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Months after closing at least ten K-12 schools throughout the city and restructuring others as semi-public charter schools, Oakland's state-appointed school administrator Randy Ward has proposed shutting down the entire Oakland Adult Education program. Under Dr. Ward's plan, hundreds of teachers, clerical workers, custodians, and other employees would lose their jobs. Some 30,000 adults who relied on Adult Education for essential classes in English and other languages, high school equivalency diplomas, computer literacy, job training, senior citizen programs, health education, and other areas would suddenly be left with no educational opportunities.

The entire adult education program in Oakland may be closed down as of June 30th of this year. Many Adult Education teachers in Oakland received a notice on Feb. 18th stating that if class attendance falls below 14 students, that class will be considered for immediate closure. Ward's latest plans will be discussed during the School Board meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 23rd at 4 p.m., 1025 2nd Ave. near Laney College/Lake Merritt. A town hall meeting to defend public education has been called for, Tuesday, March 8th, 6–8 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 2501 Harrison St. Reports: 1 | 2 | 3

Colorado Indymedia reports that an anonymous tipster claiming to work with a "faith-based think tank" is alleging that Clear Channel’s Dan Caplis accepted a "gift" from the unnamed group to spread the biased Ward Churchill story, in an attempt to "frame the left" and the anti-war movement. The source reportedly described it as a ploy to set-up an "ideological enemy" on "American soil" and re-invent Ward Churchill as a "sacrificial lamb." Full story

February 1, 2005: University of Colorado Boulder Professor and longtime American Indian Movement activist Ward Churchill has come under increasing criticism recently because of his exposure of fundamental yet controversial questions about September 11th and his political view of why such events happened and could occur again. Prof. Churchill was scheduled to speak at Hamilton College in New York state this Thursday, and family members of people who died in the 9/11 incidents have been protesting his right to speak. The Kirkland Project website was changed this afternoon to indicate that the panel, "Limits on Dissent", has been cancelled. The College cited threats of violence as the reason for the cancellation. Churchill is scheduled to speak on Friday, March 25th at the Women's Building, and at the San Francisco Anarchist Bookfair on March 26th.

The content of Churchill's speeches, essay, and book entitled "On the Justice of Roosting Chickens" became a national controversy in the leadup to the withdrawal of the event. On January 31st he resigned his post as Chair of the Department of Ethnic Studies, but not his professorship — because he did not want the attention focused on him to reflect on fellow department members.

Voices of September 11 has protested, "We are extremely disturbed that Hamilton College has intentionally provide a platform for an individual whose viewpoints could compromise the emotional and psychological well being of individuals in its community." One student at the College is the son of a man who died in the World Trade Center in 2001. Hamilton College has stated, "We expect, as a matter of civil discourse, that the members of this academic community, as well as visitors, respect the dignity of reasoned and principled debate." The Interim Chancellor of Colorado University benignly said on January 27th , "I...must support his right as an American citizen to hold and express his views..." It has come to light that Hamilton College will be conducting a review of the Kirkland Project for the Study of Gender, Society and Culture, which is the organization that is bringing Churchill to speak on campus: "(B)ecause of its timing, this review could send the signal that it doesn't support the Kirkland Project. So it looks like a veiled attack on free speech," the current Kirkland Project director stated.

In defense of "Some People Push Back: On the Justice of Roosting Chickens" Ward Churchill says "...if U.S. foreign policy results in massive death and destruction abroad, we cannot feign innocence when some of that destruction is returned...such attacks are a natural and unavoidable consequence of unlawful U.S. policy." In his January 31st statement, Churchill acknowledged that some people do not agree with his analysis of the situation. He said his analysis "presents questions that must be addressed in academic and public debate if we are to find a real solution to the violence that pervades today's world. The gross distortions of what I actually said can only be viewed as an attempt to distract the public from the real issues at hand and to further stifle freedom of speech and academic debate in this country."
Read more

Churchill's essay | "Some People Push Back: On the Justice of Roosting Chickens" | Ward Churchill's 1/31 statement regarding Roosting Chickens | On the Justice of Roosting Chickens: Reflections on the Consequences of U.S. Imperial Arrogance and Criminality | Hamilton College's Spectator newspaper | Indypendent review of "On the Justice of Roosting Chickens" | NYC Indymedia Article About the Controversy

On 1/12/05, 4-8PM at Oakland High School (1023 Macarthur Blvd), the Oakland School Board will hear commentary on Randy Ward's attempts to close at least 5 more schools and turn 13 Oakland schools into "internal charters" with undermined union rights.

