"Douse yourself in gasoline and set yourself on fire," he wrote (Quintessential Episodes in Trump's America)

Professor Olga Perez Stable Cox

OCC Trumpsters/GOP

A professor called Trump’s election an ‘act of terrorism.’ Then she became the victim of terror. (Washington Post; Dec 27)

     “Now, at 66, I’m paranoid,” [targeted instructor] Cox said. “It doesn’t feel good at all to be looking over my shoulder and wondering when an unfamiliar car pulls up across the street whether they’re going to take a picture of me or something worse — but that’s my life now. I feel like I’ve been attacked by a mob of people all across the country,” she added. “If they’re telling me over and over again that they want to shoot me in the face, how am I supposed to know if they’re going to do it or not?”

. . .

     Cox’s comments were recorded by a conservative student in her class who found her statements offensive and decided to share the video with the Orange Coast College Republicans, according to Joshua Recalde-Martinez, a political science major and president of the campus Republican group.

. . .

     “Go out in the middle of the football field, pull out a handgun, put it to your temple and shoot yourself,” Jim Ernst wrote [to Cox]. “Or better yet, douse yourself in gasoline and set yourself on fire.”

. . .

     The harassment crested when Cox received an email from a man named Tim White that showed her home address, phone number and salary and threatened to spread the information “everywhere.” The email referred to Cox as a “libtard, Marxist, hatemonger, nutcase.” It was then, Cox said, that she could no longer stand to be in her home and decided to flee.

     The professor turned her final week of class this semester over to a substitute, but Cox said her ordeal continued after the controversial video appeared on the O’Reilly Factor. The host referred to her statements as “gibberish” and “slander” and labeled the professor part of “the totalitarian left.”

     “That woman needs a psychologist,” he said.

. . .

     The Orange Coast College Republicans have filed a formal complaint with the school and hired an attorney, said Shawn Steel, a former chairman of the California Republican Party.

     Steel told the Orange County Register that Cox is using her power as a grade-determining instructor to “basically scare and shame students.”

     “It’s alarming,” he said. “It’s scaremongering. It’s irrational. It’s a rant. And it doesn’t belong in the classroom.”

. . .

     [Cox's] name has been added to a controversial website called “Professor Watchlist,” which lists the names of about 200 academics across the country accused by a conservative group of advancing “leftist propaganda” and discriminating “against conservative students.”

     “This is a very carefully planned plot to attack college professors that they don’t like and disagree with,” she said. “This is being done all around the country. It’s not my fault, and I didn’t do anything wrong.”

     Rob Schneiderman, president of the Coast Federation of Educators/American Federation of Teachers Local 1911 that represents Cox, agrees that the problem is not what Cox said, but the fact that she was recorded, a violation of the student code of conduct that was expressly stated in the professor’s syllabus. Schneiderman said the short, edited clip fails to provide viewers with any context for Cox’s statements and could warrant punishment.

     “She’s known as an open teacher,” he said. “There’s a petition going around on campus to nominate her for teacher of the year. She’s very well respected on campus, and this was an absolute violation.”

     Schneiderman said the union plans to work with school officials to strengthen its free speech policies to keep students and professors safe from “Gestapo tactics.” Many professors on campus, he said, have vowed to resist any attempts by the campus Republicans to dictate classroom discourse.

. . .

     “My parents left Cuba so we would not have this kind of harassment and so we would have access to free education,” [Cox] said. “They made sacrifices to bring us here, and I’m proud to be an American.”

     “It’s just hard to believe that this is happening to me,” she added, “and if this is what America is turning into, we all need to be afraid.”

* * * 

Cox

Demonstrators rally for and against OCC professor seen on video lamenting Trump victory (LA Times);
3 local professors are on website list of those who 'advance leftist propaganda' (LA Times)
OCC should fire bully professor (OC Register)
Don't Smile (You're on Camera) (Inside Higher Ed)
Orange Coast College Student Threatened With Expulsion After Recording Professor’s Anti-Trump Tirade (CBS/LA)

Steel

SEE ALSO:

The YAF brouhaha: righties flip out, leaving slime and worse (DtB)

ANOTHER ODIOUS DONALD:

Donald Wagner being sworn in as Mayor of the City of Irvine (Dec. 13)

Advice for the President Elect

It’s like Trumpville around here

            For quite some time now, I’ve been very busy caring for my parents, who are elderly and, well, hard to care for. I’ve been preoccupied even. Outta touch.

            Still, I hear things, see things.

            I hear that the permanent VPI hire here at IVC will wrap up soon. Will Chris McDonald (acting VPI) get the job, despite his lack of experience? The way hires go around here, anything’s possible.

Persistent hinkitude, man. It’s like Trumpville around here. They do what they want. The rules mean nothing.

