The Board of Regents announced in a Nov. 14 press release that the meeting was cancelled due to credible threats that there were plans for violent confrontations at demonstrations outside the meeting. Law enforcement at the Mission Bay campus of UCSF warned the Regents about the threats and recommended that the meeting not take place this week.
“From various sources they had received information indicating that rogue elements intent on violence and confrontation with UC public safety officers were planning to attach themselves to peaceful demonstrations expected to occur at the meeting,” the Regents wrote in the press release.
UC student leaders were angry at the decision to cancel the meeting because they had planned to use it as an opportunity to voice opposition to proposed fee hikes and advocate for an end to systemwide cuts.
“We do understand the concerns about public safety, yet the Regents also have a responsibility to the students and people of California to hold open meetings that allow for public access and participation,” UC Student Association President Claudia Magana said in a Nov. 14 UCSA statement.
UC Student Regent Alfredo Mireles Jr. stated that he too understood the reasons for the meeting’s cancellation, but said that students should still exercise non-violent assembly.
“We would support finding a way for student attendees to exercise their constitutional and moral right to protest while excluding non-student elements that raise the specter of violence and vandalism,” he wrote.
The Regents had planned to discuss systemwide financial plans and was expected to weigh in on a proposed annual tuition hike of 16 percent for the next four years.
According to a Los Angeles Times article, UC President Mark G. Yudof announced on Nov. 8 that he planned to scrap the tuition increase plan. Instead, he hopes to receive increased funding from the state government in order to increase UC enrollment by 1 percent.
UC Office of the President spokesperson Leslie Sepuka declined to comment on the specific reasons for the meeting’s cancellation. She said that the meeting will be rescheduled, though the new date is unsure.
“Just because the meeting isn’t happening doesn’t mean the work here is stopping,” Sepuka said.
