a note i wrote to the student/worker coalition listserve. Sean Burns:

I agree whole heartedly with Steve Stormoen's sentiments, and I want to add a perspective. This situation reminds me of the age old tension in good political analysis between structure and agency. Which is to say, we must recognize the long term pattern (at the levels of UCSC, UC campus system, and academic structures in general) to not adequately commit resources toward attracting and retaining top faculty like Paul Ortiz - faculty doing engaged scholarship that bridges intellectual and activist relevance, faculty fully committed to undergraduate teaching and the daily concerns and struggles of students, and, importantly, faculty of color and faculty of working-class background. So from this perspective i believe it is vital for students to continually pressure administration to create the campus and education we want and deserve - including engaging in struggles for faculty hire and retention.

At the same time of recognizing these patterns, i think its important for us to see that the faculty struggles we have witnessed in the last years are not all the same. There have been many specific circumstance in each case. One's that bare relevance to Professor Ortiz's case are that his excellent historical work is strongly rooted in the South and, secondly, I am sure University of Florida presented a strong, attractive job offer - the kind of offer UCSC must be prepared to meet.

All that being said, one thing stands out for me first and foremost upon this news: I feel so fortunate to have learned from and been inspired by the unflagging dedication, abundant intellectual generosity, and huge community love that Paul Ortiz, and his partner, Sheila P. have brought to UCSC and larger Santa Cruz
community. I, and i bet so many share in this, will never be the same for having been touched by their passion, rigor for justice, and love.

Sean Burns

>>>>

Dear Chancellor Blumenthal,

As a recent UCSC graduate, I am deeply disappointed by your failure to retain Professor Paul Ortiz as a faculty member on campus. In my time at UCSC, Professor Ortiz was a gifted teacher and friend, and incredibly important in creating a safe and welcome atmosphere on campus. Professor Ortiz loves to teach and loves the UCSC community just as much, and it would be an incredible disservice to him and to the University as a whole to let him leave without attempting every possible opportunity to retain him and give him the necessary resources to continue to act as such a pillar of the UCSC community. Moreover, Professor Ortiz was a profound ally of people of color in the campus community, and without his presence UCSC is likely to retain even fewer students and faculty of color, who understandably feel as if their presence is not valued at the University -- several faculty members of color have been forced the same route as Professor
Ortiz: when not shown the necessary support by the University, they leave, and students of color leave with them. If it truly is a goal of this University to become a community of diversity in ethnicity as well as ideology, if it is truly a goal of this University to provide the best education possible to its students, Professor Ortiz must be retained, and the Ethnic Studies department promised to students long ago must finally be created.

Thank you for your time,
-Steven Stormoen

A series of speakers including Paul Ortiz discussed racial profiling in the brief oral communications period of the evening city council meeting last Tuesday. They were responding to repeated assaults against Tony Madrigal by the SCPD, Sentinel, and City Council.

Ortiz said he'd be coming in today to continue this discussion.

Where is Paul heading? Can you report any more? Can you quote Paul directly?

Paul's departure from UCSC became public last Thursday, October 11. There was a lecture at UCSC by David Montgomery, "American Labor and Imperialism: Friends or Foes?" presented by the new UCSC Center for Labor Studies. The evening got started with Paul introducing Dana Frank who in turn introduced David Montgomery. It was Dana Frank that announced that our good friend and ally, Paul Ortiz, received an offer from the University of Florida. The UCSC administration has not taken the steps necessary to retain Paul at our university. As a student, I do not know what can be done to keep Paul at UCSC. Paul and Shelia love the Santa Cruz community and UCSC students and feel sad about leaving. Paul's work, teaching and dedication are very appreciated by students, yet not valued in the same way by the larger community. This community is failing to support the critical academic / activist work being done by Paul, like his latest book, "Emancipation Betrayed: The Hidden History of Black Organizing and White Violence in Florida from Reconstruction to the Bloody Election of 1920"

Audio: Paul Ortiz on Emancipation Betrayed
http://santacruz.indymedia.org/feature/display/17269/index.php

His research focuses on Florida. So doesn't it actually make more sense for Prof Ortiz to teach in Florida? He got a better offer from UF, maybe more money, or tenure, or both. Or maybe he'd just rather be in Florida, where he can more effectively do his research. You know... his research? About Florida?

It's not like students are losing out by Ortiz going to UF... only UCSC students. But for students at UF this is great... they get a wonderful new professor. In fact, maybe a radical history of Florida will actually be MORE MEANINGFUL to students in Florida. Maybe? Do you think so?

The university hires and retains Angela Davis, and a number of other talented radical professors, yet somehow it's an evil racist conspiracy when they fail to engage in a bidding war for Ortiz. That just sounds silly.

