Please take a minute to sign this petition to Pace University,
demanding that they drop all charges against two students facing
potential expulsion for peaceful anti-war protest, and cease the
harassment of activist groups on campus.
http://www.petitiononline.com/paceuniv/petition.html
If you’d like to write a more personalized statement of support for the
students as well, please contact me at wrigleyfield@nyu.edu (with a
recognizable subject line)
Please read more below. And please consider telling University what you think!
Here is the contact information for:
David A. Caputo
President
president@pace.edu
campus “hotline” 1-866-PAC-E001
For more information and ongoing updates in the case see:
Campus Antiwar Network www.campusantiwar.net/
(we’ll be posting more updates as they come in so check back to see how
the case is progressing)
Thanks very much,
Elizabeth Wrigley-Field
Campus Antiwar Network
#####
Reprinted below are a 1) letter and 2) press release from the Pace students who are facing discipline.
1) Letter by Brian Kelly:
Dear Friends:
Yesterday we (Brian Kelly and Lauren Giaccone) were threatened with disciplinary actions ranging from warnings to expulsion: all for holding a peaceful rally, handing out educational flyers about Bill Clinton’s war crimes, and holding regular CAN/SDS meetings at our school.
Yesterday, the Pace University Dean of Students disrupted our regular joint Campus Antiwar Network (C.A.N.) and Students for a Democratic Society (S.D.S.) meeting citing a university policy against “unrecognized student organizations” reserving or using university space. This occurred after an event we held on Sunday where I (Brian Kelly) called Bill Clinton a “war criminal” with my friend and fellow anti-war activist Lauren Giaccone, citing his atrocities around the world during his presidency. We were not charged with any violation; however, we were detained and threatened by both Secret Service agents and various police officers.
For more information about what happened at the event, including the threats made to us and the illegal searches that occurred please visit the following link:
http://leftist.ws/2006/03/08/why-i-called-bill-clinton-a-war-criminal/
What I saw yesterday at our meeting:
Several members of S.D.S./C.A.N. and I were sitting in our student union when the Dean of Students walked over to us escorted by a Pace University security officer. She sat down and preceded to showed us a copy of Pace S.D.S.’s website (http://www.studentsforademocraticsociety.org/pace). She said we were violating university policy by meeting at the school as an “unrecognized organization.” Her claim holds little weight as we had filled out the paperwork well in advance of the date of today’s meeting and still had not heard any response from the university.
We have held both C.A.N. and S.D.S. meetings before without any hassle; that is until Sunday’s demonstration happened.
When I got back to my dorm I found:
An envelope from my university on the ground near my front door. Inside the envelope was a letter from Pace stating that they are pursuing disciplinary actions against me for the following:
1. Failure to register a rally
2. Violation of distribution and solicitation policy
3. Reservation of university space by an unrecognized organization
These charges are an attempt to stop us from voicing our opinions and exercising our constitutional rights to free speech, press, and assembly. Pace’s message to students and the community is clear: We do not recognize constitutional rights.
Any of these charges can carry penalties ranging from verbal warnings to expulsion.
We believe the only chance to challenge these charges is to make sure that Pace knows that the world is watching them.
We are challenging President Caputo and the University not only on this instance, but also on their attack on civil liberties around the university, their enforced apolitical atmosphere, their union-busting activities, and the presence of Homeland Security agents on campus.
This coming Monday the president of PACE, David A. Caputo, will be delivering a “State of the University” speech at 2:30 pm at the Downtown campus. The Pace Campus Antiwar Network and Students for a Democratic Society Chapters will be holding a picket in front of the University starting at 2:00 pm.
Perhaps President Caputo is not aware that his university, as a institution of higher education, should be devoted to protecting free speech, not curtailing it.
From the Pace website:
“On behalf of the entire Pace community, I would like to welcome you.
I hope that our site and its many informative pages will answer your
questions and give you a sense of the many programs and activities
at Pace. Don’t hesitate to contact the President’s Office at 212-346-1097,
or email us at: president@pace.edu. I welcome your suggestions and look
forward to greeting you in person.”
David A. Caputo
President
And this:
How can we help? If you need an answer to a pressing problem, can’t
seem to find the appropriate person to help you, or want to bring
something to our attention, please use the Hotline. We’ll do our best
to get you in touch with the appropriate office or person as well as
assist in any way we can. Also, don’t hesitate to use the Hotline to
tell us good news too!
1-866-PAC-E001
We look forward to hearing from you.
president@pace.edu
David A. Caputo
President
I submit to you that he needs to hear our concerns. Please give a call or drop him an email and share your desire to see justice done.
Please consider joining us Monday, March 13 at 2:30 at the Downtown campus. Lauren and I need your support. We both are committed activists in the community and appreciate any support you can give.
If you want to help, we need fliers designed and printed letting New Yorkers know why we are picketing and signs and banners. We need to get the word out about what is happening at Pace. Please join us in these efforts.
