behavior is
not acceptable. Sherman Boyson must be removed from his
position.

Yvette Felarca
Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, and
Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means
Necessary (BAMN)
ASUC senator, Defend Affirmative Action Party (DAAP)

Take a stand now. Help the campaign by reading and signing the petition online and writing letters to the Daily Californian expressing your anger at the embarassing display of power on their part to silence the voice of dissent, the voice of fightback and the voice of the movement. Send your letters here and flood their emails.

UPDATE: New Testimony and more...

2005-11-21T08:12:00.000-08:00

Since the beginning of this campaign we have had many comments on the state of racism and sexism on campuses here and elsewhere. I want to thank again all the people who have signed petitions and continue to support the revealing of the truth and combat against every day. I also wanted to put up a letter that Erika Williams sent to James Midgley, the Dean of the School of Social Welfare in order to clarify the events that sparked this new campus debate on race, racism, and the soul-crushing effects of Proposition 209 on black and other underrepresented students today.

The letter can be seen here.

Also new is another statement from a young Latina woman who did not have a chance to speak at our initial forum on Nov. 10th. We do have plans to organize another public hearing at UC Berkeley later in the school year. If you would like to hold a public hearing and expose the truth of racism on your campus, please contact us at this address.

The new testimonial is right here.

One more thing, if you are a student, leader of a student/community group, or professor, and would like a DVD copy of the public hearing or the affirmative action debate several weeks earlier, then please email us here or here with your contact info and mailing address. A donation of $5 per DVD is preferable, but not required. Thank you.

Testimony transcripts from the hearing, Pt. 2

2005-11-20T11:24:00.000-08:00

I just posted up a letter we recieved as testimony for our public hearing. This student was brave enough to come forward and present her story as a graduate student here at UC Berkeley. Here is her story.

UC Regents Get a Harsh Lesson from Students...

2005-11-18T08:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's rally at the Regents' meeting, the first time they held a full, public meeting at UC Berkeley since the ban on affirmative action, was an amazing experience. The day solidified statewide dissent among students and community and moved forward another step the growing movement for full equal, quality education for all students. Hundreds of students from around the state came out demanding the end to racist harassment of students on this campus, stopping the fee hikes that would affect a disproportionate amount of underrepresented minority students' abilities to attend a college like UC Berkeley or UCLA, and a number of other issues.

Here is a link to an article on Indybay.org regarding the events of the day. There's a Quicktime video of the students speaking out at the School of Social Welfare. Thanks to Alex for the pictures and words.

Thank Yous, Shout Outs! We Need Your Support!

2005-11-18T07:23:00.000-08:00

First of all, for their positive presence and support during the press conference last week on the campaign to remove Sherman Boyson from the administration of the UCB School of Social Welfare and stop racist and sexist harassment, BAMN would like to thank the UC Berkeley Chapter of the NAACP's Youth and College Division.

We would also like to thank the UCB Asian Political Association for signing onto the campaign to protect the rights of the student victims of Hurricane Katrina to stay at UC Berkeley as long as they need to in order to finish their education.

And a final shout out to all of the students who've signed petitions, come to rallies, forums, and press conferences. Your continued support and organizing efforts help to build this movement stronger and wider everyday. We can defeat these attacks and move forward with all of our collective strength. Thank you, a million times, thank you.

On a similar note, any student or community organizations that would like to show their support for the Katrina students and/or fight back against racism and sexism in the UC system can sign on to the campaign by contacting Ronald Cruz here.

Again, the petitions, including downloadable .pdf versions to get signed yourself, can be found here and here.

The Sherman Boyson removal petition is also online at petitionsite.com.

Support the Hurricane Katrina Students

2005-11-15T08:52:00.000-08:00

Last week's hearing revealed many stories and incidents of racism on the UC Berkeley campus. The ignorant culprits comprised a broad range of people from the average student to professors to administrators in high positions of authority. One of those many stories started with a tragedy: one of the largest natural disasters to hit the U.S. in years, Hurricane Katrina.