Students should be greatly concerned about who is controlling their educations when the university takes steps to eliminate Paul Ortiz from the faculty. I have heard this man speak on important issues and his voice is greatly needed. I have watched UCSC change over the years and these changes have not been in the best interest of producing independent thinking students. Do not let the system control you. There are students who want to expand their knowledge and life experiences. The loss of Mr. Ortiz is very serious. Who controls what you hear, learn and think? If you want to have control, than make the choice to speak up now.

The campus may have not actively tried to keep Paul, but neither did it go to any effort to eliminate him.

There is nothing irregular or unusual about a campus not offering tenure to a lecturer while another campus does.

To try to portray it as an effort to control student education and eliminate him is a real stretch.

This is the campus that hired Angela Davis. The campus called the worst in the nation for its liberal slant by Alan Dershowitz. The campus spied on by the feds for it's anti-military bent. The campus that last had a liberal lesbian chancellor. The campus called one of the most stoned in the nation by High Times and the Princeton Review.

The campus is scared of Paul Ortiz and therefore trying to eliminate him?


Puh-leeze.

"...not offering tenure to a tenure to a lecturer..."

Paul Ortiz has tenure at UCSC, but UCSC failed to retain Paul.

"....campus called the worst in the nation for its liberal slant by Alan Dershowitz."

That was David Horowitz.

Call it Like it Is thank you for you input.

Maybe Mr. Ortiz is going on his own accord. I hope he is doing what he desires. But, the following is some of what I have seen at UCSC over the last few years. Enrollment fees have gone up 70% in the last few years, the journalism department was dropped, the language department was drastically cut back, Tent City students were tortured by UC Berkeley police and arrested ‘05, students have been harassed when demonstrating and their voices are not heard.

“The campus called the worst in the nation for its liberal slant by Alan Dershowitz.” Big deal. Give me someone that cares about free critical thinking.


“The campus that last had a liberal lesbian chancellor.” She was in charge of the events that led to the torture of Tent City students. So give lesbians a break.

“The campus called one of the most stoned in the nation by High Times and the Princeton Review.” Not all students are getting stoned. And whether stoned or not they still need to have good, dedicated teachers that offer critical thinking.

“The campus spied on by the feds for its anti-military bent.” We are all being spied on by our government. The students that have the guts to take the military on at that campus are barely support by the rest of the student body. In this day and age when our rights are being taken away and money that could be spent to keep university programs going is spent on illegal wars on non threatening countries its time students spoke out loudly.

I will take your point that Mr. Ortiz may want to leave fully on his own accord, but if that is not the case, than he needs to be fully supported in staying. Mr. Ortiz, do you care to comment?

"Tent City students were tortured..." The UC cops, not just from UC Berkeley, used pain compliance holds to break apart the circles of students who had their arms interlocked. Without a doubt this was a traumatic event for many students, but I do not think it is responsible to say students were tortured.

"I do not think it is responsible to say students were tortured."

watch: http://submediatv.com/movies/To%20Protect%20and%20Serve%20Broad.mov

I participated in Tent City as a citizen that was asked to share in the events. I left a few minutes before the cops came in. I had just spoken to administrators at the scene and asked that they work with the students and not harm them. I spoke with a camera man from a local TV station. The next day the camera man showed me what I had missed. He took me inside his van and played a tape, not the one posted here. I have a copy of that tape. I am sure you can get one. These cops know how to use pressure points as a form of torture. That is why UC Berkeley cops were brought in. They are experienced. These pressure holds are very painful and can cause you to pass out. I cried when I saw the tape the camera man showed me. He knew this was torture. These cops are taught not to leave marks, but they did. This was not the last time UC Berkeley cops have been called on to your campus to keep the students in line.

I had spent time with these Tent City students and they were extremely peaceful and bright. They were trying to make a changes and stop loses.
They were told the week before the event that they could camp where they were on campus but late on Friday afternoon, the administration changed its minds and told the students they could not camp. On Monday the students voted to stay the night like they were first told they could.

You will not understand Tent City unless you look into it. These students tried to make changes and had real concerns. They tried to reach out to students, faculty and the community. I came from the community. After the arrests, the students were given a place to camp on campus and I continued to visit Tent City each day to make sure they were O.K.

I believe I am responsible. I am open to others opinions and I appreciate people sharing information and ideas with me. Thank you.

I participated in TUSC (tent university santa cruz) and witnessed the violence on October 18, 2005. The video shows the police using pain compliance to extract people from the circles. When you use the word torture, you should explain what happened. Just because a cop did something to someone that caused a great deal of pain does not mean it was torture.

Torture, according to international law, is "any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity."[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torture

Fine, it would be fair to say that the UC police, with orders from the UC Administration, engaged in an act where pain compliance holds were used to inflict physical and mental pain to coerce students to unlock their arms.

