BY ALEX BERGJANS
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Thhe UC Irvine students who were arrested after protesting a Feb.8 speech by Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren have received disciplinary letters from the university office of judicial affairs.
UCI sent the letter to the eight Irvine student protesters early last week.
The UC Riverside's student conduct office is reviewing video footage and materials from the speech and demonstration but has yet to make a decision regarding the three UCR students who were arrested. Administrators have sent inquiry letters to the students in question.
According to Cathy Lawhon, UCI spokeswoman, the protesters had to respond to their disciplinary letters and make appointments with campus judicial affairs by Tuesday or holds would be placed on their registration and financial aid. The letters, outlining the initial complaint, are the first step in a six-week long disciplinary process; Lawhon did not know if the students answered the notices by the Feb. 16 due date.
Mohamed Abdelgany, president of UCI's Muslim Student Union and one of the eight Irvine student protesters, said that he responded to the letter and suspects that the university is threatening to pursue "very harsh punishments against (him) and his fellow students."
Abdelgany, who believes that the sanctions could be as serious as suspension or expulsion, has offered a suggestion to the administration.
"The best action for the university to take is to hear our grievances, and work to make all students and student groups feel included. That would be true leadership," said Abdelgany in an e-mail to the Register.
Officials from both schools would not comment or speculate on the investigation or potential consequences, citing the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act.
Although sharing information with UCI officials, UC Riverside is investigating and disciplining its students independently and is still determining if and how its three students violated any codes of conduct.
According to Susan Allen Ortega, UC Riverside Dean of Students, all University of California campuses are governed by a single set of statewide rules and UC students are held accountable to these policies at every site. Judicial action, however, is handled by administrators at the offender's home campus, meaning that the punishment for the three Riverside protesters could be different from the eight Irvine students.
Traher Herzallah, one of the three UC Riverside protesters, said that his protest followed in the footsteps of Nelson Mandela and Rosa Parks and added that "one would think that (UC Riverside) would... even support the students for exercising� their First Amendment rights rather than reprimand them."
Given the sensitivity and passions on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Feb. 8 protest and fallout has received national attention.
The Jewish Federation of Orange County has requested that UC Irvine and Riverside prosecute the offending students to the fullest extent of the law.
"In both cases, we fully expect that the university administration will take necessary actions to pursue these students for any violation of school code," said Shalom Elcott, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Orange County.
On the other hand, the UC San Diego Associated Student Council passed a resolution on Feb. 17 supporting the eleven protestors and asserting that they were within their rights to demonstrate at Oren's presentation. The Los Angeles area office of the Council on American Islamic Relations has asked the University of California to drop any charges against the students.
http://www.ocregister.com/news/students-235387-riverside-student.html
Fousesquawk comment: I find it laughable that Shalom Elcott and the local Jewish Federation are seemingly leading the charge in their "outrage" over the Oren incident. Elcott has been denying the problem at UCI for years. Now he has egg on his face because the Federation bussed in a load of elderly Jewish community members who thought they were going to enjoy an evening listening to the Israeli ambassador speak. Now they are demanding to know what the Hell is going on at UCI.
Nelson Mandela and Rosa Parks??!!?
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Uproar Leads UCI to hire "Crisis Expert"
By Gary Robbins
OC Register
The heated criticism UC Irvine has received following the disruption of a speech by Israel’s ambassador to the United States has led the campus to hire crisis counselor Alan Hilburg to help the school reassure the public it values people of all races and religions, civil discussion and free speech.
Hilburg is president of Hilburg and Associates, a Washington, D.C. communications firm that helps companies and institutions deal with crisis management and related issues when they face potentially damaging controversies. Tom Vasich, a UCI spokesman, said Hilburg served as a consultant to UCI about five years ago when the university was forced to close a liver-transplant program “after a Medicare probe reveals mismanagement of patients, lack of staffing and poor survival rates.”
The size of Hilburg’s retainer for his latest work wasn’t immediately available.
Eleven students were arrested on Feb. 8 and cited for disrupting a public event after Ambassador Michael Oren was repeatedly shouted down while trying to give a speech on the state of U.S.-Israel relations. UCI Police peacefully led the protesters from the ballroom where Oren spoke. (List of the arrested students.)
But some members of the public — including people commenting on this blog — say the outburst symbolizes long-term and on-going hostility at UCI among Jewish and Muslim students and organizations. The controversy also has been stoked by a YouTube video that shows protesters yelling at the ambassador, and the angry reaction of some members of the audience. Through Friday night, the video had been viewed more than 334,000 times. KPCC also explored the contentious relations between some Muslim and Jewish students at UCI during a Feb. 19th radio broadcast (click to listen).
The broadcast came during a week in which the Zionist Organization of America issued a news release urging people not donate to UCI, which is involved in a $1 billion fundraising campaign. ZOA also discouraged students from enrolling at Irvine. UCI Chancellor Michael Drake has been concerned about the overarching hostility and said this week that the campus will soon hold forums on values and civility.
“We want to strengthen our message to the community, families, alumni and government relations people that we have strong core values at this campus,” said Vasich. “This is not just about tolerance, it is about our core values.
“Alan Hilburg has been hired as a consultant to help bring fresh perspective to the matter.”
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Fousesquawk comment: Crisis counselor? But I thought there was no problem at UCI. What have I been missing all these years?
How about UCI start their censor of the MSU by canceling their "Death to the Jews" week that is coming up soon. Perhaps suspending their right to hold such an event for 3 years.
ReplyDeleteOr would that be too much?
Findalis,
ReplyDeleteAccording to the reports I get, some decision will be made in 30 days. Of course, we heard all that on the Galloway investigation and we're still waiting for an answer.
I wouldn't get my hopes up.