            I’m sure you’ve all heard about that instructor at OCC who opined negatively about Mr. Trump (how could she not?). A student secretly taped that and created a video that went viral. The Loutisphere went apeshit like it does.

YAF poster

            A few months ago, a similar episode occurred down at Saddleback College, when an instructor, appealing to board policy (created by our right-wing board that was miffed by all that student free speechifyin’), ripped down some unauthorized, and arguably inappropriate, 911 posters. Naturally, the local YAF louts videoed that and, natch, the context-less video went viral among the rabid and stupid right-wingers of America. Soon, Saddleback’s Facebook page was full of the usual rude, violent, and clueless remarks. "Libtard," "c*nt," etc.

            Natch, Saddleback threw that instructor under the bus, leaving those remarks for all to read, inviting the key YAF kid to say the pledge at the 911 event, and so on. We did what we could to support the instructor here at DtB. We got the union on the case too, though that yielded the usual nada. Way to go, FA. The contract isn’t everything, you know.

            On Thursday, the IVC Academic Senate (the Senate represents faculty concerning academic matters) acted to support that instructor and the efforts of the OCC Academic Senate—they didn’t throw their instructor under any bus—to defend Academic Freedom/1^st Amendment rights. I’m happy to say that that went down without controversy.

            I’m feeling so oddly patriotic these days, especially after Nov. 8. I feel the need to express my special neopatriotism.

            I put up a Canadian flag outside my office in the new Liberal Arts Building. (I was born in Canada, you know.) A big maple leaf.

            Then a Mexican flag. Yep. It’s big.

            Yesterday, Rebel Girl got me a Peace flag as a X-mas present. Maybe I’ll put that up too. Will it piss anyone off? Sure hope so. Glenn doesn't like anything edgy. Anything, um, collegiate. 

            That reminds me! Tell us what you know about the “investigations” that seem to be going on at the colleges these days. C’mon. Spill some beans why doncha?

            And Roquemore just got a new three-year contract.

            Yep, just like Trumpville.

While threats continue, the "White Genocide Project" writes to OCC faculty

Photo by Jeff Gritchen, OC Register. 

from the Register:

Police look into threats against OCC professor who made anti-Trump remarks
excerpt:

Rob Schneiderman, president of the faculty union, shared some of the latest e-mails Cox has received, including: “People are watching you and your family beware the night cometh.” Another: “Go out in the middle of the football field, pull out a handgun, put it to your temple and shoot yourself. Or better yet, douse yourself in gasoline and set yourself on fire.”
...
Meanwhile, some colleagues at the Costa Mesa campus have said they too are getting angry emails, including from one group called the “White Genocide Project” that asked faculty members to “urge your students to help President Trump fight white genocide. ... Diversity is a code word for white genocide.”

Meanwhile at CSULB...

Ho ho ho.

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"...we’ll put a (expletive) bullet in your face”

OCC students and faculty rally today. Photo by Jeff Gritchen, OC Register

from the Register:

OCC teacher received threats, left the state after video of her anti-Trump comments

excerpt:

An Orange Coast College teacher who told her students that Donald Trump’s election was an “act of terrorism” has received threats and has temporarily left the state.

News of the threats against Olga Perez Stable Cox came to light Monday, as hundreds of people turned out at the college to protest for and against her.

The professor, the union that represents her, and the college have received more than 1,000 emails, calls and Facebook comments – most critical of Cox, who a week after the election was recorded on video telling students in her human sexuality class that “we’re really back to being (in) a civil war.”

“Someone emailed her a picture of her house, with her address,” said Rob Schneiderman, president of the Coast Federation of Educators, AFT 1911. The email called her a “libtard, Marxist, hatemonger, nutcase” and said “her home address is now going to be sent everywhere,” he added.

Others threatened her livelihood, some her life.

“You want communism, go to Cuba ... try to bring it to America and we’ll put a (expletive) bullet in your face,” read another email to her....

OCC college president, faculty union and academic senate take a stand:

Coast Report Online:
Supporters and detractors square off over controversial OCC professor
Los Angeles Times/Daily Pilot:
Demonstrators rally for and against OCC professor seen on video lamenting Trump victory


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Our national JACKASS

Ignoramus with stunningly ignorant supporters

• Former Acting CIA Director Calls Russian Interference In  Election ‘The Political Equivalent Of 9/11’ (Huff Post)

• Trump is antagonizing the intelligence community, and that’s a problem (Wash Post)

• Trump Remains Unpopular; Voters Prefer Obama on SCOTUS Pick (Public Policy Polling)

OCC professor makes Professor WatchList directory, meanwhile at Notre Dame...

