Take Back Santa Cruz Members Coordinate Internet Attack Against UCSC Students

Active TBSC members Johnny Font, Robin Jansen, Tom Abbott, Kim Gardner, Christopher Culligan, and Eric Rowland, all of whom are 40+ years old (several are 60+ years old), suddenly began to leave insulting, trolling comments on a facebook event for the HWY 6's next court apperences on June 29th & 30th.

The TBSC members apparently sought to taunt the students and intentionally increase the stress about their upcoming sentencing hearing. They left the comments over a short period of time in rapid succession as a group. The event post is at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1440602746248740/

Johnny Font left the simple comment: "Payback".

Tom Abbott said: "Good luck y'all. You are going to need it.....".

Robin Jansen said: "Hi. Just to let you know Santa Cruz community does not support you".

One supporter replied to her taunts: "You do not speak for everyone, Robin. Please, speak for yourself."

Robin Jansen replied: "Ummm. Pretty sure I do".

Later Robin Jansen attempted to humiliate a person by using an obviously incorrect gender term for them when their name was one very common to males. Jansen said: "Ms (name redacted) getting all editing/deleting up on herself.... you go girl".

The person responded to Jansen's taunt: "That's not my preferred gender pronoun. Please, stop harassing me, Robin".

Eric Rowland said the students should not pay and drop out of school if they wanted to protest tuition increases: "You say that the community doesn't get it and is somehow supporting the UC's actions, yet YOU are the ones giving them exorbitant amounts of money. If a business charges me more than their product is worth, I don't demand they charge me less. I choose not to purchase the product or buy it from someone else. What do you think would get the Regents attention more, stopping traffic hundreds of miles from where they are, or thousands of students choosing not to pay what they say are inflated fees?"

Kim Gardner criticized the students for protesting tuition increases: ".....the highest education I received was high school, and barely at that. I'm 44 years old and have no children, by choice. The way I look at this situation: if someone wants a higher education (more school..ick!) good for you. Higher education is not a right. It is not food. It is not shelter. It is not personal safety. It is a privilege. Someone signs on the dotted line that they are accepting moneys and will pay it back, then that's what they should follow through with. To sign on the dotted line and then back track and whine and complain that said contact is unfair makes no sense to me".

Robin Jansen later referred to the UCSC students as "guests", but only one person in this particular group of TBSC members was raised locally. Most TBSC members are "transplants" and arrived as adults when they first came to Santa Cruz.

Take Back Santa Cruz was founded in 2009 as a pro-police, anti-crime group and quickly became known for its anti-homeless political stance.

Preying on people's fear of crime, TBSC has become politically powerful, and one of its founding members, Pamela Comstock, was elected to the Santa Cruz City Council. Richelle Noroyan was also elected to the Santa Cruz City Council due in large part to her affiliation with TBSC and an articulated "public safety" stance.

TBSC, however, has had a negative affect on public safety in Santa Cruz and is known for its internet trolls who mob and attack political opponents with personal attacks. TBSC is comprised of a checkered membership.

TBSC has been accused of hypocrisy due to its own members improprieties and criminal behavior.

Co-founder of TBSC Emmanuel P. Cube, also known as Dexter Cube and the husband of Analicia Cube, was found to have ripped off his financial clients after he was investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2002. Cube was found to have violated laws, he was fined over $50,000 and suspended for over 5 years from trading. This was his second punishment; he was fined $40,000 a few years earlier and also suspended then. ( Source: http://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/33-8201.htm )

Other TBSC members have exhibited criminal and/or unethical behavior:

Former TBSC Hero Dylan Greiner Removed as SC Clean Team Admin After Arrest
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/08/29/18742330.php

Video of Take Back Santa Cruz-supported Clean Team Harassing and Assaulting Homeless Man
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/05/15/18736901.php?show_comments=1#18737139

Santa Cruz Clean Team Scandal Video with Faces Obscured (Ken Skindog Collins)
http://occupysantacruz.org/2013/05/22/santa-cruz-clean-team-scandal-video/

Mayor's Public Safety Task Force Member is "fine with junkies dying" (TBSC Member Steve Schlicht)
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/07/25/18740407.php

Inappropriate Comments by TBSC Members Left Unchecked on SCPD Social Media (Analicia Cube, Samantha Olden)
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/02/06/18750430.php

Are Public Safety "Activists" Planning to Shame Drug Addicts and Needle Users?
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/09/29/18744023.php

Steve Pleich Sides with Racists In Online Forum
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/09/14/18761632.php

Open Leter to Steve Pleich of Citizens for a Better Santa Cruz
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/09/15/18743297.php