Dr. Chui Tsang, Santa Monica College President, Defends Campus Police Pepper-Spraying Protesters

Santa Monica College president Dr. Chui L. Tsang defended campus police who dealt with demonstrators Tuesday evening, pepper-spraying dozens of students and bystanders, including a four-year-old child.

"Although a number of participants at the meeting engaged in unlawful conduct, Santa Monica College police personnel exercised restraint and made no arrests," Tsang said in a statement.

Students were trying to voice their strong opposition to a plan that would dramatically increase the cost to take classes at the community college, imposing a higher rate for in demand classes. In-state resident students currently pay $36 per credit unit, but that could jump to $180.

Community colleges in the state have lost billions in funding in recent years and Santa Monica has cut more than 1,000 classes. Around 100 students showed up at the Board of Trustees meeting shouting "Shame on you!" Tsang said attempting to disrupt the Board of Trustees meeting was "unlawful conduct."

"Santa Monica College regrets that a group of people chose to disrupt a public meeting in an unlawful manner," Tsang said. "The college has launched a full investigation into the matter."

The American Civil Liberties Union said campus police went too far.

"The college must respect the right of students to make their voices heard, especially when they are expressing profound concern about college policies that will impact them and their studies," said the ACLU's Hector Villagra, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. "Free speech means being able to speak freely without being doused with pepper spray, which has excruciating effects that can last for days. When campus police respond with excessive force, it makes students afraid to speak out."

Trustee David Finkel said he wasn't convinced the use of pepper spray was absolutely necessary.

Patch reports after the meeting, the Board of Trustees still planned to move forward with the controversial new funding plan. The Chancellor of the California Community College system wants Santa Monica to hold off on the new plan.

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Comments

[myviews]

07:26 PM on 04/08/2012

Ms. Chu Chang might have thought she was on Tin Man Square. Misspellings intentional.

[myviews]

07:23 PM on 04/08/2012

I went to SMC before transferring to a major university and am very embarrassed for them that this is how they are treating their current student body. Shame on them indeed!

[Bryan Spangelo]

06:33 PM on 04/08/2012

Elected trustee boards generally pay greater attention to their stakeholders than appointed boards. The Santa Monica College president and trustees could have held open forum sessions with the student government and faculty senate leaders in order to explain the rationale behind the abrupt 4-fold increase in fees. A larger room that allowed everyone into the meeting to voice their opinion would have diffused the situation so that pepper spray would not be necessary. The president and trustees need to realize that they serve the students. At least the chancellor has it right: no fee hikes!

[allrightallready]

07:13 PM on 04/07/2012

The idiotic liberal press has succeeded. These students have developed a "good sense of entitlement" and, now that Fantasyland has been closed, have concluded that a riot is in order. Now the liberal press "reports" what it has created.

Does anyone other than me see this as a mini-Greece? Hold on to your hats folks, this is just the beginning. A few more years with the bleeding heart liberals in control, everyone will be convinced that they "deserve" a new Ferrari every year.

Liberalism does not work folks because, by nature, we are lazy. We, including me, want the most for the least effort. Even I like "free." It is "astounding" when the major networks go overseas and interview people in Western Europe and the interviewees tell them they like free this and free that.

Greeks got "free." Now look what they have - cutbacks, suicides, and riots. Congratulations to all pandering, bleeding heart, liberal "thinkers." Socialism has repeatedly failed. What do you not understand? If you are incapable of understanding, can't you at least "see."

[arianaart]

12:46 AM on 04/07/2012

"Dr. Chui L. Tsang defended campus police who dealt with demonstrators Tuesday evening, pepper-spraying dozens of students and bystanders, including a four-year-old child."

A four~year~old CHILD!!!????
Sickeningly, unbelievable!

[OC Surfer]

12:22 AM on 04/07/2012

Disruptive threatening chanting is not the same as free speech. It's the behavior of a mob, and it's the precursor of mob violence.

[PirateJohn]

03:35 PM on 04/06/2012

We should do a caption contest for the main pic.

My entry: "THIS IS SPARTAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!"

[rtgmath]

10:12 PM on 04/05/2012

"Santa Monica College regrets that a group of people chose to disrupt a public meeting in an unlawful manner," Tsang said. "The college has launched a full investigation into the matter."

