[O29] Update: Student Maced by Cops Now Banned from HCC

[Keith Rosenthal]

I think it's really important that we get someone from HCC . . . specifically this guy, Charles Post, to come speak at the October 29th protest.
 
--keith





URGENT UPDATE‹PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY!

Student who was Maced By Police is Now Banned from Campus!

At approximately 1pm on Sept 30, Sgt. Richard H. Wheeler and State
Trooper Vasquez delivered a notice to Charles T. Peterson at the
doorstep of his home in Springfield, MA.

Charles was the student who was sprayed in the face with mace by
Officer Scott Landry at the protest against military recruiters at
Holyoke Community College on September 29.  

(Go to campusantiwar.net to see photos and read our previous statement
about the police brutality )

The notice read: ³Because of your conduct on the property of Holyoke
Community College, your presence is no longer desired at Holyoke
Community College, its property or buildings. Your failure to abide by
said trespass notice will result in your arrest and court prosecution
for trespassing. This notice will remain in effect untill [sic] revoked
in writing by the Holyoke Community College Police Department.²

This is in clear violation of the College¹s own stated policy that
students, "have the right to procedural due process in grievance and
disciplinary hearings." [Right #6, p22, HCC Policy Guide 05/06]

As Charles is employed on campus, this restraining order will keep him
not only from getting an education, but also from working.  

Thus far, Charles has not been contacted by any member of the
Administration, besides the campus police. So he has had his education
and his job taken away from him with no explanation and no opportunity
to appeal.

It¹s worth repeating here that Officer Scott Landry, the officer who
put Charles in a headlock and sprayed mace in his face, is also the
Advisor to the College Republicans at HCC. The College Republicans were
also present at the protest, chanting behind the police line to incite
the police to attack students.  

On campus, the student body has become frighteningly polarized, and
many students who were at the protest opted out of attending classes
today for fear of harassment.

Professor Mark Clinton, the faculty advisor to the Anti War Coalition
has been summoned to see the Vice President of Academic Affairs on
Monday afternoon. The Office of the Vice President would not inform
Clinton¹s dean of the agenda for the meeting.

Yesterday, Professor Mark Clinton¹s daughter was called an ³ugly
communist bitch² by a fellow student.

Cindy Sheehan is scheduled to visit HCC in November. We will be trying
to contact her to notify her of the recent police brutality and to ask
her to make a statement in support of students. If anyone reading this
can help us get in touch with her, please let us know (our email is at
the bottom of this statement).

Amazingly enough, a George Mason University student was assaulted by
police on the same day as the HCC protest. Tariq Khan, a
Pakistani-American and Air Force Veteran, wore a sign reading,
³Recruiters tell lies² while standing in front of a US Marine
recruiting table. After being harassed by ROTC members, the JC
Operations Representative told Tariq that he had no right to voice his
opinion without a permit and to leave. When Tariq peaceably refused,
campus police violently assaulted him‹choking him, pushing him, and
slamming him against a stage. 

In Wisconsin, students at UW Madison were threatened with arrest and
forced to dismantle their protest against the presence of the Air
Force, CIA, and Marines at the College¹s career fair. They were told
that they were violating the Administration¹s codes for protesting when
in fact they were in no way breaching any part of it.

We are sticking with our former demands (see statement of September 29
on campusantiwar.net) but we would like to add the following:

---That the restraining order against Charles T. Peterson be lifted
immediately so he can continue his education and return to his job.

---That an impartial investigation be conducted into Officer Scott
Landry¹s role in the battery at the September 29 protest-- given
Officer Landry¹s dual role as armed police officer AND student advisor
to the College Republicans.

For the over 700 of you who have already called the school THANK
YOU!  Please keep the pressure on. Please keep calling. We are hoping
to flood the school with calls on Monday.

Sincerely,

Members of the Anti War Coalition at Holyoke Community College

 
Please call Holyoke Community College to register you concerns.

President Messner   
                                                               1-413
-552-2222

Officer Scott Landry,
Campus Police/ Advisor to the College
Republicans           1-413-552-2048 

Vivian Ostrowsky, Student Activities Coordinator            
1-413-552-2418  

 ****
 

Additional Statements from members of the Anti War Coalition at HCC


One leading member of the AWC, whose brother was permanently injured in
Iraq last year, stated:

³I was there to speak for my brother. He was wounded in Iraq. He¹s a
different person since he came back, it¹s a different person looking at
me, more like my little brother than my big brother. He may never be
the same, and he may never open up and tell me what happened in
Iraq. But I believe he fought for lies, and I believe he was lied to
when he joined the military. He was promised money for college and a
chance to see the world. But he went to Iraq, and he wasn¹t the same
when he came back.²

Shinah Santiago, an AWC Steering Committee member stated, ³I think it¹s
absolutely ridiculous. It¹s totally unjust to ban him from campus
without any kind of hearing or anything. And to have one of the
officers who assaulted us serve the papers was part of their effort to
intimidate us. They think he¹s our leader, but everyone in the AWC is a
leader, and none of us is going to be intimidated.²

 
Emails of support and solidarity can be sent to:
info.hcc-awc at hotmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 



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