Photo from Professor WatchList website

Here is the entry from the Professor WatchList website:

Olga Perez Stable Cox
Olga Perez Stable Cox is an instructor at Orange Coast College. She used class time to call the election of Donald Trump "an act of terrorism" and also called him a white supremacist and also said Vice-President Mike Pence is "anti-gay".

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/socal-professor-uses-class-time-to-call-trump-election_us_58486e59e4b08f092ddd98be

The OCC newspaper, Coast Report Online, has this update:

Rally organizers allege filming of professor was premeditated

excerpt:

Organizers for a rally in support of an Orange Coast College professor recently recorded making controversial anti-Trump statements during her class are alleging the recording was premeditated by the college’s Republicans Club.
...
Elias Altamirano, a 21-year-old English major, said he attended a [OCC Republican] club meeting on Nov. 15 where he allegedly witnessed the planning of filming professors. According to Altamirano, Recalde-Martinez brought up the idea of recording OCC teachers potentially making negative comments about Trump when another club member volunteered to take part.

“He was sure he would be able to obtain a video of a professor,” Altamirano said.

“Everyone agreed and was just laughing. They seemed like kids who were just excited to play a game that they had just invented.”

Altamirano said that in the same meeting Recalde-Martinez said he knew a conservative lawyer, Shawn Steel, that could help them. Steel issued a formal complaint against Cox on Nov. 30 to OCC on behalf of the club asking for Cox’s resignation.

 Meanwhile at Notre Dame (via the Washington Post):

A twist on controversial ‘Professor Watchlist’: Notre Dame academics want their names added

excerpt:

While most teachers at any level education would generally prefer to remain off politically motivated lists, more than 100 faculty members at the University of Notre Dame say they want their names added to Professor Watchlist, a project of the nonprofit organization Turning Point USA. The group’s website says it is a national movement that seeks to “educate students about the importance of fiscal responsibility, limited government, and free markets.” Critics call it an assault on academic freedom.

 The watch list includes two academics from Notre Dame. One is philosophy professor Gary Gutting, who is on the list, according to the watch list website, because he wrote that the country’s “permissive gun laws are a manifestation of racism.” That came from a 2015 analysis about gun laws that Gutting wrote for the New York Times. The other is Iris Outlaw, director of Multicultural Student Programs and Services at the Catholic university. She is on the list, the website says, because she “taught a ‘white privilege’ seminar that pledged to help students acknowledge and understand their white privilege.”

The Notre Dame faculty members who signed the open letter said the people now on the list are, actually, “the sort of company we wish to keep.”

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Rally on Monday at OCC

From the Coast Report Online, Orange Cost College's newspaper:

Rally in support of professor planned for Monday

excerpt:

In an effort to stand in solidarity with an Orange Coast College professor who has been chastised after her controversial comments regarding President-elect Donald Trump made national headlines, a public rally to show support will be held Monday at noon in the college’s Free Speech Zone....According to union president Rob Scheiderman, Cox is well respected and works hard to create an environment that encourages dialogue. Additionally, the video posted on social media was made in her classroom in apparent violation of state law, district policy and Cox’s own class syllabis, the letter said. It isn’t clear who recorded Cox during the lecture. The rally, which will be held in the campus’ Free Speech Zone, is the first public showing of support for Cox who has been with OCC for more than 30 years. According to Hodge, both students and faculty want to stand in solidarity with Cox and will be attending the event at around noon on Monday...

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Free Speech or Indoctrination or a "teaching moment"?

Meanwhile at OCC...

The Register reports: Caught on video: Trump's election was an 'act of terrorism,' says Orange Coast College instructor in class

excerpt: 

In a video clip recorded by a student, a psychology instructor at Orange Coast College told her class that the election of Donald Trump was “an act of terrorism” – prompting an official complaint from the school’s Republican Club.

Olga Perez Stable Cox told students in her popular human sexuality class shortly after the election: “We have been assaulted.”

...The union that represents Cox defended her and said any students involved in the recording violated school and state codes and could be punished. Meanwhile, some Orange Coast College students and their supporters called it a blatant example of liberal bias on American campuses.

At at the end of the videotaped exchange, one student turns around and asks another, presumably the one doing the taping, "When does the marijuana proposition come into effect?" The student answers, "We can smoke now. " The tape ends. The Washington Post has a version with subtitles - see below.

Washington Post: Watch professor make post-election political speech

OC's KKK leader busted in North Carolina

Hagen, aka Quigg, brusied and booked in North Carolina

The OC Weekly's Matt Coker broke this story which has now been picked up by the LA Times, NY Times, etc.  Let's go with Matt:

OC Klan Grand Dragon William Ernest Hagen Held in North Carolina Stabbing
excerpt:

Orange County's Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon, who was roughed up by counter-protesters during a February KKK rally in Anaheim, is now sitting in a North Carolina jail after being arrested for allegedly stabbing and beating another man at a Klan meeting...Hagen was arrested on suspicion of felony assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury,...The bust came the night before Barker's Loyal White Knights were scheduled to hold a morning "Trump victory parade" in nearby Pelham, but the KKK never showed. ...

