UCSD Student Coops attacked again Police remove students posts by authors James Field This is an update to posts from Dec 19, the last time the UCSD administration threatened to shut down one of the student coops, and students were forced to occupy the building to prevent eviction or a lockout We have now done our second building occupation in a month, and on the anniversary of the beginning of a 55 day antiwar occupation that some of us participated in last year JANUARY 16, 1992 STUDENT COOP CRISIS UPDATE A history of administrative contempt for students and their organizations has come to a head The Student Coop Crisis escalated yesterday (Jan 15) when the administration ordered the UCSD police to forcibly remove student coop members and customers/supporters from the General Store Coop Police action began at approximately 1:30 a.m with an unauthorized entry into the student coop, under administrative order to change the locks Contrary to the administrationUs claim that the action was prompted by the General Store refusing to accept an audit, the administration in fact, broke a verbal agreement to conduct the audit next Tuesday Members of the coop were forced to break a window in order to gain access to their own store At 11:15 the police returned, forcibly ejecting the students from their store and locking themselves in, in the company of and under the leadership of, Assistant Vice Chancellor Tom R Tucker About 300 students spontaneously surrounded the coop, banging on windows and doors, demanding that the police give back the store Unknown to the police the students had changed back the locks Windows crashed and doors opened Students drove the police and administrators out of the coop The entire fiasco was televised on Channel news at noon Students occupied the coop The occupation continues today The spontaneous response of the students is consistent with campus-wide support for the coops On Dec 2, 1991 the UCB passed a resolution by votes to 2, condemning the administrationUs threat to TeliminateU Groundwork Books The following day, the GSA voted 14-1 in support of the UCB resolution The administration completely ignored these student representative organizations, TofficiallyU shutting down Groundwork Books Groundwork prevailed during the quarter break through direct student action Refusing to give into administrative intimidation, students occupied the coop through the night The next morning, an agreement was negotiated with the administration which enabled Groundwork to continue operating as normal without accepting the demands made by the administration On January 13, 1992 the UCB reasserted its authority with regard to student fee-funded facilities, condemning the administrative actions against the student coops, reprimanding Director Carruthers and resolving that Tfurther violation of UCB policies and/or direction will be sufficient grounds for terminating the relationship between the current Director and the UCBU The GSA Executive Council, pending ratification, has endorsed this resolution Student support is further evidenced by the 3000 signatures collected on circulating coop petitions The University community has donated about $6500.00 to the coopsU legal defense fund Numerous university departments, for instance, Visual Arts, Muir Writing, Sociology, Communications, Political Science, History, Literature, have displayed their support of the coops Finally, in the wake of yesterdayUs disturbing developments, the A.S unanimously resolved among other things that the administration used Texcessive forceU against students and that this represented Tinexcusable treatment of the studentsU and reflects their Tlack of respect for the abilities of student governing bodiesU and further resolves to support the original UCB-Coop committee solution proposed at the end of last quarter and finally will consider Tlegal recourse to defend the rights of UCSD students and student organizationsU Unanimity has therefore been reached among all student representative organizations in support of the coops More importantly, the coop struggle has crystallized the fundamental issues of the right to autonomous student organization, the right for student representative organizations to control their own finances, the right for students to control student fee-funded facilities, and in general the right for students to control all monies collected through self-assessed student fees Neither the A.S., the GSA, or the UCB presently control their finances (i.e OUR MONEY) Unless our representative organizations control their finances they have no autonomy These are UC-wide issues and the students of UCSD are now moving once again to take the lead in this regard The bill before the California State legislature which deals with all these issues, and which originated at UCSD, is now to be followed by the formation of a UCSD united student association to coordinate here, and set the pace throughout the state, the struggle for student autonomy, integrity, and self-determination This process begins tomorrow (1/17) with the All-Campus General Assembly We will invite all members of the UCSD community to join us in our attempt to end bureaucratic tyranny by seeking mandate to initiate a special student forum comprised of all representative student organizations to address all of the above common student concerns and last, but not least, to resist UC-fee hikes ATTEND THE ALL-CAMPUS GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING ON THE HUMP ON FRIDAY BE THERE WHEN UCSD MAKES HISTORY Click here to Reply James Field UCSD student government reaction to attack Call for help - show quoted text - Here is a packet sent to student governments containing the ASUCSD's reaction to the administration's attacks on the coops, in an effort to gain support and to try to build support for AB1884 a bill in the California legislature regulating student control of student fee funded facilities January 15, 1992 Associated Students Representatives: The long litany of UCSD Administration attacks on UCSD student coop enterprises has recently been resumed with heightened intensity Documents communicated here should provide