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volume 131, number 52
News iN Brief
Matt Carmichael named new UC Davis Chief of Police
MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2012
Open forums held to further discuss Reynoso report Questions raised about administration’s role and police organization
Participants discussed appointment of administration By ROHIT RAVIKUMAR
By MICHELLE MURPHY
On April 17, the Reynoso task force held a second forum about their report on the Nov. 18 pepper spray incident. The forum was intended to be more low-key than the initial release of the report, with less media coverage and more attendees, to more adequately address individual questions and concerns about the report. “We did meet with the Chancellor earlier this afternoon to indicate to her what some of the issues were, and we had a good discussion with her. We will be having more discussions with her, and fortunately she has invited that,” said Justice Cruz Reynoso during his opening comments. One issue raised in the forum was that of restorative justice, a form of justice with an emphasis on satisfying the victims of an incident, referenced in the report as a recommendation for the administration. Several people expressed skepticism about the idea. “The only problem I see is, being from a different perspective, people are so passionate about it that they don’t listen,” said Bryan McPartlan, a senior political science major. “There are a lot of people who don’t want to hear what I have to say.” Another individual agreed with the idea of restorative justice, but argued that it should be pushed forward by the students and administration instead, an idea that Reynoso seemed to support. “We didn’t make that specific recommendation, but the healing process that that speaks to is part of restorative justice. Because [many people] cannot speak freely about this, we felt it was jumping the gun to include that recommendation,” Reynoso said. Another issue brought up was that of a democratic process to determine the leadership of the university, taking the decision away from the UC Regents. The task force seemed to partially agree with this point as well. “We currently have a dual governance system, as the faculty has a lot of say. I think what
In the second question-andanswer session last Thursday, members of the Reynoso Task Force, Penny Herbert, William McKenna and Katheryn Kolsar, met with a small number of community members to further discuss the findings that were publicly released on April 11. Around 10 members of the community attended the public forum, raising questions about the police force, the administration’s decision-making and what is to come of the task force’s recommendations. Richard Grotjhan, UC Davis professor of atmospheric science, started the forum with questions about the lack of records regarding the process that the administration took in relations with the protesters. According to Herbert, the task force found that there were various times when key constituents were not making informed decisions and there was a great deal of inconsistency. “That’s what we did try to point out [in the findings], that there wasn’t this clear communication, because that’s what we saw as the biggest error,” Kolsar said. In a meeting between the task force and UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi last Tuesday, it was made clear by both Katehi and the task force that the structure of future conferences needed changing. According to McKenna, it wasn’t clear who was on the
Aggie News Writer
Aggie News Writer
Brian Nguyen / Aggie
Matt Carmichael was sworn in as the new UC Davis Police Chief by Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi. Last Thursday, Interim Police Chief Matthew Carmichael was sworn in as the UC Davis police chief. Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi administered the oath. “Matt’s service over the past months has been extraordinary during some very demanding and difficult circumstances,” Katehi said. At the swearing-in ceremony, Katehi also announced that the oversight of the UC Davis Police would be moved to the office of the provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Ralph J. Hexter from the vice chancellor of Administrative and Resource Management, beginning May 1. This is part of the top-to-bottom police force review
previously announced by Chancellor Katehi. The police chief appointment is for one year, and at the end of that year the University will release a national recruitment call for a permanent position. Carmichael’s family was present at the ceremony, and his mother and wife presented him with his Chief of Police badge. “My top priority in the next few months is going to be rebuilding the relationship between the police and the campus community,” Carmichael said. “We’re going to be out meeting people, hearing about your needs, your concerns. You’re going to see more officers out on foot, you’re going to see officers on bicycles.” — Hannah Strumwasser
See REYNOSO, page 2
of the summer season for us,” said Erica Brown, Assistant Director of Aquatics, in a press release. The Rec Pool is located on the corner of La Rue Road and Hutchison Drive. The pool is open 1 to 6 p.m.
Monday through Thursday and 12 to 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday. — Written by Hannah Strumwasser — Photo by Bijan Agahi
State senator approaches campus organization for aid UC Davis student speaks on recognition of Armenian Genocide resolution By ANI UCAR
Aggie News Writer
STAND is a student-led antigenocide coalition comprised of internationally established chapters. The organization’s mission is dedicated to empowering individuals and communities with tools to prevent and end genocide worldwide. On April 19, hundreds gathered
Today’s weather Sunny High 76 Low 54
to support Senate Joint Resolution 23 (SJR23). California State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), an advocate of officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide, recently approached STAND to speak in support of the resolution. Prominent members of the Armenian community, including Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian of the Western
Prelacy and Consul General Grigor Hovhannissian, attended the session. The UC Davis Armenian Student Association was also in attendance. “While this has great resonance for me as a member of the Armenian community, this is a human rights issue, a question of fundamental
Forecast After a blazing and fun-packed Picnic Day, the sun is going to give us a few days of mild radiance. For those who forgot their sunscreen on Saturday, this week will be perfect for sunburn recovery. Raymond Chan, atmospheric science major Aggie Forecasting Team
See QUESTIONS, page 2
UC Davis student Thomas Matzat to be readmitted under certain conditions
Students cool down at the Recreation Pool, open for the season The UC Davis Recreation Pool opened yesterday. “The staff and I are excited for the opening of the Rec Pool; it’s a great place to enjoy the warm, sunny weather. It signals the start
conference calls before the pepper spray event and there were no documents saying what was discussed or decided. Katehi made it clear to the task force that the process was changing and the leadership team is starting to go into regular meetings with the possibility of having a scribe at each one. The findings of the task force also concluded that there was not a valid legal basis for the action to arrest the protesters. Other members of the community raised concerns about changes that they believed would need to happen with the police force on campus. While the task force could not comment on the resignation of former Police Chief Annette Spicuzza, they did mention that there is a need for a new police chief who will be engaged in upholding the report’s findings. “As far as making sure the recommendations are followed, we’ve talked as a task force about how to follow up. We’re still trying to figure out how to best follow up, but that is one of our priorities,” Kolsar said. Interim Police Chief Matthew Carmichael was sworn in for a year-long term as the new chief of police last Thursday afternoon. Marline Williams, a former professor and advising director at UC Davis, mentioned that before any restorative justice can be had, the adminis-
Recently, junior art studio major and Occupy UC Davis protester Thomas Matzat and his attorney spoke with the College of Letters and Science about lifting his expulsion. The Davis Vanguard said he will be reinstated if he follows conditions that are currently unspecified. Matzat was arrested on March 17 with felony vandalism to campus property. He was charged with five felony counts of vandalism that exceeded $400, 14 misdemeanor counts of vandalism less than $400 and one misdemeanor count of possession of tools with the intent to commit vandalism. In turn, he was not able to attend his finals and faced expulsion. In response, students and fellow Occupy protesters held a sit-in in
the office of the Dean of the College of Letters and Science. Students also attended Matzat’s April 20 arraignment. Yolo County District Attorney Michael Cabral reviewed Matzat’s case and filed the charges. He said they were able to determine who Matzat was based on security cameras. On Facebook events campaigning for Matzat’s readmission, students voiced he was expelled because the school is attempting to suppress political activism in light of the legal repression of the Occupy movement. Cabral said the arraignment is postponed to May 8, but may occur earlier. — Written by Claire Tan — Photo by Brian Nguyen
See STAND, page 3 Tuesday
Wednesday
Sunny
Partly sunny
High 74 Low 54
High 71 Low 54
Picnic Day has come and gone, so what’s next for us Aggies to look forward to? GRADUATION, BABY!!! Just two more months ... Mimi Vo