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SAN FRANCISCO -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU-NC) today filed a federal Freedom of Information Act request on behalf of UC students and groups whose lawful activities may have been monitored by the Pentagon. The move is part of a national ACLU effort to reveal the extent and purpose of Pentagon spying.
“Students should be able to freely express themselves on campus without fear of ending up in a military database,” said Mark Schlosberg, Police Practices Policy Director of the ACLU-NC. “The Department of Defense should act quickly and disclose all information it has collected on these student organizations and their members.”
The ACLU of Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Guardian filed its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on behalf of UC Santa Cruz Students Against War (“SAW”) and UC Berkeley students with Berkeley Stop the War Coalition (“BSTW”). The ACLU is seeking the disclosure of all documents maintained by the Department of Defense on the individuals and groups, as well as information on whether the records have been shared with other government agencies.
The national ACLU filed a similar FOIA request on behalf of the American Friends Service Committee, Veterans for Peace, United for Peace and Justice and Greenpeace. In Georgia, Rhode Island, Maine, and Pennsylvania ACLU affiliates are also seeking Pentagon files on local groups. Read more...
previous coverage: UC Students Demand Answers about Spying Scandal || Students Denounce Pentagon Surveillance of Counter-Recruitment Activities
“Students should be able to freely express themselves on campus without fear of ending up in a military database,” said Mark Schlosberg, Police Practices Policy Director of the ACLU-NC. “The Department of Defense should act quickly and disclose all information it has collected on these student organizations and their members.”
The ACLU of Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Guardian filed its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on behalf of UC Santa Cruz Students Against War (“SAW”) and UC Berkeley students with Berkeley Stop the War Coalition (“BSTW”). The ACLU is seeking the disclosure of all documents maintained by the Department of Defense on the individuals and groups, as well as information on whether the records have been shared with other government agencies.
The national ACLU filed a similar FOIA request on behalf of the American Friends Service Committee, Veterans for Peace, United for Peace and Justice and Greenpeace. In Georgia, Rhode Island, Maine, and Pennsylvania ACLU affiliates are also seeking Pentagon files on local groups. Read more...
previous coverage: UC Students Demand Answers about Spying Scandal || Students Denounce Pentagon Surveillance of Counter-Recruitment Activities
On Monday January 23rd 2006, more than 100 people turned out on short notice to demand a fair contract and to protest Randolph Ward's intimidation tactics. That night AFSME President Morris Tatum announced that his members have pledged that they will support OEA picket lines in the event of a forced strike.
For the past 18 months, there has been a contract dispute between the Oakland Unified School District and the 3,000+ teachers, nurses, psychologists, speech therapists, librarians, counselors and substitutes represented by the Oakland Education Association (OEA). The OEA's main goal in these negotiations has been to stabilize the school district in order to stop the loss of students (down to 41,000) and the chronic turnover of teachers (over 300 last year).
A new offer was made by the OEA to the Oakland Unified School District on December 7th, but was rejected without comment by Randolph Ward (who was appointed by the state). Ward is now placing advertisements in Bay Area newspapers and on sites like Craig's List offering uncredentialed replacement workers $300 per day to be scabs in the case of a strike. This is nearly 3 times as much as substitute teachers normally get paid.
More | Oakland Teachers Will Lose | Oakland Teacher Replies to Tribune Editorial
For the past 18 months, there has been a contract dispute between the Oakland Unified School District and the 3,000+ teachers, nurses, psychologists, speech therapists, librarians, counselors and substitutes represented by the Oakland Education Association (OEA). The OEA's main goal in these negotiations has been to stabilize the school district in order to stop the loss of students (down to 41,000) and the chronic turnover of teachers (over 300 last year).
A new offer was made by the OEA to the Oakland Unified School District on December 7th, but was rejected without comment by Randolph Ward (who was appointed by the state). Ward is now placing advertisements in Bay Area newspapers and on sites like Craig's List offering uncredentialed replacement workers $300 per day to be scabs in the case of a strike. This is nearly 3 times as much as substitute teachers normally get paid.
More | Oakland Teachers Will Lose | Oakland Teacher Replies to Tribune Editorial
Thu Jan 26 2006
UC Students Demand Answers about Spying Scandal
Santa Cruz, CA - Members of Students Against War (SAW) met with the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) Chancellor Denice Denton and other senior officials Tuesday to discuss the Pentagon spying scandal and the future of free speech on the UCSC campus.