a preliminary sketch of what has transpired Precipitous actions on the part of the Administration with UC Police complicity have undermined the possibility of constructive negotiations unless significant change occurs in the area of student rights and autonomy Because of the nature and degree of recent events, changes in the fundamental structure of UCSD's student government cannot be excluded Present issues at UCSD relate to conflicts familiar and relevant to student organizations at many public universities in California We hope to gain the solidarity of the Associated Students at such universities (specifically the AS-UCs and the AS-CSUs.) In particular, we request resolutions of support and letters of solidarity from those and other such student representative bodies We also exhort you to consider asserting your own autonomy emoranda of Understanding of the kind enjoyed between the AS-UCLA and the UCLA Administration would seem to be of specific interest Student governments must declare that they represent their student constituencies first and reserve all autonomy necessary to so in the face of any Administration's assertions to the contrary Because the conflicts we face are not particular but structural, we hope that we may expand and coordinate our efforts with those of other California public university student bodies to find system-wide solutions Legislative efforts, particularly AB1884, will require consolidated support and elaboration Please contact the Chair of the University Center Board or the President of AS-UCSD for more information and discussion In solidarity we may attain what has eluded us separately ### AS RESOLUTION CONCERNING THE RIGHTS OF STUDENTS AND STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS submitted by Siamak Malek January 15, 1992 Whereas, on November 18, 1991 the University Administration issued an ultimatum to a student organization, (Groundwork Books Cooperative), to relinquish their status and thus their rights and privileges as a student organization; and Whereas, on November 18, 1991 the University Administration issued an ultimatum to three other student organizations, (the Food Coop, the General Store, the Che Cafe), to either surrender their assets to the University Administration, their agency accounts and autonomous business structure or relinquish their status and thus their rights and privileges as student organizations; and Whereas, with these two ultimatums the University Administration left no room for negotiation and compromise on their status change from student organization to "outside contract vendor"; and Whereas, the University Administration has bypassed the official designated governing boards and has taken unreasonable action against student organizations thus violating the spirit of University community; and Whereas, these student organizations are governed with a collective decision making process which is different than the University Administration's hierarchical system, which necessitates flexibility and understanding; and Whereas, on January 15, 1992, at approximately am, the University Administration entered the General Store coop, without prior written or oral notification to the General Store or UCB and without authorization, changed all the locks to the doors; and Whereas, on January 15, 1992, at approximately 10 am, representatives of the University Administration returned with University police officers and forcibly removed students from said student fee funded facility; Therefore be it resolved, that the Associated Students maintain that we as UCSD students have the constitutional right to form associations and organizations for the promotion of our various individual, group, and collective interests; and Be it resolved, that the Associated Students find that the actions of the University Administration violated the coops' existing lease contracts; and Be it resolved that the Associated Students find that the University Administration's use of excessive force was inappropriate and inexcusable treatment of the students, student boards, and student organizations; and Be it resolved, that the Associated Students find that the University Administrations actions reflect a lack of respect for the abilities of student governing bodies to resolve concerns of importance; and Be it resolved, that the Associated Students recommend that the University Administration respect and consider the joint UCB/Coop Committee's proposal for the resolution of any and all alleged PPM violations before taking any further actions; and Be it resolved, that the Associated Students will consider taking legal recourse to defend the rights of UCSD students and student organizations if it is deemed necessary ### UCB Resolution on University Center Director vote (January 13, 1992) : in favor; O opposed; abstentions Whereas the University Center Director continued to push his "administrative action" during the break, and ignored the December mandate of the Board which stated "that any attempt by the University Center Director to alter the current relationship between the UCB and any coop be, and hereby is, declared to be inconsistent with the policies and intentions of the University Center Board, and a violation of the University Center Board Charter" as stated in the resolution Therefore it is resolved that the Board, within its full authority to so, formally reprimands the current UC Director, under the following terms: The Director shall not participate in any negotiations regarding UCSD's co-ops without prior express written authorization by the UCB Chair The Director shall transfer all files into the Board room and make all documents, including all correspondence between the Director and the administration, available to Board members The Director shall act in accordance with all Board resolutions and policies Further violation of UCB polices and/or direction will be sufficient grounds for terminating the relationship between the current Director and the UCB, and Be it resolved that the Chair write a formal reprimand to the Director's employment file, condemning Carruther's prior violations of UCB resolution and policies, and