March 24, 2006
First, I must to apologize for getting this letter out so late, after having our disciplinary hearing with the Dean of Students (Pace University) Friday afternoon, Lauren had to begin packing for a relief trip to New Orleans and we were both stuck trying to make sense of the outcome. I have spent most of my spring break trying to digest the hearing, the student handbook, and the events of the past several weeks.
The hearing was shrouded with the same methods of intimidation and deception that Pace has been using against us the last few weeks. We entered Dean O’Grady’s office with one of our attorneys, Gideon Oliver, and then the Dean informed us we would have two separate hearings. Lauren and I were forced to sit next to the University Attorney. Lauren and I elected to pursue an “informal resolution” as outlined in Pace University’s student handbook. While this waived our right to appeal, the Dean agreed to drop the expulsion charges against us in return for meeting with the Dean to discuss “university policies and guiding principles of conduct.” Before the university agreed to these terms however, the Dean attempted to make Lauren sign a statement waiving her right to appeal the decision of resolution, and leaving blank the punishment section, which would have enabled the Dean to take any action, up to expulsion without the ability to appeal the decision. The hearings were conducted very paternalistically, in keeping with the total control over university affairs that they are accustomed to and in clear retaliation for the protest at the Clinton event.
The good news is that the University has backed off its threat of expulsion for “incidents” we allegedly participated in leading up to the date of the hearing. This was not surprising, as the University did not have its facts straight, and the “charges” were all related to first amendment issues. This is not even mentioning the pressure exerted by students, professors, and the anti-war community on University officials since Lauren and I received the written threat of expulsion.
The bad news is that Pace has reaffirmed their ban on student freedoms of speech, press, and assembly. Pace believes that students need permission to attempt to do any organizing on campus. We were charged with violating three rules, one of them little more than two-years old (only approved flyers can be posted on campus), and none of them enforced for right-wing groups or fraternities/sororities (meeting informally in the student union, holding peaceful protests, and flyering).
While the threat of expulsion was temporarily removed from the table, the university has promised to seek harsher punishments (though I have trouble finding something harsher than the threat of expulsion) should either of us continue to organize on campus in violation of their draconian bureaucratic procedures.
Since I called Clinton a war criminal when he came to my school, the university had been constantly harassing us. The level of security was increased on campus in the previous two weeks, including an increased presence of top-level Pace security officials, patrols by University Deans, and monitoring of all student activities. When we attempted to table for our two student groups, after being authorized by Student Activities, our organizers were harassed by several Campus Security officials, Student Activities, and patrolling university officials. On Monday, March 13, during our press conference on the steps of City Hall (New York City), three heads of Campus Security left the campus and followed us to monitor our activities and press conference.
I thank everyone who signed our petition (and a huge thank you to Elizabeth Wrigley-Field for creating the online petition). The university has been actively monitoring the Campus Antiwar Network’s national website and Pace chapter of Students for a Democratic Society’s website. The petition and letters of support clearly played a huge role.
I am eternally grateful to all of the activists and public figure of peace and justice that wrote letters of support to our university on our behalf. We could not have fought our expulsion without the tremendous help of the national Campus Antiwar Network who helped stage a national call-in during our protest, and Traprock Peace Center’s Charlie Jenks who worked tirelessly on Traprock Peace Center’s blog against repression at Pace.
The national call-in also had a huge effect on the Dean of Student’s office and the President’s office. When I attempted to make my appointment for my hearing it took almost two hours before I could get my call through (instead of answering the telephone during normal office hours, they were allowing it to go through to voicemail). The Dean and top university officials also had several “emergency meetings” including the day of the call-in and the day of our rally.
I would like to publicly state that I shall continue to refuse to follow any rule or regulation that abridges my constitutional rights and liberties. I will not be intimidated by the Dean of Students, student activities or Campus Security officials. My struggle will continue until the University’s unconstitutional ban on student activism is overturned and students are allowed to organize, operate free press, and meet freely on campus.
If the university’s repression has reaffirmed anything in my mind is it that battles are won through direct struggle and unified efforts of a strong, grassroots, and democratic anti-war and progressive movement. Those that control society divide us and repress us because they know we have the truth on our side. It is their fear of that truth that is our greatest strength. We must remain united against repression and continue to seek common ground in our struggle to end the war on Iraq, and prevent future atrocities of the American-led, corporately funded war machine.
Thank you for your continued support in the fight for free expression and student activism. We will have updates soon on the coming battle to change the university’s policies on student activism.
College Not Combat! Relief Not War! Education Not Occupation! Troops Out Now!
In Solidarity and Struggle,
Brian Kelly
Pace Chapter of the Campus Antiwar Network
Students for a Democratic Society