I also appreciate the exchange of ideas and information. Thank you too.

Student the arrest of 19 students at Tent City that I am speaking about happened on April 18, 2005.

Thanks

That's what I meant. Thanks for the correction.

Your statement that UCSC calls in UCB cops because "These cops know how to use pressure points as a form of torture. That is why UC Berkeley cops were brought in."..is not true.

The UCSC police ask for reciprocal response from their fellow campus' when they anticipate or face a scenario that requires additional officers. The response comes from the closest campuses: UCSF, UCB, and UCSB. There is no selection of a specific campus for the skills employed by their police.

The same is true in the other direction; UCSC cops go to those campuses when mutual aid is requested.

Your statement that UCB cops are specifically requested, and that they are requested because they know how to use pressure points as torture, is a complete fabrication.

During the 60's a great deal was going on with our government that was corrupt and misguided.
People from all over the country united to have their voices heard and to try to make changes. The big banking, government agencies, military complex and corporations that ran our country (and still do) realized that they almost lost control. One lesson they learned is that the students in the universities were a very powerful force when they were united behind a common cause.

Student groups and student papers were infiltrated by FBI, CIA, etc… After the Vietnam War was brought to a halt the powers that be realized they could never let the students get that powerful again. They have secured their position.

When you say I am fabricating the case that the UC Berkeley police were brought into the picture to torture I wonder who you are. I believe that UC Berkeley was brought in because they are the university that dealt with one of the most powerful student protests in the 60’s and they have learned first hand how to put down dissenters. The UCSC administration knew what they were doing when they brought in such a force. The UCSC administration wanted those Tent City students to comply and they let police in riot gear storm in and take over. That was brutal.

The UCSC administrators were present when all this violence against the students went down. I had to leave before it happened and I had talked with the administrators and asked them to talk to the students, to communicate. These students were defenseless and inexperienced. They were trying to work with each other and the administration in the best possible way they could. The students were open to dialogue.

The UC Berkeley police were not just brought in for the torture techniques, they were brought in to stop the students PERIOD. What of Tent City and all those young, smart minds that were reaching out? They were flushed out, taught not to think, act or work independently for fear of reprisal.

UCSC police have recieved *extensive* training in pressure points, pain compliance, and crowd control. The Tent University incident was not a case of an outside police agency coming in and taking over: yes, other agencies were present and participated. But don't think its was Berkeley cops doing the dirty work: UCSC cops know how to use basic human anatomy to enforce and demonstrate control of a situation like TUSC--They've recieved Ju-Jitsu training.

But back to Paul: He and Sheila will be missed, for their participation in local movements, making academia a little more human, for supporting the WAJE minimum wage increase campaign, the Resource Center for Nonviolence, the Community Action Board, Free Radio Santa Cruz, the Reel Work Film Festival, and more off the top of my head, plus countless other campaigns, actions, and organizations/collectives. Thanks to Paul, best wishes, and may his departure give space to a community-wide conversation about the culture of santa cruz, the color of its politics, the momentum and trajectory of our community organizing...

Paul and Sheila contributed an incredible amount of energy to this community, and we've benefited greatly from their time here.

It's a curious phenomenon I've seen here at Indy-B; nobody seems to mind the anonymous poster when that poster agrees with you. But dare to differ, and suddenly it's "who are you?", "you're a cop", "you're a University schill", etc. Sorta funny.

But that aside? All I'm saying is keep it real. I respect your right to your opinion, and I to mine. But when it comes to facts, I like to keep them real. And the statement you made about Berkley cops wasn't and isn't. Even in your last post. Do you really believe that UCB cops are like some super-torture elite squad because of secret techniques they learned 40+ years ago during the free speech movement protests?

Come on. Those cops aren't even on the force anymore; they're all in their 60-80's. And I doubt they need to hand down secrets to their successors. Most cops are trained in standardized ways, and they all know pain compliance techniques. You don't have to import UCB's secrets to control a crowd; just about any cops will do.

STUDENT WRITES: "The UC cops, not just from UC Berkeley, used pain compliance holds to break apart the circles of students who had their arms interlocked."

BECKY: The police used carotid pressure points which are indeed torture, painful, and can be dangerous as they cut off blood circulation to the brain. The University saw red when the Tent U. students decided to put up....tents!!! So anti-homeless is the University and the City that putting up tents for a short period of time (4 days) after weeks of negotiation with the University couldn't be accomplished. UCSC officials even called the porta-pottie companies and threatened to confiscate any unit delivered to the Tent U. students.

I was very disappointed that none of the students sued the police. We had hundreds of witnesses, videotape, and photos. It would have been a slam-dunk.