Hagen falls flat in Anaheim's Pierson Park parking lot last February. (photo by Eric Hood.)

*

This Day in IVC history: The Liberal Arts building 12/5/2014

Faculty, staff and administrators smile for the camera. 

Autographs and more! "Give me bookshelves or give me death!"

"Future home of Women's Studies." 

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Sammy Lee dies at 96

Dr. Sammy Lee, Olympic gold medal-winning diver and coach to Greg Louganis, dies at 96
(OC Reg)

     ...Dr. Sammy Lee, a noted physician who broke down racial barriers by becoming the first Asian American to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States, has died of complications from pneumonia.
. . .
     He was 96.
. . .
     The Huntington Beach resident was born in Fresno in 1920 to Korean immigrant parents.
     Lee won Olympic gold for the U.S. in London in 1948 and successfully defended his 10-meter diving Olympic title in Helsinki in 1952. He later coached some of the United States’ best Olympic divers, including Greg Louganis, Bob Webster and Pat McCormick.
     Olympic champion Louganis said Lee influenced his career at an important time.
     “He taught me at a very early age the responsibility of being (an) ambassador to not only my sport of diving but to the world,” Louganis said in a statement. “I was only 16 at my first Olympics with him as my coach.”
     McCormick, a four-time Olympic gold medalist diver who represented the U.S. alongside Lee in the 1952 Olympics, previously told the Register that Lee was one of his idols growing up.
     “He’s so loved in (the swimming) community,” McCormick said.
     Lee graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School, attained a bachelor’s degree from Occidental College and got a medical degree from USC. He had his own practice as an ear, nose and throat specialist in Santa Ana for many years.
     He also served in the Army for 13 years, retiring as a major.
. . .
     As a Korean American, Lee had to overcome racism many times in his career and personal life.
     “When he was growing up, his professors and teachers told him he should just be content working at his parent’s chop suey house,” Lee II recalled. “He would get angry, but he would get angry to do something about it to where he would better himself.”
     Lee was student body president at his high school but had to get special permission to swim in Pasadena’s public pool on senior day, his son said. And when he went to buy his first home in Garden Grove in the 1950s, he twice was turned down because of his race.
. . .
     “I tell the kids today that if you got the fighting instinct in you, you can overcome prejudice,” Lee said. “You show people with your performance, not just words.”
     Until recently, Lee swam almost daily at the Los Caballeros Racquet and Sports Club in Fountain Valley.
. . .

London, 1948

     “The sport has lost one of its founding fathers,” [coach of the Crown Valley Divers club, Kurt] Wilson said from a diving meet in Irvine. “He dove through prejudice. I remember him telling me a story one time where he could dive on a Tuesday because they were going to drain the pool on Wednesday because people wouldn’t dive in the pool after he dove in the pool. ... He had a lot of adversity against him (but) never let that affect his willingness to work harder than anybody.”
. . .
     In May 2009, Lee became the 11th recipient of a star on the Anaheim/OC Walk of Stars. His star is on Harbor Boulevard, just south of the entrance to Disneyland.
     Along with his dad’s professional achievements, Lee II hopes his father will be remembered for his work ethic and for his open-mindedness.
     “He didn’t care about anyone’s race, religion, ethnicity or sexual preference,” Lee II said. “If you look at his divers, it was really a multination people he helped.”….

From a Dissent the Blog post (Deceived by cats...) in 2009:


A couple of days ago, our pal Gustavo Arellano of the OC Weekly (Lee-ving out crucial OC civil rights history in the Anaheim walk of stars) reported an incident that many would rather forget:

Legendary Olympian and longtime Orange County resident Sammy Lee was honored two days ago with a spot on the Anaheim Walk of Stars, and it was fascinating to see history in action…. The story in the Orange County Register mentioned his back-to-back gold medals in platform diving during the 1948 and 1952 Olympics, and that he served for years afterward as a coach. But it didn't even hint at Lee's involvement in one of the uglier moments in Orange County history.

In 1954, Lee—an Army vet, licensed doctor, two-time gold-medal winner and recent recipient of the Sullivan Award as the best amateur athlete in the United States—tried to buy a house in Garden Grove but was refused. Twice. All because he was Asian. Garbage Grove's racism was condemned worldwide for the obvious reasons, and even Ed Sullivan and then-veep Richard Nixon spoke publicly in favor of Lee, who eventually did buy a home…. His struggle to buy a house was an important step in the battle to end housing segregation in Orange County that ultimately culminated in the Mulkey v. Reitman Supreme Court case.