Be it resolved that a confidential questionaire be sent to University Center employees who work with the Director to provide the Board with further data on the performance of the Director, and Whereas the University Center Board Charter, an official document recognized by the University, clearly outlines that the UCB delegates the responsibility to the UC Director to run the daily operations of the Student Center, and pays his salary out of the $37.50 studentassessed fee, and, Whereas the UCB has determined it will resolve any and all alleged PPM violations through the joint UCB/Co-op committee as outlined in the Dec 2, 1991 resolution, Be it resolved that the Board finds it inappropriate that the UC Director enter into contract negotiations which are unauthorized by the Board, and Be it resolved that the UCB retain independent (i.e., non-university) legal counsel as soon as possible to obtain a legal opinion regarding the UCB's rights and responsibilities similar in scope to that obtained in 1974 by AS-UCLA from the law firm Latham & Watkins The UCB will earmark an initial $5,000 from the University Center Board budget line item (money to be transferred from the money initially allocated to the Center Letter) with the authorization of the UCB Be it resolved that the scope of the joint co-op-UCB committee be extended to include the following items: a that the committee conduct research on the status of student government at other campuses, especially within the UC system b that the committee propose to amend the UCB Charter to clarify the UCB's relationships with the following groups on campus: the administration student organizations in general student co-ops contract vendors student auxiliary enterprises c that the committee propose to amend the UCB Charter to increase the UCB's accountability to the UCSD student body d that the committee focus on creating proposals that outline steps to review and resolve any alleged PPM violations submitted by Chris Burnett and Molly Mckay ### NOTICE TO UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION UCSD students are standing together in solidarity with the coops' struggle for autonomy The University Administration is acting inappropriately by refusing to document their concerns or to negotiate a third category for the coop businesses which would allow them to remain as student organizations with agency accounts and economic autonomy The tactics of intimidation have been proven ineffective and are an insult to the campus community at large Students insist on control over their fees and fee funded facilities The Associated Students, Graduate Student Association, Student Affirmative Action Committee, and the University Center Board representatives have called for an all campus meeting Friday at noon on the hump We intend to draw connections between the disregard for student governing boards, intransigence and lack of good faith on the part of the University Administration negotiation, the lack of response to the non-academic grievance filed in response to the RIMAC election procedure, the stated opposition to AB 1884,, the refusal to fund a UCSD women's center, the destruction of TG's, the inability to allow the old pub to stay open, and a general lack of responsiveness to student concerns We not believe that the Undergraduate Affairs department is operating with the best interest of students at heart We urge the Regents, Office of the President, Chancellor and/or the Academic Senate to look into the actions of the undergraduate affairs department in regards to the coop situation We wish to operate in good faith, but there is little trust left Until the University agrees to negotiate on terms mutually acceptable to the students and the administration, the University Center Board Chair will hold the General Store audit information in safe keeping We look forward to a swift and just solution to this intolerable unrelenting attack on the student body at UCSD ### Emergency Call for All-Campus General Assembly Every Student will have a vote and a voice in reshaping our campus Auggie Orozco, President of the ASUCSD Molly McKay, University Center Board Chair Juan Astorga, Student Affirmative Action Committee Chair Denise Fenton, Graduate Student Association President Che Cafe, Food Co-op, General Store, Groundwork Books, Recycle Co-op, Women's Resource Center hereby acknowledge the need to assemble all UCSD students and university community members for a campus-wide meeting This will take place Friday, January 17, 1992 at Noon on the Hump As a community, we seek to draft resolutions which will articulate our situation to legislators and national, local and campus media Demands to be issued to the University Administration will be considered Working together, we will fight to have our voices heard This is your opportunity and responsibility to get involved, and generate positive long term change! We have been isolated and apathetic for too long It is time for action! Our rights to due process and autonomy are at stake! ### Devin M Scherubel UCSD student government reaction to attack Call for help Is there any help the UCSD coops could use from outside groups? Devin Colin Johnson UCSD student government reaction to attack Call for help The following are excerpts from a posting by James Field at UCSD on Dec 19 These are his suggestions as to what to to be of help: Letters of support Address them to UCSD Vice Chancellor Joe Watson, and send them to us at United Cooperative Association 4130-107 La Jolla Village Drive, #167 La Jolla, CA 92037 By the way, you can also send Email directly to Joe Watson His address: jwwa @ucsd.edu We're sure he'll be delighted to hear from you Pleas CC us a copy MONEY!! Legal battles are quite expensive Please send checks, payable to the United Cooperative Association, to the address above Alas, contributions are not tax-deductible at present If you send email to the Vice Chancellor please CC a copy to jfi @ucsd.edu Let's give these folks a hand with this one Sounds like they could use the support -Colin Johnson | Dragging NASCO kicking and screaming Colin @um.cc.umich.edu (work) | into the 21st century