UC President: Hate Acts May Prompt Policy Changes

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http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14795172?nclick_check=1

SACRAMENTO, Calif.-Following a string of racist acts on campuses, the University of California is considering changing its policy on bias incidents, UC president Mark Yudof said.

In a letter Monday to four state lawmakers, Yudof condemned the recent incidents, which included graffiti of swastikas and a noose found hanging from a library bookshelf.

“What we have witnessed in recent weeks are quite simply the worst acts of racism and intolerance I’ve seen on college campuses in 20 years,” Yudof wrote in the seven-page letter released Wednesday to The Associated Press.

Earlier this month, state Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento and three other Senate Democrats sent a letter to Yudof and UC chancellors requesting a detailed account of the system’s policies on hateful acts.

In his response, Yudof said he had started reviewing student-proposed legislation on campus hate crimes and was contemplating expanding UC’s Student Code of Conduct to explicitly ban such acts.

Current university policy bars acts of vandalism, as well as sexual and racial harassment, but does not cover actions intended to terrorize students, faculty or staff, Yudof said.

He said the new language under consideration would prohibit “hanging a noose, burning a cross, or placing a symbol, such as a swastika, without authorization, on university property or at official university functions.”

Yudof said university leaders would take free-speech

protections into account before finalizing any policy changes.

Steinberg spokesman Nathan Barankin said his office had reviewed Yudof’s letter and found it thoughtful and thorough.

“It seems clear that Mr. Yudof is taking these incidents very seriously, but we hope to work with him on issues where UC can improve in order to create healthier and safer campuses for students,” Barankin said.

Yudof also provided the lawmakers with a tally of vandalism incidents involving hate speech.

Over the past five years, 115 episodes have occurred across UC’s 10 campuses-with the highest number of incidents occurring at UC Davis and UCLA, according to campus police department records. Only four suspects were identified.

UC President: Hate Acts May Prompt Policy Changes

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