UCSC cancels job fair, citing 'safety concerns' about military recruiting
Santa Cruz Sentinel 1/10/07
But on Tuesday, university officials surprised local military officials, along with dozens of other job recruiters, by postponing the Jan. 31 fair indefinitely. UCSC officials cited concerns about safety following the series of unruly protests that has accompanied job fairs and other campus events since 2005.
"Our campus has a strong tradition of supporting free speech and the right to demonstrate peacefully ... However over the past two years, nearly every quarter has included events in which a few individuals chose to push their protests beyond civility and safety," read a statement released by the Office of Student Affairs.
The fair will be rescheduled when the university develops better rules and strategies to ensure the safety of military recruiters and other targets of campus protests. Additionally, a public forum Jan. 25 is planned by campus administrators, who say they want to engage students to "better understand campus activism and its impact on the campus"
Student anti-war activists, however, said no amount of campus dialogue would change their determination to keep recruiters off campus while the country is at war, especially as the Bush administration plans to deploy more troops to Iraq.
"Administrators don't understand student activists' basic standpoint," said Students Against War member Josh Sonnenfeld, "that military recruitment is not wanted at UCSC and we will continue to act in a nonviolent manner to ensure a military-free campus.
"We don't just want to make a statement — our goal is to impede and disrupt their ability to use our bodies for their wars"
At previous campus job fairs, military recruiters set up their information booths and groups of protesters force themselves inside the job fairs in an effort to drive the recruiters off campus. Administration officials and recruiters say student behavior has included spitting, shoving, threatening speech and throwing fruit.[an error occurred while processing this directive]
The greatest injuries to result from campus protests occurred in October when students and campus police clashed during a visit by the UC regents after about 200 protesters blocked entrances of a meeting hall with regents inside. At least seven students were pepper sprayed or bloodied by police batons. One protester was arrested on suspicion of battery against a police officer.
In other incidents since the first major counter-recruitment effort in April 2005, officials say one campus staff member suffered minor injuries, car tires were slashed and rocks were thrown at a departing military van.
Jean Marie Scott, vice chancellor of student affairs, said UCSC is in a tough situation because of federal law that strips federal funding to universities that don't allow military recruiters on campus.
"Students not being flexible has made that a difficult task," Scott said.
At least two branches of the military were scheduled to show up at this month's fair.
Marine Capt. Brian Lionbarger was hoping this time around student hostility would subside as it did at UC Berkeley after a wave of graduating seniors moved on.
"You keep going back because you never know how it's going to be, but I don't expect the university has much control over that — they're offering the career fair to us at our own risk to what happens," Lionbarger said.
Army Sgt. 1st Class Ray Ward, a Capitola-based recruiter, said he was surprised by the job fair's postponement and eager to return.
Army and Marine recruiters said they'll keep returning as long as UCSC proves to be a good source of recruits. At least a dozen students have joined or shown interest in military programs over the last year, they said.
"We were told there would be a lot more uniformed and plainclothes police this time," Ward said. "The university is going to have to figure out some alternative to allow us to do our job there"