Fiction 101: Report by District Investigator Released

In a report laced with speculation, exaggeration, and downright misrepresentation,
Nancy Solomon, a Los Angeles lawyer hired by the district, presents as fact what campus police and a couple college employees "believed," "thought," and "felt."

The redacted (names removed) report includes police testimony describing "around one hundred" people "surging" at and "shoving" officers outside the 100 building.

Of course, those of us who were there that day know that nothing of the sort occurred.

Here's your angry mob of a hundred:


Here's your surging crowd:



No yelling, no shoving, no riot.

If you were there on Oct. 22, please attend the next Governing Board meeting and give your version of events. The November meeting will be Wednesday, Nov. 18, and begins at 7:00 p.m., but come early and fill out a yellow speaker card. The meeting is currently scheduled to be held in Room 214, seating capacity 85, so bring a warm jacket too.

And remember the Free Speech Rally tomorrow at 11:00 am (no yellow cards required)!

Celebrate Friday the 13th with Special Guests (including the ACLU and CTA!)

Reminder: Free Speech Rally this Friday, Nov. 13, at 11:00 a.m. in front of Mayan Hall!

Guests will include speakers from

• The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
• The California Teachers Association (CTA)
• The Southwestern College Education Association (SCEA)
• The Southwestern College California School Employees Association (CSEA)
• The Southwestern College Academic Senate

Food and beverages provided courtesy of SCEA

Faculty, staff, students, community members--all are welcome to come and speak!

(SWC employees: remember to avoid attending the rally during your service hours. SWC students: Don't cut class to protest class cuts. Attend only between classes.)

Rally co-sponsored by SCEA, CSEA, and the Southwestern College Academic Senate

ACLU Letter to Chopra

In an extensively documented letter to SWC President Raj Chopra, David Blair-Loy, legal director for the San Diego/Imperial County chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, outlines how the college's actions and policies violate the First Amendment, California Education Code, and the California Constitution.

These are the primary points of the letter:

1. California law does not allow the college to declare most of the
campus off-limits to free speech.

2. California law does not authorize a prior restraint on college student
speech.

3. The First Amendment narrowly circumscribes the college’s right to
require an advance permit for speech or assembly.

a. The policy may not delegate excessive discretion and must
contain a mandatory deadline for issuing a permit.

b. A permit requirement for small groups is an invalid prior
restraint.

c. Any permit requirement must contain an exception for
spontaneous expression.

4. The college unconstitutionally restricts protected speech.

For the full details, citations, and references to case law, please see the full letter.

And remember the free speech rally coming up this Friday the 13th! (see previous post)

FREE SPEECH RALLY THIS FRIDAY, NOV. 13, AT SWC

11:00 a.m. in front of Mayan Hall

We expect an impressive array of speakers, who will address

• Freedom of Speech
• Class Cuts
• Broken Promises

Faculty, staff, students, community members--all are welcome!

(SWC employees: remember to avoid attending the rally during your service hours. SWC students: Don't cut class to protest class cuts. Attend only between classes.)

Rally co-sponsored by SCEA (faculty union), CSEA (classified union), and the Southwestern College Academic Senate

And Now for the Musical Portion of Our Program

It had to happen: Chopra now has a song.

Local rapper Tweeker has just posted a piece called "chopras down fall update" on his myspace page (http://www.myspace.com/tweekersd).

Laid over a track recorded at last Thursday's rally, the rap begins and closes with ambient street noise punctuated by honking horns and protesters chanting, "Cut Chopra, not classes!"

In between, Tweeker shares his message to Chopra. Give it a listen.

Suspended Instructors Return, and Faculty, Staff, and Students Rally

Raising signs, waving U.S. flags, and chanting, "Cut Chopra, Not Classes," members of the college community took to . . . the sidewalk today
(not the street--it's illegal; not even the dust of campus property--it's illegal) as passing motorists showed their support with honked horns and thumbs up.






Attending the rally were three of the suspended faculty:


Janet Mazzarella (on the right), former SCEA (faculty union) president, who was suspended Thursday night but allowed to return to work on Monday.


Philip Lopez (center), current president of SCEA, who returned just today


and Andrew Rempt, also returning today.

