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Administrators Back Off from 3 yr. Suspension of Prominent Activist

by UC Activist Defense Committee (contact[at]ucactivistdefense.org)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 8, 2007
Administrators Back Off from 3 yr. Suspension of Prominent Activist
Student Mobilization Ensures Alette Kendrick’s Future at UCSC as Deal is Reached

SANTA CRUZ, CA – On Wednesday, May 30, black student activist Alette Kendrick and the administration of the University of California, Santa Cruz reached a landmark deal ensuring Alette’s future at the school. While the administration had previously announced their intention to suspend Alette for 3 years, she will now only be suspended for the Summer and Fall Quarters – returning to UCSC next Winter. Acting Vice Chancellor, Jean Marie Scott signed off on the deal Friday, June 1.

The day before, the University was notified of Alette’s intention to file a writ directed at the university for denying her legal representation within a closed-door formal hearing process. While administrators had stalled for months, a lawyer from the University of California responded immediately, hammering out the deal by dinnertime Wednesday.

The deal, as agreed to on May 30, includes:
• Suspension of Alette for the Summer and Fall Quarters – returning next Winter. During suspension, she will be banned from campus.
• 100 hours of community service
• 2 quarters of ‘stayed’ suspension – a sort of probation where if she is accused of violating university policies again, she could be suspended for another 2 quarters.
• A general apology, similar to the one she read at the Santa Cruz County Courthouse on May 22, not referring to specific accusations but apologizing to anyone hurt by her actions on October 18, 2006.

On Thursday, May 24, over 500 members of the UCSC community joined faculty member Angela Davis and others in a protest at the Chancellor’s office where Acting Chancellor George Blumenthal insisted he would not take prompt action, regardless of whether the process was “fair or unfair.” This rally was the culmination of a whole Week of Action, including the flooding of administrators’ voicemails, faxes, emails, and mailboxes with messages of support for Alette, a mock-trial and mock-pie-ing of administrators, and consistent efforts to inform the campus community about the intermingling of racism and political repression in Alette’s case. The deal was negotiated less than a week later.

Alette Kendrick was racially and politically targeted at a student speak-out against the UC Regents on October 18, 2006. Her supporters include the United States Student Association, UCSC’s Student Union Assembly, the African/Black Student Alliance and over twenty other local and national organizations. Acknowledging the University’s ongoing practice of racism and political repression, supporters vow to continue working towards a safer environment for people of color and activists.


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