About 8 or 9 years after the unfortunate “Garden Grove” episode, my mother took Annie and me to swim classes at a place, if I recall correctly, near Collins and Tustin in the City of Orange. My memory tells me that it was a “Sammy Lee” facility. I seem to recall seeing his name emblazoned (in cursive) on the outside wall of the building. I’ll see if I can find evidence that my memory is correct.

See also biography and video of Sammy Lee

P.P.S.:

I found this at OC History Roundup:

Today's photo shows U.S. Olympic divers Sammy Lee and Vicki Manolo Draves at the London Olympic Games in August 1948. Dr. Lee won a gold medal that year, and again in 1952 at Helsinki. But much of Orange County knows him as the man who taught them how to swim. Lee's swim school was a fixture in Anaheim for many years, beginning in the 1950s. Today, he received the 11th star on the Anaheim/OC Walk of Stars, in front of Disneyland....

I also found a reference to one of Lee's schools in Santa Ana.

Orange: across the street from Sammy's business, c. 1962

California Dreaming

From the University of California press room: 

UC, CSU and CCC leaders urge President-elect Trump to continue DACA

In a letter sent today (Nov. 29), University of California President Janet Napolitano joined with California State University Chancellor Timothy White and Eloy Ortiz Oakley, chancellor-designate of the California Community College System, in calling upon President-elect Donald Trump to continue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and allow California and the nation’s students known as Dreamers to continue to pursue their education in the United States.

A copy of the letter sent to President-elect Trump can be found here.

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"devastating effects on international student recruitment"

IVC enrolls over 770 international students, according to our website.

Trump promise of Muslim ban could cost the U.S. billions from international students“It is too soon to know the exact impact of this election on international student recruitment. However, policies proposed by the current president-elect, such as banning all Muslims from our country, could have devastating effects on international student recruitment,” said Marlene M. Johnson, NAFSA’s executive director and CEO.

“With approximately 15 percent of foreign students coming from Muslim-majority countries, we stand to lose the innumerable academic, cultural and foreign policy benefits that these students bring to our nation. In addition, we risk the loss of up to $4.9 billion to the U.S. economy and more than 60,000 jobs.”

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Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article114654133.html#storylink=cpy

“It is too soon to know the exact impact of this election on international student recruitment. However, policies proposed by the current president-elect, such as banning all Muslims from our country, could have devastating effects on international student recruitment,” said Marlene M. Johnson, NAFSA’s executive director and CEO.

“With approximately 15 percent of foreign students coming from Muslim-majority countries, we stand to lose the innumerable academic, cultural and foreign policy benefits that these students bring to our nation. In addition, we risk the loss of up to $4.9 billion to the U.S. economy and more than 60,000 jobs.”

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article114654133.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article114654133.html#storylink=cpy

If you got a blacklist, I want to be on it! Professor Watchlist wants YOU! And me! And your office mate!

From Inside Higher Ed:

Being Watched

New website seeks to register professors accused of liberal bias and “anti-American values.”
By Colleen Flaherty November 22, 2016

excerpt:

A new website is asking students and others to “expose and document” professors who “discriminate against conservative students, promote anti-American values and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom.”
....
In a write-up of the project, Kirk said, “It’s no secret that some of America’s college professors are totally out of line” and that he often hears stories about “professors who attack and target conservatives, promote liberal propaganda and use their position of power to advance liberal agendas in their classroom. Turning Point USA is saying enough is enough. It’s time we expose these professors.”

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

Then we at Dissent suggest going over to Professor Watchlist and turning yourself in.

As Billy Bragg sings, "If you got a blacklist, I want to be on it."

*

Chemerinsky in the OC Register: "for the next four years there will be a president who ran a campaign on racism and who expresses misogyny in his words and his acts"

Roquemore and Chemerinsky at IVC's 2016 commencement. 

from the OC Register:

For those who fear Trump, there’s only one option

Nov. 17, 2016
Updated Nov. 21, 2016 9:00 a.m.

By ERWIN CHEMERINSKY/ Contributing columnist

excerpt:

What do I tell my law students who feel despair at the election of Donald Trump as president and fear what it will mean for the law and the legal system? What do I tell my 22-year-old son who seriously wonders whether it is time to leave the country?
I try to tell them the institutions of American government are resilient and will protect our most cherished values, including the rule of law....

....I try to tell them the country has had a variety of different kinds of presidents before, and the pendulum swings back. Twelve years of Ronald Reagan and George Bush were followed by eight years of Bill Clinton; eight years of George W. Bush, followed by eight years of Obama. I try to reassure them that this too shall pass.

