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Friday, June 16, 2017

My Letter to UCI Chancellor Re: SJP

In the wake of the latest disruption of a pro-Israel event by Students for Justice in Palestine, 
I have added my own letter to UC Irvine Chancellor Howard Gillman as his staff investigates the 
incident. In this letter, I call for Chancellor Gillman to effectively implement the UC Regents' 
Statement of Principles on Intolerance and kick SJP off of campus. 






Dear Chancellor Gillman,
My name is Gary Fouse. I have written to you previously as a part-time teacher
in the UCI Extension. Today I write to you strictly as a member of the
community. I taught part-time at UCI from 1998-2016. Since 2007, I have been
active observing and reporting on the activities of the Muslim Student Union and
Students for Justice in Palestine. I have long complained about anti-semitism on
the UCI campus, a problem that has been brought to the UCI campus,in my view,
by these two organizations.
I recall in 2010 when Students for Justice in Palestine's UCI chapter was formed
when the MSU was suspended following the Oren disruption. (I was present at that
event.) Since then I have twice observed SJP disrupt the annual I-Fest. I have
written to the university and complained not only about the disruptions, but the
fact that the students marched out of the Cross Cultural Center and back into
the CCC after their demonstration.
I also complained last year when SJP and others disrupted a pro-Israel event on
May 18, yet another black eye for the university, which has suffered too many
black eyes courtesy of the pro-Palestinian movement on campus. Once again, SJP
used the CCC as a staging area. On that occasion, it was revealed that "legal
observers" from the National Lawyers Guild attached to the UCI law school
participated in that disruption.
On May 10, I was present when SJP and others disrupted yet another pro-Israel
event. I videotaped it and provided that videotape to Asst Vice Chancellor 
Edgar Dormitorio, who was also present. Clips of it have been used by
organizations who have recently written to you to express their outrage at
this latest incident.
In addition, I spoke at two UC Regents working groups-at UCI and UCLA- in 2015
and 2016 when they were revising the UC Regents’ Statement of Principles Against
Intolerance, one that specifically addressed campus anti-semitism. In March 2016
that statement was passed. You subsequently pledged to take steps to implement
that policy. It is time to enforce that policy.
Students for Justice in Palestine is not just a UCI problem or a UC problem. It
is a national problem. In 2014 a document surfaced out of their SUNY Binghamton
chapter that explicitly listed disruption as one of their tactics. On campus
after campus including UCI, SJP has put that tactic into practice.
After last year's warning letter following the May 18 incident, SJP was put on
notice. They have now once again shown that they are unwilling to engage in
civil discourse. They have shown once again that they will not respect the free
speech rights of others. If the Statement of Principles is to have any meaning,
it is time to remove this organization from the UCI campus once and for all.
Otherwise, the Statement of Principles is nothing more than a scrap of paper.
Sincerely,
Gary  Fouse

2 comments:

Squid said...

excellent letter Gary. All the right posts were made. Hopefully, the UCI Chancellor will take action to strongly warn SJP and tell them they well punished with expulsion.

Squid

Gary Fouse said...

At the very least, SJP should be suspended for a year.

If they get off easy again this time, I for one will scream bloody murder.