Dinorah Guadiana-Costa, also suspended, was happily in class at the time of the rally but still there in spirit.

Please see our student paper, the Southwestern College Sun for in-depth coverage on the suspensions, the events leading up to them, and details on current campus climate.

And BIG thanks to both FIRE and the Huffington Post for the coverage and support! We are battling in our little corner, often wondering if any of it makes a difference. You have shown that it does.

Here are a few more photos:

As Rally Nears, Channel 10 Covers Suspensions, and a VP Waffles

Reminder: Please attend the rally tomorrow, Nov. 5, 11:30 a.m.

We will meet at the area popularly called "the corner lot" on the edge of campus at Otay Lakes Road and H Street. All are welcome!

Meanwhile, Channel 10 visited campus today and aired the following story this evening: Criminal Charges Possible for Professors' Role in Protest

Interestingly, in the video, VP of Student Affairs, Angelica Suarez, claims that "At this time charges have not been filed with the district attorney's office."

First, we already know that the case has been referred to the DA. Second, the only entity that can "file charges" is the DA's office itself.

Is this yet another example of SWC admins waffling on words?

Rally to Protest Suspensions, Class Cuts this Thursday!

Southwestern College's faculty union (SCEA) has organized a rally for this Thursday, Nov. 5.

When: 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Where: Corner of Otay Lakes Road and H Street.

Who: Faculty, staff, students, and community members. All are welcome!


Important note for employees and students of SWC: Come to the rally during a break. Do not miss class or cancel appointments to attend.

Where's the Press?

Yesterday's multi-college rally at Balboa Park received scant attention from the local San Diego media. Here are a couple of notable exceptions:

Channel 8: Protesters rally in Balboa Park against cuts in education
(includes video! Look for SWC folks in yellow shirts towards the end)

The Writer's Washroom: Professors and Students Rally, March, and Protest in the Street

Thanks, Channel 8 and Nickolas Furr!

Apparently anti-education San Diego Union-Tribune was mum on the protest. You can, however, read about gourds at that fine publication.

Rally on Thursday!

Thursday afternoon, there will be a multi-college rally to protest the budget cuts that have been hitting local colleges:

Balboa Park, corner of President's (hmm) Way and Park Blvd. 3:00 pm.

Here's the flyer.

For more information call: 619-640-1155

SWC Teacher Suspensions Update

We still have no details on the justification for the suspensions, though the district denies that participation in the student rally played a role.

One faculty member, Janet Mazzarella, has been cleared to return to work on Monday. The other three remain suspended.

UPDATED: SWC President Raj K. Chopra is on vacation for three weeks, effective today. He was present to sign the orders of Withdrawal of Consent (to access the campus).

Human Resources Director Jackie Osborne (who helped serve the suspension notices) is also on vacation effective today.

San Diego Union-Tribune article addressing the suspensions.

SWC Teachers Suspended after Rally Participation

Last night, four SWC teachers received hand-delivered letters informing them they had been placed on paid academic leave. The letters cite California Penal Code Section 626.4, which empowers the chief administative officer (in this case, President Raj K. Chopra) of a community college to deny his "consent to remain on campus" to anyone who "has willfully disrupted the orderly operation" of the college.

Withdrawal of consent means that instructors Dinorah Guadiana-Costa, Phil Lopez, Janet Mazzarella, and Andrew Rempt cannot step on campus or use their swc email accounts without risking a $500 fine and up to six months in jail. According to 626.4, the period of withdrawal can last up to 14 days or until the President believes that the individuals do not "constitute a substantial and material threat to the orderly operation of the campus."

In the meantime, these four teachers are unable to instruct their students during a critical period of the semester.

Student Rally!

Today's rally at SWC marked the beginning of a new era of activism for SWC students, staff, faculty, and even a few administrators.





The theme was "got classes?" and the message was clear.




With police officers standing by, one student after another took to the open mic, expressing how the class cuts were impacting not just themselves but their families and communities.




As the "free speech hour" drew to a close, participants decided to take their message beyond approved confines and marched to President Raj K. Chopra's office, where police blocked their way.




Student leadership says this rally is just the beginning.