Education
Following Recall, San Francisco School Board Reverses Course
San Francisco voters in February ousted three college board members in a landslide election that proponents hoped would reshape town’s training coverage and politics.
Simply 4 months later, the impacts of that vote are rising in an enormous manner.
The recall effort was pushed partially by disagreement over tips on how to deal with admissions at Lowell Excessive College, an elite public college that for many years accepted college students based on excessive check scores and grades. (Lowell’s lengthy record of notable alumni consists of Justice Stephen G. Breyer and former Gov. Pat Brown.)
In October 2020, the San Francisco college board voted to put in a lottery-based admissions system in hopes of diversifying the coed physique and increasing entry as social justice adjustments gained momentum in California. The board made that coverage everlasting in early 2021.
However the strikes angered many metropolis mother and father, notably Asian People, who felt it unfairly restricted their kids’s long-sought entry into one of many nation’s top-performing faculties.
The Lowell scholar physique is predominantly Asian — roughly 48 p.c, in contrast with 35 p.c throughout S.F. Unified faculties, in line with district information — and for a lot of immigrant households the college was seen as “a well-worn and cherished pathway to the center class, to social mobility,” Lee instructed me.
The change in admissions coverage felt like a very brutal blow after households endured a number of the nation’s longest pandemic college closures via spring 2021. Individually, households have been additionally involved about anti-Asian hate crimes. The college board recall turned an energizing power for Asian American voters, notably Chinese language People, who’re by far the biggest group, making up 23 p.c of town’s inhabitants.
“The Chinese language neighborhood is celebrating right now as a result of it’s actually the primary time in a very long time the place Chinese language voters flexed their political muscle and noticed a right away consequence,” Lee instructed me. “It’s a wake-up name for the political institution of San Francisco, that that is an rising political power.”
However the vote on Wednesday was a disappointing final result for individuals who supported the lottery strategy.
They worry that the system leaves behind Black and Latino college students who’ve decrease check scores. In addition they cite racism and harassment of Black and brown college students at Lowell. The introduction of the lottery system has lowered the variety of Asian and white ninth graders by round one-quarter and elevated Black and Latino ninth graders by greater than 40 p.c.
“The lottery system means Lowell is numerous,” mentioned Virginia Marshall, president of the San Francisco Alliance of Black Educators and a consultant of the N.A.A.C.P., in line with The San Francisco Chronicle. “It isn’t only for one ethnic group. It’s for all college students who select to make Lowell their residence.”
For extra:
The place we’re touring
In the present day’s tip comes from Christine O’Hagan, who lives in Mentone. Christine recommends her favourite seaside in Southern California:
“Laguna Seashore has every little thing! Lovely seashores and sunsets, inns, eating places, artwork galleries and boutiques. A stunning strolling path round and above the seaside. In July and August they’ve the Laguna Artwork Competition, the Sawdust Artwork Competition and the Pageant of the Masters with free parking and autos to hold individuals throughout Laguna Seashore.”
Inform us about your favourite locations to go to in California. E mail your solutions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We’ll be sharing extra in upcoming editions of the publication.
Inform us
Summer time is right here. What’s your favourite a part of the season in California?
E mail us at CAtoday@nytimes.com along with your tales, recollections or suggestions.
And earlier than you go, some excellent news
A celebration of purple blooms, the Ojai Lavender Competition returns this weekend after a two-year pandemic hiatus.
In Ojai’s Libbey Park on Saturday, you possibly can sip on lavender-infused lemonade and buy lavender-scented soaps. Or calm down and luxuriate in a picnic whereas listening to some stay music, in line with the Conejo Valley Information.
Education
Video: Protesters Scuffle With Police During Pomona College Commencement
new video loaded: Protesters Scuffle With Police During Pomona College Commencement
transcript
transcript
Protesters Scuffle With Police During Pomona College Commencement
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators tried to block access to Pomona College’s graduation ceremony on Sunday.
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[chanting in call and response] Not another nickel, not another dime. No more money for Israel’s crime. Resistance is justified when people are occupied.
Recent episodes in U.S.
Education
Video: Police Use Pepper Spray on Protesters on G.W.U.’s Campus
new video loaded: Police Use Pepper Spray on Protesters on G.W.U.’s Campus
transcript
transcript
Police Use Pepper Spray on Protesters on G.W.U.’s Campus
Police officers arrested 33 pro-Palestinian protesters and cleared a tent encampment on the campus of George Washingon University.