But then I realize that Reagan and George W. Bush had been governors of California and Texas respectively, the two largest states in the country. Trump is the least qualified person ever elected president. I remember that Reagan and Bush at least nodded to compassion. Reagan spoke of preserving a “safety net” for the less fortunate. Bush promised compassionate conservativism. I cannot find a shred of such rhetoric from Trump or those who supported him.....

To read the essay in its entirety, click here.

Long Beach City College: "Every single one of you belongs here and you are welcome on this campus – now and in the future."

From Long Beach City College President and Superintendent (and incoming Chancellor of California Community Colleges) Eloy Ortiz Oakley:

Dear Colleagues: As information, below is a message that I sent out to our students today. Please encourage any student who needs it to make use of our campus resources, including the upcoming counseling sessions.

Dear LBCC Students,

Across our country and throughout college campuses nationwide, people are processing the outcome of an unprecedented Presidential election. For many Americans, and indeed for many college students, this election has brought deep anxiety, discomfort, and uncertainty about the future. Undoubtedly, many of you have seen the responses in community and campus demonstrations, and statements by some that question the safety and rights of students from diverse backgrounds.

I feel compelled to address these concerns and reassure our students that Long Beach City College remains a safe, secure, and supportive environment for all of you. The diversity of our campus is one of our proudest and strongest qualities. We will continue to serve all of you and advocate on your behalf. Every single one of you belongs here and you are welcome on this campus – now and in the future.

While we are seeing some unrest within college and university campuses, we must remember that this unrest is an example of the unwavering rights we have in the United States to speak freely and engage in social action as a community. Our system remains strong and our campus will remain steadfast in its fair and equitable treatment for all students.

I encourage you, during this time of transition and uncertainty, to stay focused on your educational goals. Do not lose sight of what brought you to LBCC and the success that I know lies ahead for each and every one of you.

Campus resources are available to you, so please take advantage of these as you need them. Do not hesitate to contact LBCC’s Director of Student Health Services and Student Life Ginny DuRivage at 562-938-3986 if you have any concerns or need to utilize student support resources.

For more information, please see this flyer for upcoming support group sessions, and this statement from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.

Sincerely,

Eloy Ortiz Oakley
Superintendent-President

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CSU: “Our police departments will not honor ICE immigration hold requests”

from the San Francisco Examiner:

CSU police to protect undocumented immigrants from feds following Trump election

The California State University system will not cooperate with federal immigration authorities who are seeking to deport undocumented immigrants on the heels of the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president, Chancellor Timothy White said Wednesday .

In his campaign speeches, Trump has pledged to begin mass deportations and to cut federal funding for cities that protect undocumented immigrants. The CSU system spans across sanctuary cities in the state including San Francisco, where law enforcement agencies limit their communication with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Our police departments will not honor ICE immigration hold requests,” White said at the Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday in Long Beach.

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Something is Happening

Higbie: Yeah, and to be perfectly honest, it is legal. They say it will hold constitutional muster. I know the ACLU is going to challenge it. But I think it will pass. We’ve done it with Iran back a while ago. We did it in World War II with Japanese. Call it what you will… maybe wrong, but…




*

Donald Trump's America

Laguna Beach: "Last night my friends and I were on pch and got yelled 'beaners' and mocked for speaking spanish. Pretty hard to go out at night and have fun now. These were all white people in their fancy cars."

Orange: Angie reports that at a liquor store off Chapman Avenue, a man told her, "I don't know if you're a nigger, Puerto Rican, or a wetback but your ass is going back!" Her response: "Before you come out and offend, go get yourself an American car." He was driving a Honda.

Huntington Beach: At a grocery store, a man was told by the clerk he'd now have to buy a plastic bag, per California's new law. The man looked at his wife, and said "Oh great, now I have to pay this beaner for bags!!! Trump will overturn this, it's beyond stupid!"

Foothill High: A female student yelled, "Trump won, you motherfucker," to a biracial female student.

Anaheim Hills: At a CVS, a female customer on a cell phone said so the pharmacy staff could hear, "Mom, I don't know what to do, there's a stupid looking Asian chink here who doesn't know what she's doing" adding, "all these fucking Asians are taking the jobs. I don't even recognize any of these fucks — where are the old people that worked here?"

Fullerton: Jeanette Champion-Fanning reports: "I was putting my shopping cart away at Costco in Fullerton last Friday evening when someone shouted, "Murderer!" at a Muslim family. I couldn't figure out who did it because the coward yelled it from a line of moving cars."

Anaheim: Four white men outside the Packing House told a Latina to go back to her country.

Westminster: "I was walking from my car to 7-11 when an old guy walking out says, 'Sup man?' He seemed sarcastic, but I thought nothing of it and respond with a generic, 'How's it goin'?' He says, 'Good now.' [emphasis his]. I said, 'Glad you're good,' as I kept walking toward the door As he gets in his car, he says, 'Fucking chink,' and closes the door."

