Letters to the Editor

Jaywalkers a misguided target, campus police should shift focus

The California Police Association calls me for donations twice a year, and after reading Wednesday’s article on jaywalking, I now know why.

Apparently, there isn’t enough money going around the state, so the Fresno P.D. has taken it upon themselves to fix their money shortage.

My car was recently broken into and it took an hour to get an officer out so I could make a police report.
I guess the 70 officers a day patrolling campus were too busy “saving lives” and charging some poor schlub $100 just for trying to get to class.

And it’s not just the Fresno P.D. Our very own department of parking and transportation is in the mix as well. Parking and Transportation brings in at least $645,200 a year from parking tickets alone, charging unsuspecting students $25 a pop when they know that, “at the beginning of the semester, new students are confused about where they can and cannot park … some students don’t even know that they need a permit.”

I’m calling BS because, for $68 a semester along with whatever they get from tuition, I shouldn’t have to stalk someone through a parking lot, just to get a ticket for parking slightly on the lines (really did happen to a friend of mine).

When the excrement hits the fan, it’s always the middle man that gets squeezed. Well, welcome to middle earth ladies and gentlemen. Apparently educating the public doesn’t outrank making the almighty dollar on our government’s priority list.

—Ria Willaims
Senior, English

Students stigmatized by surveillance

Judging from their letters printed on April 27, Mr. Van Dyne and Mr. Rapp clearly do not understand the seriousness or depth of the subject matter at hand. I would like to emphasize that violations of academic freedom affect all students. It’s therefore tragic to me that people ignorant of the situation at hand are so quick to label people as “crybabies” for actually standing up against these infringements of our constitutionally protected rights.

Foremost, the administration lied. I understand there is a degree of miscommunication and misunderstanding inherent in any bureaucracy. But if you knew the details, you would know that President Welty himself sent a letter saying there were no undercover officers at the event, followed by a letter four days later saying there were three undercover campus police and three undercover officers from Fresno P.D. That’s not administrative miscommunication, that’s political maneuvering.

They come covertly because they are monitoring and collecting files about students/groups who speak outside of the mainstream. By doing so, they stigmatize as “radical” or “terrorist” those students and groups who participate in subversive activities (like talking about veganism).

Heaven forbid anyone challenge the status quo! There is a history of infiltration and information gathering of groups in the community of Fresno (Peace Fresno) and on our University campus (United Students Against Sweatshops) without justification and without probable cause.

You can be ignorant and judgmental, labeling students who advocate for your rights as crybabies at least and terrorists/criminals at worst. How sad. More power to Campus Peace, and may the cause continue.

—Catherine Garoupa
Graduate student, social work