Students say UC Davis violates their free speech by spying on protests

[Newsjock]

Source: Sacramento Bee

UC Davis students angry about rising tuition have staged many protests in the last year and a half – including sit-ins at campus buildings, a naked rally on the quad and a march that almost walked onto Interstate 80.

Now students are staging a new confrontation against campus management, accusing administrators of spying on their activist movement. Student activists and the American Civil Liberties Union will hold a press conference at UC Davis today (Tuesday) to call attention to their allegation that university officials have violated students' rights to free speech by monitoring their demonstrations.

... Putting things in writing led to today's press conference, where students will present hundreds of pages of emails, rosters and protocol outlines detailing the duties of the new "Student Activism Team." The group is supposed to communicate with campus police and other officials about actions students are planning, attend protests and rallies, inform students if they are doing something unsafe, suggest ways to handle crowds and call for police if necessary.

... Cres Vellucci, a board member of the Sacramento chapter of the ACLU, isn't buying it. He said the documents students gathered show that a campus police officer in plain clothes marched in a demonstration with students.

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/04/12/3545870/students-say-ucd-spies-on-their.html

[Hotler]

1. k&r n/t

[Rage for Order]

2. Does UC Davis have a law library?

If so, perhaps these students could avail themselves of its resources so they can gain an understanding of what free speech does and does not entail. Were their free speech rights violated by fellow students who videotaped their demonstrations and posted the videos to youtube? The effect is the same.