In December of 2005, a 400-page document obtained by MSNBC revealed, amongst many things, that the Pentagon spied on 10 peaceful college protests. UC Santa Cruz’s counter-recruitment protest of April 5, 2005, organized by SAW, was the only one of these ‘incidents’ labeled both “credible” and a “threat.” It was also the only college-related ‘incident’ to be spied on by the Army’s 902nd Military Intelligence Group.
In the Tuesday meeting between students and administrators, the foremost of the concerns addressed was the possible university involvement in undercover surveillance of student activities. SAW presented the administrators with a 34-page document detailing many of the suspected incidents of covert surveillance, intimidation and first amendment violations that students had experienced on campus in the past year. Incidents ranged from police infiltration of protests and meetings to students being singled out due to their political activity. To verify these allegations, students proposed that the UCSC Administration conduct an internal investigation of campus and local officials that may have been divulging students’ personal information or releasing information on political activity to local or federal authorities. The students also sought the support of the administration in any follow-up actions.
Furthermore, SAW reiterated a request for the Administration to join the Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights (FAIR), currently involved in the FAIR v. Rumsfeld case, which would overturn the controversial Solomon Amendment – a law that limits the University’s ability to prevent discrimination by mandating military recruitment on campus at the risk of losing federal funding. By limiting Universities’ options, the law restricts important 1st Amendment rights.
Chancellor Denton promised to follow up on all the issues presented, which SAW members pledged to ensure.
“UC Santa Cruz has long been a bastion of freedom of speech and campus activism and we are hopeful that the administration will do everything in their power to keep it that way,“ said second-year student, Kot Hordyński, who was present at the meeting.
previous coverage: Students Denounce Pentagon Surveillance of Counter-Recruitment Activities
In December of 2005, a 400-page document obtained by MSNBC revealed, amongst many things, that the Pentagon spied on 10 peaceful college protests. UC Santa Cruz’s counter-recruitment protest of April 5, 2005, organized by SAW, was the only one of these ‘incidents’ labeled both “credible” and a “threat.” It was also the only college-related ‘incident’ to be spied on by the Army’s 902nd Military Intelligence Group.
In the Tuesday meeting between students and administrators, the foremost of the concerns addressed was the possible university involvement in undercover surveillance of student activities. SAW presented the administrators with a 34-page document detailing many of the suspected incidents of covert surveillance, intimidation and first amendment violations that students had experienced on campus in the past year. Incidents ranged from police infiltration of protests and meetings to students being singled out due to their political activity. To verify these allegations, students proposed that the UCSC Administration conduct an internal investigation of campus and local officials that may have been divulging students’ personal information or releasing information on political activity to local or federal authorities. The students also sought the support of the administration in any follow-up actions.
Furthermore, SAW reiterated a request for the Administration to join the Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights (FAIR), currently involved in the FAIR v. Rumsfeld case, which would overturn the controversial Solomon Amendment – a law that limits the University’s ability to prevent discrimination by mandating military recruitment on campus at the risk of losing federal funding. By limiting Universities’ options, the law restricts important 1st Amendment rights.
Chancellor Denton promised to follow up on all the issues presented, which SAW members pledged to ensure.
“UC Santa Cruz has long been a bastion of freedom of speech and campus activism and we are hopeful that the administration will do everything in their power to keep it that way,“ said second-year student, Kot Hordyński, who was present at the meeting.
previous coverage: Students Denounce Pentagon Surveillance of Counter-Recruitment Activities
Over 200 Oakland teachers and students rallied in front of the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) office after school on December 14th, in protest against union-busting and anti-student practices of State Administrator Randolph Ward. Many of the protesters were from the civil rights group Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, & Immigrant Rights And Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN), a group that has been active for years to demand equal, quality education for OUSD and all schools.
The school board was meeting to discuss adding a new Charter School to West Oakland. Teachers and other union workers have said that opening charter schools is a political tactic that is used to weaken and break unions. Charter schools are not union shops which means they can hire and fire as they choose, isolating the workers without rights against the managment.
