| Author | Message | | sharkman | | Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2002 6:23 am Post subject: Action Alert |
| http://www.sfgups.cjb.net
GENERAL UNION OF PALESTINE STUDENTS
Statements Action Alert Accounts Actual Footage
NEWS RELEASE
What: Students and community leaders denounce university president for fomenting intolerance
When: Thursday May 23, 2002 10:00 AM
Where: Arab Cultural Center, 2 Plaza St. (off Laguna Honda, across from Laguna Honda Hospital)
Contact: Fadi Shamieh, San Francisco State University student (415) 606-5918;
Ramiz Rafeedie, American Arab Anti Discrimination (415) 794 1335;
Snehal Shingavi, Students for Justice in Palestine (510) 268-9006;
Hatem Bazian, Director Al-Qalam Institute
On Thursday May 23 at 10:00 AM, Bay Area students and community leaders will gather at the Arab Community Center to call upon the President of San Francisco State University to take immediate steps to protect students from the hateful attacks that his earlier statements fomented.
Student leaders and leaders from the Arab-American community will gather to respond to recent accusations by SFSU President Corrigan against Palestinian and Arab students who are members of the General Union of Palestine Students. They will present their side of the story, which until now has not been told, as well as their own demands of President Corrigan. These demands include:
The university to immediately stop blocking Arab and Muslim student access to campus facilities;
The administration to protect the students’ constitutional right to freedom of speech and assembly;
The administration to stop the harassment and discriminatory treatment of the student groups by sending university officials and uniformed officers to private meetings.
Speakers will make the case that President Corrigan is capitalizing on the atmosphere of fear and fostering intolerance against Arabs and Muslims on campus, thus creating a dangerous and hostile environment. Such behavior not only incites and perpetuates the violation of Arab and Muslim civil rights, but also puts the students at great risk. A detailed statement is enclosed. STATEMENT
BAY AREA STUDENTS AND COMMUNITY JOINTLY CONDEMN
SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT’S RACIST TREATMENT OF
PALESTINIAN STUDENTS
In their attempts to hold events on the San Francisco State Campus, the General Union of Palestine Students (GUPS) has been consistently blocked from access to university facilities. The administrative hurdles continue to mount. Most recently, on May 7, 2002, in an attempt to hold a silent educational exhibit along side an Israeli rally, drawing attention to Israel’s violations of Palestinian rights and life under occupation, GUPS was once again censored by the administration which blocked the exhibit with police barricades. In addition, the administration removed trashcans and brought SFPD forces onto campus before the event began, implying that the students fit the racist stereotype of Arabs and Muslims as bombers.
These three tactics represent a change of course by SFSU. The President of the university issued a derogatory news release last week, attacking the Palestinian students. Couched in the language of civility, which is a core principal for the pro-Palestinian students, the statement constructed a hateful, discriminatory and one-sided attack on the students. .
The real course of events differs greatly from news accounts and the President’s pernicious statement. While campus administrators censored the students’ exhibit with police barricades GUPS and Palestine supporters surrendered the silent exhibit idea and lined up behind another barricade 100 ft away from the Israeli rally.
At the Israeli rally, 400 angry protesters, mostly non-students, goaded the Arab, Muslim and pro-Palestinian activists with racist taunts including: "animals", "go back to your caves", "terrorists", "sand niggers" and "camel jockeys” while university officials stood by and watched. Moreover, eyewitness accounts testify to direct threats and assaults on the peaceful exhibiters. Despite the hostile environment, GUPS and Palestinian supporters chanted strictly political slogans that included: "hey hey, ho ho the occupation has to go", "no justice, no peace", "stop US aid to Israel.”
On April 9, Jews and Arabs together commemorated the massacre of Deir Yassin as well as the holocaust against European Jewry. Despite months of preparation for this important commemoration, campus administrators denied GUPS the permit it needed to hold the commemoration and threatened the students with disciplinary and legal action if they continued their plans. Finally, when pressed to provide the permit, the campus denied the sound system. When they realized they could not silence the Palestinians’ long planned commemoration, that promised to draw hundreds of supporters, campus administrators withdrew their threats and barriers.
The General Union of Palestine Students, the Muslim Student Association (MSA), Students for Peace, Students for Justice in Palestine, the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and concerned citizens are gravely worried by the hate frenzy that the SFSU president stirs up in his letter. President Corrigan accused the pro-Palestine activists of “violating the values of the institution,” overlooking the racist threats against them. He further threatened prosecution of the pro-Palestine protestors calling for them to be investigated for hate crimes. President Corrigan’s letter was not only slanderous, but also dangerous. We believe that President Corrigan is capitalizing on the atmosphere of fear and fostering intolerance against Arabs and Muslims on campus, thus creating a dangerous and hostile atmosphere. Such behavior not only incites and perpetuates the violation of Arab and Muslim civil rights, but also puts the students at great risk. President Corrigan neglected to collect all the facts as mentioned above and as documented on video. Considering the threats and hostility he levied at pro-Palestinian students, this is at the very least irresponsible and quite probably, a good deal worse.
As Palestinian people face daily killings at the hands of the Israeli military and student’s family members call from Palestine with accounts of nail-filled cluster bombs, homes bulldozed crushing people to death inside, in the Jenin Refugee Camp, children and political leaders targeted and the use of Palestinians as human shields in front of Israeli tanks, we feel more compelled than ever to educate the campus at large about the implication of biased support for Israel.
The Arab and Muslim community in San Francisco supports the students and demands an immediate retraction of Corrigan’s letter along with an apology and a plan to implement steps to restore civility and a safe environment for Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students. We will not allow another campaign of vilification abrogating the student’s hard-won civil rights. Every student has the right to attend SFSU in dignity, regardless of race, religion or national origin. None should be held hostage to the biases and distortions of a single administrator.
Moreover, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee demands a legal investigation of this pattern of censorship and intimidation, looking into violations of civil liberties. We jointly demand that the university immediately cease and desist in placement of hurdles, blocking Arab and Muslim student access to campus facilities. We also demand that the university administration protect the students’ constitutional right of freedom of speech and assembly. The administration, despite student complaints, has sent representatives and even uniformed officers to private student meetings. Such actions constitute harassment and discriminatory treatment.
[url][/url] | |  | | FoxtrotAlpha | | Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2002 3:45 pm Post subject: |
| ACTION ALERT 2
sharkamn has it in for the doc who did his snip all wrong. Used sissors that were too big. Ouch. Tears to me eyes. | | | | | ©2002-2009 WarWithoutEnd.co.uk |