Please contact us to send letters of support that we can give to President Caputo, or if you would like to volunteer to help combat Pace’s repression of student dissent:
Brian Kelly- kelly@leftist.ws 845-649-2146
Lauren Giaccone- lg11679n@pace.edu 917-597-3203
Pace Downtown Campus:
1 Pace Plaza New York, NY 10038
212-346-1200
BY SUBWAY
* 2 and 3 — Take 2 Local or 3 Express to either Park Place/Broadway (then walk east across City Hall Park to the campus) or to Broadway-Nassau St./Fulton St. Station (exit at Fulton and Nassau St. and walk 2 blocks north on Nassau St. to campus).
* A and C — Take the A Express or C Local to Broadway-Nassau St./Fulton St. Station. Exit at Fulton and Nassau St. and walk 2 blocks north on Nassau St. to campus.
* 4, 5, and 6 — Take the 4 or 5 Express or 6 Local to the Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall Station (last stop on the 6). Take exit marked City Hall to street and walk south down Park Row to campus; or walk through underpass to exit marked Frankfort St. and exit to Pace Plaza and the campus.
* J, M, and Z — Take the J or Z Express or M Local to Broadway-Nassau St./Fulton St. Station. Exit at Fulton and Nassau St. and walk 2 blocks north on Nassau St. to campus.
* N and R — Take the N Local or the R Local to City Hall/Broadway Station, then walk east across City Hall Park to campus.
Thanks for your Support! Hope to see you all on Monday!
Brian Kelly
President, Pace Campus Antiwar Network
kelly@leftist.ws
845-649-2146
AIM Screen Name: Resistance1986
____________________
2) March 7, 2006 Press Release:
Pace Students Speak Out Against President Clinton’s War Crimes
PRESS RELEASE: 3/7/06
Yesterday, the national media has picked up the story of two students heckling President Clinton. This is a press release from the two students, Lauren Giaccone and Brian Kelly.
Lauren Giaccone and Brian Kelly are students at the Pace University Downtown campus and aparticipated in the action against President Bill Clinton on March 5th, 2006.
Lauren Giaccone can be reached at 917-597-3203 lg11679n@pace.edu
Brian Kelly can be reached at 845-649-2146 bk32124n@pace.edu
Lauren and Brian are both members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) as well as Campus Anti-War Network (CAN) at Pace University. Both groups are left-wing, anti-war, and anti-militarization. The groups are democratically run student organizations. SDS is a relatively new group with a focus on labor and class issues, radical student empowerment and grassroots democracy. SDS was a radical group in the 1960’s which has recently resurged. CAN is a national organization that is active in fighting the war for several years.
Students from the Pace Chapters had originally formed a picket outside of the event on Sunday but were met with resistance by Pace University officials. The students were then allowed to go inside to the event after their banners were confiscated. Inside the event, Lauren Giaccone and Brian Kelly stood up and called President Clinton a war criminal and cited the atrocities he committed during his time in office. The two students referenced Clinton’s inaction during the Rwandan genocide, the bombing of a Sudanese pharmaceutical factory, the increased ethnic cleansing in Bosnia as a result of U.S action and the renewed sanctions and bombings against Iraq which murdered countless people.
It was at this time that the two students were forcibly removed by Westchester police and brought to an isolated room within the campus where Secret Service were waiting. The students were harassed by police and Secret Service agents who called them “clowns” and threatened to send them to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation that one officer promised “would take at least 72 hours” if the students did not provide information. The students were searched and had their photos taken several times by both police and Secret Service, neither of which was consented to. The students were detained for a period of time and questioned about their ties to SDS. When the students refused to give information like their Social Security numbers, the officers threatened them with statements such as “We can keep you here for 3 days.” The Secret Service also tried to get the students to waive their patient/doctor privilege by having them sign a form that would allow the agents to investigate if they were on any medication or if they had been to a psychiatrist; however, the students refused. The police demanded to know the names of who the students traveled with and what type of vehicles were used. The students refused to give this information. The other SDS students were found waiting for their friends in the lobby, where the police took their IDs even though they had nothing to do with the action. The students were then questioned about a letter that the Pace Chapter of SDS sent to the President of the University denouncing the invitation to President Clinton. President Caputo had given this letter to the Secret Service. The students were then loaded into a van with an officer and driven to their cars where police searched the students’ cars under direst. The searches were not consented to.
The students Lauren Giaccone and Brian Kelly would like to make it clear that they do not support Democrats or Republicans. Their action was in response to the growing militarism of American presidents. The Pace Chapters of SDS and CAN denounce the actions of Pace University President Caputo for inviting Bill Clinton, as well as giving their letter to federal authorities. They also denounce the actions taken by Mount Pleasant Police, Westchester Police, Pace Security officials and the Secret Service. Currently, the two students are facing an investigation by the Secret Service.
Lauren Giaccone is a member of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Campus Antiwar Network (CAN), Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and the New York Metro Alliance of Anarchists (NYMAA) Brian Kelly is a member of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Campus Antiwar Network (CAN), the Green Party, Campus Greens and Greens for Democracy and Independence (GDI)
Lauren Giaccone can be reached at 917-597-3203 lg11679n@pace.edu
Brian Kelly can be reached at 845-649-2146 bk32124n@pace.edu
####