Group protests police surveillance

ACLU gives university 10 days to turn in gathered surveillance information about Campus Peace and Civil Liberities Coalition group activities

By MAURICE O. NDOLE and JACKIE WOMACK

With signs and strong words, members of the Campus Peace and Civil Liberties Coalition protested the use of undercover police officers to secretly monitor their activities.

Outside Thomas Administration Building, the building that houses the offices of university president John Welty, several members of the group and their supporters, carried placards with phrases such as “education needs free speech,” and “let freedom speak.”

In a letter dated April 1, addressed to university police chief David Huerta, the ACLU gave the university 10 days to turn in information gathered about the student group.

Led by its president, Ruth Obel-Jorgensen, the group accused the university of undermining free speech by sending undercover police officers to its meetings.

“We want the university to protect free speech and stand for the students and its faculty,” Obel-Jorgensen said.

She said the group discovered the infiltration after inviting animal rights activist and veganism advocate Gary Yourofsky to speak on animal rights.

In letters made available to the press, the group claimed they were forced to move the venue of Yourofsky’s presentation Nov. 10, 2004, for security reasons.

Obel-Jorgensen said Huerta questioned her about a Middle Eastern speaker, Ilan Pappe.

“He basically asked what the speaker was coming to speak about, and if there was any threat to security,” Obel-Jorgensen said.

Obel-Jorgensen said the university has created a hostile environment for the group, which has made it difficult for them to recruit new members.

Donna Hardina, a social work professor and the group’s faculty adviser, said police scrutiny prevented the group from attracting new members.

“I support my students’ quest for freedom. They have done nothing wrong,” Hardina said.

Huerta could not be reached for comment as of press time, but university director of operations David Moll said the university was not targeting the group. Moll said his department only sends uniformed officers to events to the keep peace.

Moll denied claims that appeared in The Fresno Bee Wednesday that he had confirmed the presence of undercover officers during the group’s meeting.

“I don’t know where they got that idea that we are watching them,” Moll said. “We don’t send undercover officers. We send uniformed officers.”

Moll said the university police’s aim was to keep the peace and make sure that opposing groups do not clash.

“We had police over there because of the controversial nature of the speaker,” Moll said in reference to the incident involving Yourofsky.

Civil rights activist Nicholas DeGraf said actions to investigate the group were a serious violation of free speech at an open university.

“When people are investigating a democratic process, it has a chilling effect to the people trying to practice it,” DeGraf said.

After the press conference, the group hosted a panel discussion at the Student Union in Room 314, and engaged students in a discussion about the importance of free speech at the university.

The panelists, Mike Rhodes, an editor of Fresno’s Community Alliance newspaper; Carol Perez, a member of California Faculty Association; Mike Vavoulis, from the Fresno Free College Foundation; DeGraf and Obel-Jorgensen, said freedom of speech must be protected.

Rhodes related the group’s infiltration experience to his own experience as a member of two groups that were infiltrated by the police. He gave examples of an incident in which an undercover agent infiltrated his group and tried to influence members to commit criminal acts.

According to a letter from the ACLU, the university can either respond to the request by complying or they can provide reasons for not complying.

The panel discussion attracted close to 20 people. The low turnout disappointed social work graduate student and Campus Peace and Civil Liberties Coalition member, Nikki Garner.

“It’s unfortunate that more students were not involved,” Garner said. “I think that once students realize how they can be affected personally, then they will become more involved.”