California: College faculty suspended for protesting budget cuts

[Hannah Bell]

...At Southwestern Community College, President Raj K. Chopra instituted a 26 percent cut in classes, resulting in the loss of 400 classes and the laying off of hundreds of part-time lecturers. At the same time, he secured a 7.9 percent salary increase for himself.

On October 22nd, 400 students accompanied by Phil Lopez, Andrew Rempt, Dinorah Guadiana-Costa and Janet Mazzarella, faculty members of SWC, assembled in a peaceful rally opposing the recent cuts.
Chanting “Cut Chopra, not classes!,” the students made it clear that their resentment was focused not just on the cuts, but also on the administration.

...Hours later, Chopra sent letters to the four faculty members notifying them of their suspensions for allegedly inciting these actions. The letters, delivered by an administrator with an armed police escort, banned the faculty from campus and prohibited their use of campus phone and email. Immediately following this action, President Chopra left for a long vacation overseas, leaving to his subordinates the task of justifying the suspensions...

However, Chopra’s attempt to muzzle protest has backfired. On November 6, students and faculty, joined by representatives from professional and civil liberties organizations, demonstrated in opposition to the suspension of the educators.

In an effort to find legal grounds for the suspensions ordered by Chopra, the administration funded an independent investigation into the conduct of the teachers during the October 22 rally. The investigation, which cost upwards of $15,000, caused further outrage and ultimately failed to produce any findings justifying Chopra’s actions...

Unlike many university administrators who, in the process of enforcing the ongoing cuts, have at least expressed dismay, Chopra has performed these tasks with callousness, earning widespread contempt at Southwestern Community College. Nevertheless no matter how callous Chopra may be as an administrator, there is an objective logic at work in his actions, which have a broader significance as well...As opposition grows on the campus to these conditions, the democratic rights of students and educators will be targeted.

There are already signs of this developing elsewhere. Last month, students at the University of California were confronted with police in full riot gear during three days of protests against a 32 percent fee hike. At the Davis, California campus, there were upwards of 50 arrests made, while at UCLA one student was tasered by a police officer.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/dec2009/scol-d02.shtml