This protest was part of an ongoing struggle to remove Randolph Ward and to get a fair contract for the Oakland Education Association (OEA) teachers. Dr. Ward has kept the OUSD teachers union (OEA) without a contract for 18 months while all upper level administrators have gotten raises.
Photos and Report
The school board was meeting to discuss adding a new Charter School to West Oakland. Teachers and other union workers have said that opening charter schools is a political tactic that is used to weaken and break unions. Charter schools are not union shops which means they can hire and fire as they choose, isolating the workers without rights against the managment.
This protest was part of an ongoing struggle to remove Randolph Ward and to get a fair contract for the Oakland Education Association (OEA) teachers. Dr. Ward has kept the OUSD teachers union (OEA) without a contract for 18 months while all upper level administrators have gotten raises.
Photos and Report
On Wednesday, November 30 – the UC wide Nuclear Day of Action (announcement and PR), approximately one hundred UCSC students took part in a spirited rally at the quarry plaza on the UC campus. The day’s events, called “DeNuke UC,” sent a loud and clear message to UCSC administration, the UC Regents as well as President Robert Dynes that Santa Cruz students do not stand for nuclear proliferation in the name of education.
Read More (With Photos) On Santa Cruz Indymedia
Read More (With Photos) On Santa Cruz Indymedia
Tue Nov 15 2005
Students Unite Against the UC Regents November 16th and 17th
The U.C. Regents met at U.C. Berkeley's Clark Kerr Campus on Wednesday and Thursday, November 16th and 17th.
Wednesday, the regents voted to raise student fees.
On a 17-to-2 vote, they raised fees by 8 percent for undergraduates and 10 percent for graduate students.
They also voted for top university administrators get pay raises; UC President Robert Dynes' base salary will increase from $395,000 to $405,000. The Regent's meeting agenda is here.
The regents switched the day to vote on feehikes, a day ahead of time to surprise the students and ignore their concerns. Activists from the civil rights group B.A.M.N (by any means neccesary), S.T.A.N.D (students taking action now Darfur ), U.C.S.A (University of California Student Association ), the G.R.N (Global resistance network), and hundreds of other students from all over California came to the U.C regents meeting to make an expression and demand for equal rights for all students. Photos: 1 | 2
see also: Graduate Assembly of UC Berkeley || University of California Students Association || FuckTheRegents.com || 2005 UCSC Disorientation Guide (.pdf)
The regents switched the day to vote on feehikes, a day ahead of time to surprise the students and ignore their concerns. Activists from the civil rights group B.A.M.N (by any means neccesary), S.T.A.N.D (students taking action now Darfur ), U.C.S.A (University of California Student Association ), the G.R.N (Global resistance network), and hundreds of other students from all over California came to the U.C regents meeting to make an expression and demand for equal rights for all students.
Photos: 1 | 2
see also: Graduate Assembly of UC Berkeley || University of California Students Association || FuckTheRegents.com || 2005 UCSC Disorientation Guide (.pdf)
Thu Nov 10 2005
Recent High School Grad Wins Seat on School Board
An eight-way race for three seats on the Northern Humboldt Union High School District Board resulted in the election of recent high school graduate Shane Brinton. Running on a progressive platform of “Education not Indoctrination,” Brinton opposes military recruiters in schools. “We need to be educating the future doctors and teachers of America, not sending them to die in Iraq or some future quagmire,” said Brinton.
Brinton is a life-long resident of Humboldt County, and has volunteered with many local groups, including Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County, Humboldt Senior Resource Center, Humboldt County Democratic Central Committee, the Redwood Peace & Justice Center, the Placebo, Tenants Union of Humboldt County, Food Not Bombs, and as an assistant soccer coach for the Humboldt Youth Soccer League. Brinton recently represented the US as a delegate to the World Festival of Youth and Students in Venezuela, with 15,000 other young people.
See voteshane.org
Brinton is a life-long resident of Humboldt County, and has volunteered with many local groups, including Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County, Humboldt Senior Resource Center, Humboldt County Democratic Central Committee, the Redwood Peace & Justice Center, the Placebo, Tenants Union of Humboldt County, Food Not Bombs, and as an assistant soccer coach for the Humboldt Youth Soccer League. Brinton recently represented the US as a delegate to the World Festival of Youth and Students in Venezuela, with 15,000 other young people.
See voteshane.org