Fire Katehi: Students occupying UC Davis refuse to back down after 5 days

[Photos by UC Davis student Sarah سارة.]


Student statement on the occupation:


Why are we here?

We, the informed community of UC Davis, are here occupying the fifth floor of Mrak Hall in order to demand that Chancellor Linda Katehi resigns or is fired, and that the hiring process is redesigned so that UC Davis students and workers are not only a part of this process, but a major deciding body in the selection and confirmation of a new Chancellor.

We want to acknowledge that this land, office, and university we are occupying is on stolen Patwin land, and rightfully belongs to the Patwin people.


Why do we want Linda Katehi removed?

The recent discovery of Katehi’s positions on the board of DeVry University, King Abdulaziz University, and Wiley & Sons textbook company are not only a conflict of interest, but an indication of Katehi’s insatiable drive for money and power that have consistently come at the expense of UC Davis students and community, and most specifically from black and brown folks both on and off campus. These recent board positions that have associated her, and the University as a whole, with controversial and problematic institutions have also augmented her current salary of $414,000 annually to include an additional $420,000 from 2012-2014 from Wiley and Sons and are reflective of a longer history of problematic behavior by Chancellor Katehi including, but not limited to:

— Failing to appropriately address anti-Blackness and Islamophobia on campus

— Blocking the proposal to divest from companies that perpetuate the Israeli occupation of Palestine

— Increasing police presence on campus, as well as, the militarization of their weapons and equipment

— Ignoring hate crimes

— Personally blocking the request for foot sinks in the SCC, and furthering Islamophobic behavior and policy on campus

— Allowing for the pepper spraying of student protestors during the Occupy movement on campus in 2011


Recent Developments:

Instead of coming to meet with the students, Katehi has responded by pursuing action through the Office of Student Support and Judicial Affairs and with a threat of possible dismissal from the university for those involved.

Furthermore, she has not only refused to come meet with us, she has refused to even speak with us directly and has thus forced multiple campus administrators and staff to forfeit their time to speak and stay with us at Mrak Hall—not to mention the great amount of time and stress being forfeited by us.