Westminster: Two white guys yell at parents walking their children to school "Get out! "Trump #1" and "Go back already."

Costa Mesa: At an ATM, a middle-aged white man tells a Latino, "You don't belong here, Mexican, can't wait for you to get deported. America will be great after all the Mexicans get deported and Donald Trump will make it happen."

Costa Mesa: At a Home Depot, two skinhead types yelled "Go back to Mexico" to Latinos and told a handicapped gentleman that this country didn't need "retards," either.

Santa Ana: Outside the police station, a man with an American flag T-shirt passed a Latina with two young girls and said "Two more months until no sanctuary cities. No more illegals!"

—From Here's a Few (OK, a LOT) of Hate Incidents in Orange County Inspired By Donald Trump's Win (OC Weekly)

Santa Monica College: "We will work collaboratively to ensure that our students—especially those who are immigrants or are undocumented students—know their rights and feel our support."

November 15, 2017

Dear SMC Community,

The 2016 election has come and gone—and the reactions around the country show a deafening divide. While many communities across this great nation are celebrating local and national outcomes, equally many are mourning. The most polarizing election result is that of the presidential election, which has created a victory or a tragedy depending on your point of view. However, having a different opinion from others should not justify trampling on their rights, insulting or dismissing them in ways intended to devalue and/or strip them of their dignity, and certainly does not justify threatening their safety or causing bodily harm through intimidation and discriminatory behavior.

The United States of America will inaugurate a new president in January 2017, who will have the immense responsibility of representing all the people, who should be expected to set the highest example of integrity and character, should inspire and uplift all citizens, and should uphold the highest ideals of democracy.

As for Santa Monica College, our mission statement makes it clear that we exist to provide “…a safe and inclusive learning environment…” We are demonstrably proud of our diversity—we recognize the strength that it generates in our remarkable teaching and learning environment.

I see the dedication of the faculty, classified staff, administrators, and Board members of Santa Monica College who are some of the most innovative individuals and thinkers. This excellence extends naturally to SMC students—who are “top students” in so many ways; and all of them are striving to improve the quality of their lives through the power of higher education. SMC is surrounded by communities that believe in the ability of those who work at the college to impart wisdom and impact lives evidenced by the recent passage of Measure V.

SMC is dedicated to ensuring that students’ aspirations become their realities. We help create pathways of hope for U.S. citizens and pathways to citizenship for immigrants seeking to be a part of the fabric of this amazing country. As we move forward, we will find ways to live together—nationally and locally—despite our differences. We will work collaboratively to ensure that our students—especially those who are immigrants or are undocumented students—know their rights and feel our support. And although, students who are immigrants are uncertain about what will happen to them given a great deal of campaign rhetoric, also, there are disenfranchised groups of American citizens who have similar concerns. But instead of dwelling in the shadows of fear and doubt, I wholeheartedly urge you to focus on higher ground. Set your aspirations above the confusion and uncertainty because that is where you will find meaningful solutions.

At SMC, let’s work to keep our campuses open environments where honesty, integrity, hope, and peace are driving forces; where we seek to be clear thinkers who value all members of our college community. With every SMC student who leaves our “doors” with certificates and degrees, or who transfers to a four-year university or college somewhere in the U.S. or around the world, we help build stronger and better communities locally and globally.

At SMC, we want each student to feel safe and cared for as they enter the college environment and as they go out into the broader community. These are the ways we can help America keep moving forward.

Most sincerely,

Kathryn E. Jeffery, Ph.D.
Superintendent & President

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Palo Alto USD: "It is important that we model compassion and respect for all members of our community."

Superintendent's Executive Summary 

...During the past few days, our entire community has experienced a wide range of conflicting emotions as we have processed the results of the Presidential elections. While some students, staff, and families move through this transition more quickly and easily, others do not, so we must focus on safety and wellness of each and every one of our children.

I am so proud that our students are deeply invested and engaged in our country and this is a wonderful time to discuss the underlying principles of our democracy: freedom of speech, a collective commitment to equity, and our inalienable rights. It is important that we model compassion and respect for all members of our community. As caring adults we also have the opportunity to emphasize the beauty of diversity, the importance of belonging, and the benefit of coming together during times of transition. We must be constructive and thoughtful in our communication through the coming weeks with our children, to support them in seeking healing when they are hurt, and modeling humility if victorious.

We are encouraging students to express their emotions in healthy ways - engaging in thoughtful discussions, civil discourse, and respectful debate; writing letters to elected officials and even their future selves; and practicing self care through mindfulness and/or physical activity. Despite our best efforts, we have seen some isolated incidents of harassment so if you notice that a student needs extra support, or if any incidents of harassment are shared with you, please notify the school immediately. We will take immediate and decisive action. Also, on site counseling and support are available. Please check in with the school psychologist and/or wellness center staff if additional support is needed for your child.

