Dear President Milagros Peña,
The Executive Board of the Purchase Chapter of UUP hereby registers its deep dismay at the College administration’s decision to call in outside police forces to disperse a peaceful and constitutionally protected student demonstration about the war in Gaza on the evening of May 2, leading to over seventy arrests of students and six faculty and professional staff observers and numerous examples of ill-treatment by police. Not only are peaceful and orderly demonstrations protected by the first amendment, they are also permitted and protected by SUNY policy. The indefensible decision to call in outside police forces, already evident early on Thursday evening, was an unfortunate provocation which directly led to chaos and injury, and threatens free speech rights which are a cornerstone of our campus’s identity. We also condemn the arbitrary shifts to and selective enforcement of campus demonstration guidelines which provided an excuse for the attack, and the failure of the administration and police to recognize the observer role our UUP members were engaged in.
We are also deeply disappointed by your email to the campus community on May 3, in which you chose not to denounce the violence committed against students, faculty, and staff, and instead invoked the threat of the code of conduct process for students and potential additional criminal charges.
Our members must not be subject to disciplinary threat or police arrest when engaging in their constitutionally protected right to free speech and protest, or when serving as observers for student protestors engaged in peaceful demonstration. We urge you to take immediate action in vacating all charges and disciplinary actions against student demonstrators and faculty and staff observers, and to engage in constructive dialogue with the student protestors and our campus community.
Sincerely,
UUP Executive Board