One of the students from Xavier University in New Orleans spoke about his and other students' treatment by administrators as they are nearing the end of the fall semester here at UC Berkeley. The administrations of UC Berkeley and Xavier University both see fit to ignore the realities of the devastation of the hurricane and send students back into essentially a wasteland, deemed uninhabitable for at least another "six months" according to New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin.

This is an outrage that needs to be stopped. We can help them stay at this prestigious university for another semester at least until all of the schools in the damaged region are up and fully functioning with full staff. This should be a choice for the 77 students who are here, finding their way,afraid to start connecting with their fellow students and newfound community for fear of being ripped away again. This is their choice and we need to support them in that fight.

A petition is being circulated around UC Berkeley campus now. If you would like to support this cause, please sign here and forward this post and/or link to your friends and family. You can also download a copy of the petition to get signatures and send them back to the address listed on the bottom of the printed page.

A humble thank you for your support.

p.s. Shout out to Lee for slaving so hard to get these links up. Love ya!

Press Conference Today! : Remove Sherman Boyson!

2005-11-15T00:13:00.000-08:00

Below is the text of the petition currently being circulated. An online link will be up shortly. Please spread the word.

In September and October 2005, Sherman Boyson, the undergraduate advisor of UC-Berkeley’s School of Social Welfare, employed racist and sexist harassment and intimidation against sophomore Erika William, calling her a “b—” and a “n—“ repeatedly.

Such gross racism and sexism poisons the campus community and prevents minority and women students from participating equally in campus life. No one who practices such blatant discrimination should be in a position to exercise power over students’ educational careers, particularly those of minority and women students.

So long as a person who practices gross racism and discrimination is on the university’s payroll and protected by this administration, UC-Berkeley is defending racism and sending a “Not Welcome” message to underrepresented minority students at Cal and across this state.

If Chancellor Robert Birgeneau does not remove Boyson, then his stated commitments to address hostile climate and increase underrepresented minority student enrollment do not have any real meaning.

The press conference will be held at 4pm in front of California Hall (the Chancellor's office). Be there!

Update: The Daily Californian has published a letter by Ronald Cruz urging the removal of Sherman Boyson in this morning's paper. Read it here.

11.10.05 Public Hearing a Success!

2005-11-14T23:04:00.000-08:00

Last week, we organized the first public hearing on hostile climate at UC Berkeley's Heller Lounge. The event was an intense, emotional, and revealing look into life as an underrepresented minority student on a UC campus after the end of affirmative action. We had more people who wanted to testify than time to let them and everyone wanted this forum to continue. The consensus within the crowd assembled was one of a need to stand up and fight. We talked through resolutions and plans of action (this blog being one of them!) and voted resoundingly to continue to move forward and build the movement to fight against these attacks.

Click the above photos to read more.

If you would like a DVD copy of the hearing, you can contact Ronald Cruz.

Hostile Climate

2005-11-13T21:15:00.000-08:00

The term, "hostile environment" or "hostile climate", has been used in sexual harassment lawsuits to describe an atmosphere at a workplace that prevents a woman from doing her job or normal everyday duties. Evidence presented in such cases can generally be along the lines of sexually suggestive material publicly and prominently displayed on the job site, unwanted sexual comments and advances by coworkers and superiors, as well as more extreme occurences such as rape.

BAMN, the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, and Immigrants' Rights, and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary, along with the ASUC-Berkeley Task Force on Hostile Climate and other supporting campus organizations are are organizing to tell the truth about the devastating effects of the Proposition 209's ban on affirmative action programs in the UC system. The tremendous drop in underrepresented minority student enrollment in the UC schools, specifically at UC Berkeley and UCLA, has resegregated the largest public university system in the country and created a hostile climate on its campuses that must be fought to overcome.

This blog was created in order to compile information, evidence, and personal stories of racist, sexist, and other discriminatory treatment of students and the community of the UC system. We hope that through this online presence and the many public hearings that we have planned that we can start to peel back the layers of lies and deception that the proponents of Proposition 209 and other anti-affirmative action leaders have buried us under and reveal the truth and the reality of racism, overt and covert, on our campuses and in our communities.

If you would like to submit your experience with racial discrimination on campus or off, please email the webmaster right here.