Dr. Ward was sent to Oakland to put the school district on a sound financial basis, but has still not produced a Fiscal Recovery Plan since arriving in June, 2003. Meanwhile, Ward is instituting vast changes in Oakland's public schools. These range from closing schools against the community's wishes to instituting unequal funding for schools. Ward has eliminated teachers' power to make many decisions for their schools and classes, and proposes eliminating class size restrictions in new and small schools, eliminating counselors across the District, and allowing principals to cut services such as libraries. Voters passed Measure E to "recruit and retain teachers," but Ward opposes using Measure E funds for teacher salaries. Ward's new funding plan, "Results-Based Budgeting," funds schools based on attendance, not enrollment, penalizing schools where poverty leads to lower attendance.

A rally and march against the closures and privatization has been called for Monday, Jan. 17th at 14th and Broadway, and the Oakland Education Association will host a community meeting on Jan. 19th. Read more | Alternative plan | More info

Photos from Chapela's last class, 12/09/2004 | Flier

After a controversial tenure process Ignacio Chapela, the professor at UC Berkeley who sharply criticized the "public" university's $25 million deal with pharmaceutical giant Novartis, has been denied tenure. Chapela's 2001 discovery provided evidence of transgenic contamination that threatens the biodiversity of our planet and the safety of our food supply.

His tenure was was approved 32 to 1 by his department. But was rejected by the Chancellor (with recommendation of the Budget Commitee) who has ultimate authority. The decision drawed a wide range of protest and criticism from around the world. The most recent outpour was by the Graduate Assembly.

From the Tenure Justice Campaign:
"The time has come to act. Professor Ignacio Chapela's contract is ending and his last class at UC Berkeley is taking place this Thursday, Dec. 9 from 8:00 - 9:30 AM. The University has been completely unresponsive up to this point. If you have not had the chance to show your solidarity with Ignacio and the issues that he stands for, now is your chance."

Tenure Justice | Fault Lines Issue #1 on Biotech | Past Coverage of Chapela Case on Inbybay

The administrator appointed to run Oakland's schools when the state took over the district has called for the closure of five more schools. The proposal by state administrator Randy Ward comes three months after the district shut five other elementary schools. Hundreds of people went to the chaotic Oakland State Administrator and Board of Education Meeting on December 15th to protest school closures, which they think could lead to increased desperation that would inspire more youth to join the military in order to "get an education." Administrator Randy Ward waited until most of the audience had walked out in disgust before he revealed his plans for the privatization of Oakland schools. Photos and Report

Ward has called for the closure or restructuring of more than a quarter of the district's 94 schools, primarily in lower-income neighborhoods. Schools at the top of the closure list include Lowell (West Oakland), Carter (Temescal), and King Estates (Oak Knoll) middle schools, and Washington (North Oakland) and Golden Gate (West Oakland) elementary schools. Seven other district schools may be reorganized, and, in what teachers call a "union-busting" move, twelve converted to charter schools, "due to the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act," which regulates schools that have needed improvement in test scores for five years in a row. Most hills schools will not be affected by Ward's latest plans "due to high test scores and generally strong enrollment." Download the Plan

The Barrington Collective Hosts the 5th DIY (Do It Yourself) Festival on November 13th and 14th, 2004. On Saturday, there were instructional workshops, community tables, live performances and free food provided by Food Not Bombs, all at People's Park in Berkeley. On Sunday November 14th there were workshops in a variety of locations. Photos from cob oven workshop. The Barrington Collective said, "You can learn new skills, make interesting friends, breathe (hopefully) fresh air, and have lots of jolly-good fun..." Anyone who wanted to lead a workshop was encouraged to do so. Photos from 4th DIY Festival in March, 2004. More info on the Barrington Collective Website