Ah huh. Well, may Tsang's days at the college be short ones. She has chosen to be the aggressor. The students who protested were peaceful, and they were shamefully treated.

My guess is that her declarations will ignite full-scale revolt of students and the better faculty. She will get a vote of No Confidence from the Faculty Senate and people of integrity will start to refuse to work with her. If she stays, students will find somewhere else to go.

[cityprof]

12:52 AM on 04/06/2012

I'm sorry but Dr. Tsang is a male, not a female. Because you didn't do your research on even this matter, your credibility is zero. While Dr. Tsang's position on the additional tuition may be wrong in my view, applying the feminine gender to an Asian male is extremely insulting.

[Clare53]

12:58 AM on 04/06/2012

Oh please. He didn't know Tang's gender so he has no credibility? Nonsense.

[rtgmath]

09:35 AM on 04/06/2012

I am afraid I mixed this person up with the other regent whose students were pepper-sprayed -- or hosed down with pepper spray as they sat in the commons area! The students kept a disapproving silence as the regent had to pass through the crowd. She, too, approved of the force used against students.

My mistake there. I apologize.

However, it makes the truth that much more awful. There are *more* than one colleges in California whose presidents or regents approve of this sort of thing happening to their students? This is terrible.

Any college official approving of this kind of force should be forced out. And while I disapprove of the use of this sort of thing, I think it would be profitable for their character to, at some point, experience the kind of "crowd control" they are endorsing.

[cityprof]

12:56 AM on 04/06/2012

Here is a link (See Dr. Tsang's photo):

http://www.smc.edu/ACG/Pages/Dr.-Chui-L.-Tsang-Superintendent-and-President.aspx

[timbeaux]

08:04 PM on 04/06/2012

And do you regard the text as factual? "During his tenure, Dr. Tsang has made a major impact on Santa Monica College, bringing fiscal stability to the institution; fostering cordial relations among all constituencies at the college; establishing an open and inclusive management style . . ."

Cordial relations? Open and inclusive management style? Up to the point where the pepper spray is needed, I suppose.

[bloomd]

09:40 PM on 04/05/2012

Questons
Is the trustee meating open to the pub;ic?
Is there an opem forum portion of the meeting?
What is the proceedure for speeking before or questioning of the trustees"
Who brings a four year old to a trustee meating?

[cityprof]

12:53 AM on 04/06/2012

Would you please edit your posts. Otherwise, how can anyone take you seriously?

[Clare53]

12:59 AM on 04/06/2012

Would you stop being obnoxious?

[bloomd]

01:56 AM on 04/06/2012

I use the same editors that HP does. They are quite cheep and more polite than most

[dennisdkl123]

08:38 PM on 04/05/2012

Tsang for police chief. She seems to know the law backward and foreward.

[cityprof]

12:55 AM on 04/06/2012

Dr. Tsang is a male.

http://www.smc.edu/ACG/Pages/Dr.-Chui-L.-Tsang-Superintendent-and-President.aspx

[SunCity85373]

08:10 PM on 04/05/2012

Yes the kids have a right to be heard, but they need to learn to do it correctly, you can't just shout down speakers, to get your point across.
Not sure how it happened, but pepper spray in a room isnt a great idea, everyone gets a bit of it.
The kids should have gone about it correctly... and learned, in "real life" you cant just try to out shout the other guy.
It got out of control, both the students, and the confused cops. Cops didnt know what to do, couldnt let it go on, but pepper spray, maybe not a good idea.

[neuticles]

07:21 PM on 04/05/2012

be robotic in your behavior- take whatever they dish out
but prepare to be tortured by authorities if you deviate.

this isn't america any longer and it scares me to death.

[Kev Bat]

06:46 PM on 04/05/2012

Forgot about those G8 days in Seattle did we ? This looks like a picnic compared to that !

[vavet]

06:27 PM on 04/05/2012

The problem is that State is bankrupt. Our in state kids pay $110 per semester hour, a bargain compared to four year institutions. California kids have been paying, what $39 per hour with the remainder picked up by the tax payer. The well is dry and the result is going to be triple tuition costs. The fault lies with poor governing resulting in unreal expectations by the students. You young people need to start cleaning political house in California and getting some common sense back in government.

[wcaacw]

06:16 PM on 04/05/2012

Rubber bullets just doesn't seem to work anymore.

[zunklives]

02:36 PM on 04/06/2012

bot