Department Statement on May 15th Police Response
We, the undersigned faculty members of the Department of East Asian Studies, are deeply concerned and outraged about the police response to the peaceful and non-violent student and faculty protesters that took place on campus on May 15, 2024. Given that the students and faculty, many of whom were arrested that day, were neither armed nor resisting, we feel that the enormous number of riot police inside what ought to be a sanctuary learning space was entirely unnecessary and detrimental to the values of democracy and freedom of speech that we all need to uphold.
Many of us spent earlier parts of our lives in totalitarian and authoritarian regimes in China and South Korea, where police raids and surveillance were routine parts of everyday life. The events at UCI on May 15th were particularly shocking to us because, even during the dark days of terror in these countries, college campuses were often considered safe havens devoid of police presence. Even if some of our students chose to briefly protest in manners deemed unacceptable and troubling by the administration, we feel the Chancellor’s Office should have attempted to exhaust all possible peaceful solutions before ordering hundreds of riot police to enter our campus, make reckless arrests, and forcefully clear the area.
We also find it perplexing that the events on May 15th took place only one day after UC Berkeley’s successful negotiation with its encampment protesters. Were our students more demanding and unreasonable than the ones at Berkeley? What were the reasons for students’ suspensions that have led to the escalation of the situation earlier this week? What was the justification behind the arrest and overnight detention of our colleague Professor Willoughby-Herard, an African American faculty member?
We support the Academic Senate's ongoing inquiry into Chancellor Gillman's justification behind the decision to deploy an excessive number of police force equipped with riot gear and lethal weapons. We demand that the Chancellor’s Office immediately provide comprehensive responses in the most truthful and sincere manner possible.
May 17, 2024
-Ted Fowler, Professor Emeritus in East Asian Studies
-James A. Fujii, Professor Emeritus in East Asian Studies
-Hu Ying, Professor in East Asian Studies
-Kyung Hyun Kim, Professor and Chair in East Asian Studies
-Susan B. Klein, Professor Emeritus in East Asian Studies
-Margherita Long, Associate Professor in East Asian Studies
-Jon L Pitt, Assistant Professor in East Asian Studies
-Bert Scruggs, Associate Professor in East Asian Studies
-Serk-Bae Suh, Associate Professor in East Asian Studies