Additionally, below are some resources that may be helpful to answer questions that your child may have about the election process:

Conversation starters/FAQ & Helpful Answers about Elections in General
Resources for explaining the election process/electoral college to kids
Wonderful advice from a local (Jesuit) psychologist: take a deep breath, remember that rhetoric isn’t reality & how we can ‘grow where we are planted.’ 

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Foothill-De Anza Community College District: "the preservation of democracy requires vigilance"

from Post-election, local educational institutions emphasize inclusion

Judy Miner, the chancellor of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District, sent a message to faculty and staff Wednesday about both the local and national election results, drawing their attention to one phrase in the district's recently revised mission statement: "developing a broadly educated and socially responsible community that supports an equitable and just future for California."

"We are equally committed to an equitable and just future for the United States of America and we strive towards that end guided by our moral compass and living our core values," Miner wrote. "The work we do is affirming; it is healing; it celebrates the triumph of the human spirit. We will stay the course because that is who we are."

Foothill College's new president, Thuy Thi Nguyen, who is thought to be the first Vietnamese-American community college president in California, also sent a message to the Foothill community.

"We do not need to go far, with many countries represented at Foothill, to know the preservation of democracy requires vigilance," she wrote.

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Campuses Confront Hostile Acts Against Minorities After Donald Trump’s Election
(NYT)

     The fliers depicting men in camouflage, wielding guns and an American flag, appeared in men’s restrooms throughout Texas State University: “Now that our man Trump is elected,” they said. “Time to organize tar and feather vigilante squads and go arrest and torture those deviant university leaders spouting off that diversity garbage.”....

Why We Need a New Democratic Party
(Robert Reich)

     The old Democratic Party has become a giant fundraising machine, too often reflecting the goals and values of the moneyed interests.
     It has been taken over by Washington-based fundraisers, bundlers, analysts, and pollsters who have focused on raising campaign money from corporate and Wall Street executives and getting votes from upper middle-class households in “swing” suburbs....

Stanford University: "As a community, we must address the divisiveness we have witnessed with the respect, candor, and intellectual clarity that befits our academic mission."

NOVEMBER 9, 2016

Letter to the Stanford community from university leadership

Dear Stanford family,

This year’s election season has been among the most divisive in memory. For many in our community, the presidential campaign and election have generated great uncertainty, regardless of political preference.

As a community, we must address the divisiveness we have witnessed with the respect, candor, and intellectual clarity that befits our academic mission. We write to reaffirm the university’s commitment to supporting open discussion, and to supporting each and every member of our community. Later today, and in the coming days, the university will be in touch with more details about support resources and opportunities to gather together.

Even as we maintain our focus on education and research in service to the world, we must reaffirm our bedrock values of free expression, diversity and inclusion. This includes promoting a culture where all opinions can be heard and respected. Our university is enriched by the perspectives we each contribute.

Marc Tessier-Lavigne, John Etchemendy, Persis Drell

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UCI Forum on the Election

Held today, 36 hours after students expressed interest. The panelists are all professors in the law school and are from left, Mario Barnes, Christopher Leslie, Jennifer Chacon, Seth Davis, Song Richardson -  and the moderator, dean of the law school, Erwin Chemerinsky. Some will remember that Dean Chemerinsky was IVC's commencement speaker last May.

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SOCCCD: "reaffirm our values of inclusiveness and diversity"

This just in, though the absence of any kind of context, might make a reader wonder why now is the time to "reaffirm our values." Hey, what happened?

UPDATE: Sources suggest that the email was sent only to employees, not students. Make of that what you will.

FURTHER UPDATE: Classified employees reportedly did not receive this email.

Our Commitment to All

South Orange County Community College District, Saddleback College, and Irvine Valley College reaffirm our values of inclusiveness and diversity, and strive to create a welcoming environment where all people can learn and grow. We believe that expanding the mind is integral to individual and societal growth, economic stability, and intellectual decision making. We extend this opportunity to all students with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. We commit to continual professional development among our devoted faculty and staff who choose this career to help others succeed. We are partnering with our diverse community to make the world a better place, a safer place, a more inclusive place, and a more educated place, one student at a time.

Dr. Debra L. Fitzsimons, Interim Chancellor
Dr. Tod A. Burnett, President, Saddleback College
Dr. Glenn R. Roquemore, President, Irvine Valley College
C.M. Brahmbhatt, Interim Vice Chancellor, Business Services
Dr. David Bugay, Vice Chancellor, Human Resources
Dr. Robert Bramucci, Vice Chancellor, Technology & Learning Services

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