UC Davis community denounces hateful incidents

The UC Davis community is loudly denouncing recent hateful actions, including slurs painted at the entrance of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center, and the placement of swastikas on the door of a Jewish student’s dorm room and four other random locations.

“We are all very committed … to take action to make sure we all feel safe in this university to learn freely and to live the life that we all deserve,” Chancellor Linda Katehi told a March 1 meeting organized to discuss the issue.

About 400 people attended the meeting called after the resource center’s entrance was defaced on the weekend with words including “homos,” “fags” and “queers.”

After the earlier discovery that a swastika, about an inch and half in diameter, had been carved into the door of a Jewish student’s room in the Tercero residence area, the chancellor condemned that and recent incidents at other UC campuses.

"This sort of behavior cannot and should not be tolerated, on our campus or anywhere else," she wrote in a Feb. 24 letter to campus.

Police investigate

The UC Davis Police Department is also investigating the later discovery of four swastikas spray painted on the Centennial Walk through the Quad, on the Social Sciences and Humanities Building, on the campus’s brick entry sign along A Street, and on the TB106 facility. All the swastikas were quickly removed.

Chief Annette Spicuzza said that the police department is vigorously investigating all these hateful acts and will seek prosecution of those responsible to the full extent of the law, including penaty enhancements for hate crimes.

Delay before slurs removed

Sheri Atkinson, director of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Resource Center and her staff elected to let the slurs painted on the center’s entrance to stay there through March 1 “to ensure that this hate crime does not go unnoticed by the campus community.”

Students, staff and faculty by the hundreds came out for the March 1 town hall meeting to air their feelings about the attack and discuss a plan of action.

They discussed hate speech vs. free speech, diversity education, "queer visibility" and funding, specifically the allocation of money to pay for an assistant director of the resource center.

Atkinson said she was pleased with the turnout and promised follow-up meetings.

In a March 1 letter to the campus, Katehi said, "We must be constant and vigilant in our efforts to confront and reject all manifestations of the historical and deep-rooted prejudices and biases that remain in our society."

UC leadership condemns recent acts

Katehi also joined all of the UC chancellors, UC President Mark Yudof and the leaders of the Academic Senate in a joint letter condemning “all acts of racism, intolerance and incivility.”

Beyond the incidents at UC Davis, the UC system is also dealing with intolerance on the Irvine, San Diego and Santa Cruz campuses.

Russell Gould, chair of the Board of Regents, called on the chancellors of the affected campuses to prepare reports for the March 23-25 regents meeting, detailing the incidents and the actions being taken to ensure that these types of confrontations do not occur in the future.

Principles of Community

The incidents come as UC Davis is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its Principles of Community, a statement of values for the campus.

“Our Principles of Community require each of us to recognize the obligation we have to our community to maintain a campus environment of civility and respect in which every student, faculty staff and group can thrive,” the chancellor said in her Feb. 24 letter to the campus community.

The Campus Violence Prevention Program at UC Davis offers educational programs to prevent incidents of sexual violence, relationship violence, and hate-related activity, and provides support services for those affected by violence.