It was yet another cat-and-mouse game, according to Modesto Junior College’s faculty staff and security, who were trying to figure out who was planning the so-called general assembly that took place last Wednesday, February 17. The event never happened.
On Thursday, February 11, campus security was notified of an unsolicited event that was to take place in the student lounge on East Campus. Massive fliers were passed around the college which got back around to the campus security. In addition to passed-out fliers, a mass email was sent to all of the students on campus through Facebook by a group called Modesto Anarcho Crew. The email also linked to their website, occupycentralvalley.blogspot.com, a website devoted to letting bloggers express stress and socioeconomic turmoil in the Central Valley.
The email send out on Facebook the day before the assembly stated, “Yesterday someone got harassed by MJC security and threatened with arrest for passing out fliers. Even more of a reason to come out, link up, and resist!” This sparked major concerns about how the event will take place. According to Lloyd Jackson, Lead Campus Security Officer, campus security never threatened any student with being arrested for passing out any fliers.
“An observer was told by security that the administration would not allow the general assembly to happen, as it wasn't sanctioned,” said an anonymous blogger on the website. “The message from the administration is clear: they are scared. They want to intimidate us, they do not want us getting together to talk about our shared conditions, they do not want us to organize together. They will go so far as to threaten teenagers with arrests for passing out simple fliers. When students, faculty and staff join together, we wield a power which the administration can never match.”
The person or group of people who organized the event still remains in question. The assumption of fear is the best bet to why these students refuse to take the stand and express how they feel about the budget cuts, but according to the Associated Students of MJC, it is encouraged that students play a more proactive role in these events.
“I wish these students would stop playing these cat-and-mouse games with the college,” said Wendy Byrd, Director of Campus Life and Student Development. “I wish these students would stop these unsanctioned events and come to us for help in advertising rallies like these.”
Byrd says she welcomes any student activist to host a rally on campus. “It’s not like we are going to say no,” said Byrd at the general assembly. “I am all for students expressing their concerns, I mean, we are all on the same page on education and it would be more effective if we all took part in the event.”
Byrd emphasized that the reason for the denial of the event was that it was an unapproved event. The event would have been approved because it was appropriate, educational and informative; all the student(s) had to do was get the ASMJC approved stamp and fill out an activity sheet provided by the office, and the event would have been approved.
Also, another reason that events such as this one needs to be approved is that, for example, if there is another function going on that occupies that student lounge during the same time, then the event would have to relocate to another spot where no function is taking place.
“We (ASMJC) would have helped these students in advertising marketing this event,” said Byrd. “(Colleges) have been too silent for too long, we will join them in a good strike.”
The event however was not restricted. The event was still scheduled to go on, and Byrd, Jackson and Becky Crow, Director of Campus Safety, were all there to make sure the event did not cause a riot.
Approximately 34 students showed up to the event inside the lounge; many more were asking about the event outside the building. Students were disappointed when they realized there was not going to be any assembly though it was massively advertised underground for a week.
“My friend told me about (the general assembly) and I wanted to know what it was about,” said Peter Young, 17, a psychology major. “I feel that I need to know what is going on with the campus and the future of my education. I came to this event to listen and observe what others feel about the economy, but this assembly never happened.”
Young was one of many students at the event who were willing to express their views of the budget cuts. The purpose of the assembly was to gather students and workers in public education and “organize collectively to strike, protest and occupy on campus,” according to the flier.
There are two sides to the story of the event: one is anonymous students claiming that the college does not care how they feel about the budget cuts and that it threatened them with arrest. The other side is that MJC encourages student activists to come forth and follow the policy of guidelines for events, and that threats of involving the police were false.
The general assembly had no speakers, no protests and no one coming forth to discuss their feelings. Instead, it was an event that brought many students out for nothing. The message from these fliers is to come participate in the March 4 Education Strike that will take place at UC Berkeley. (For more information about the March 4 rally, visit www.defendeducation.org. This event is described as the National Day of Action to Defend Education.)
ASMJC will be sponsoring buses full of students, faculty and staff to attend a different rally in Sacramento called the March in March. Stay posted for further information on that event.
The Pirates' Log > Campus Spyglass
Student 'activist' remain unknown
Published: Friday, February 26, 2010
Updated: Friday, February 26, 2010
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