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“The Metropolitan Police Department. If you are currently on George Washington University property, you are in violation of D.C. Code 22-3302, unlawful entry on property.” “Back up, dude, back up. You’re going to get locked up tonight — back up.” “Free, free Palestine.” “What the [expletive] are you doing?” [expletives] “I can’t stop — [expletives].”
Recent episodes in Israel-Hamas War
Education
How Counterprotesters at U.C.L.A. Provoked Violence, Unchecked for Hours
A satellite image of the UCLA campus.
On Tuesday night, violence erupted at an encampment that pro-Palestinian protesters had set up on April 25.
The image is annotated to show the extent of the pro-Palestinian encampment, which takes up the width of the plaza between Powell Library and Royce Hall.
The clashes began after counterprotesters tried to dismantle the encampment’s barricade. Pro-Palestinian protesters rushed to rebuild it, and violence ensued.
Arrows denote pro-Israeli counterprotesters moving towards the barricade at the edge of the encampment. Arrows show pro-Palestinian counterprotesters moving up against the same barricade.
Police arrived hours later, but they did not intervene immediately.
An arrow denotes police arriving from the same direction as the counterprotesters and moving towards the barricade.
A New York Times examination of more than 100 videos from clashes at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that violence ebbed and flowed for nearly five hours, mostly with little or no police intervention. The violence had been instigated by dozens of people who are seen in videos counterprotesting the encampment.
The videos showed counterprotesters attacking students in the pro-Palestinian encampment for several hours, including beating them with sticks, using chemical sprays and launching fireworks as weapons. As of Friday, no arrests had been made in connection with the attack.
To build a timeline of the events that night, The Times analyzed two livestreams, along with social media videos captured by journalists and witnesses.
The melee began when a group of counterprotesters started tearing away metal barriers that had been in place to cordon off pro-Palestinian protesters. Hours earlier, U.C.L.A. officials had declared the encampment illegal.
Security personnel hired by the university are seen in yellow vests standing to the side throughout the incident. A university spokesperson declined to comment on the security staff’s response.
It is not clear how the counterprotest was organized or what allegiances people committing the violence had. The videos show many of the counterprotesters were wearing pro-Israel slogans on their clothing. Some counterprotesters blared music, including Israel’s national anthem, a Hebrew children’s song and “Harbu Darbu,” an Israeli song about the Israel Defense Forces’ campaign in Gaza.
As counterprotesters tossed away metal barricades, one of them was seen trying to strike a person near the encampment, and another threw a piece of wood into it — some of the first signs of violence.
Attacks on the encampment continued for nearly three hours before police arrived.
Counterprotesters shot fireworks toward the encampment at least six times, according to videos analyzed by The Times. One of them went off inside, causing protesters to scream. Another exploded at the edge of the encampment. One was thrown in the direction of a group of protesters who were carrying an injured person out of the encampment.
Some counterprotesters sprayed chemicals both into the encampment and directly at people’s faces.
At times, counterprotesters swarmed individuals — sometimes a group descended on a single person. They could be seen punching, kicking and attacking people with makeshift weapons, including sticks, traffic cones and wooden boards.
In one video, protesters sheltering inside the encampment can be heard yelling, “Do not engage! Hold the line!”
In some instances, protesters in the encampment are seen fighting back, using chemical spray on counterprotesters trying to tear down barricades or swiping at them with sticks.
Except for a brief attempt to capture a loudspeaker used by counterprotesters, and water bottles being tossed out of the encampment, none of the videos analyzed by The Times show any clear instance of encampment protesters initiating confrontations with counterprotesters beyond defending the barricades.
Shortly before 1 a.m. — more than two hours after the violence erupted — a spokesperson with the mayor’s office posted a statement that said U.C.L.A officials had called the Los Angeles Police Department for help and they were responding “immediately.”
Officers from a separate law enforcement agency — the California Highway Patrol — began assembling nearby, at about 1:45 a.m. Riot police with the L.A.P.D. joined them a few minutes later. Counterprotesters applauded their arrival, chanting “U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A.!”
Just four minutes after the officers arrived, counterprotesters attacked a man standing dozens of feet from the officers.
Twenty minutes after police arrive, a video shows a counterprotester spraying a chemical toward the encampment during a scuffle over a metal barricade. Another counterprotester can be seen punching someone in the head near the encampment after swinging a plank at barricades.
Fifteen minutes later, while those in the encampment chanted “Free, free Palestine,” counterprotesters organized a rush toward the barricades. During the rush, a counterprotester pulls away a metal barricade from a woman, yelling “You stand no chance, old lady.”
Throughout the intermittent violence, officers were captured on video standing about 300 feet away from the area for roughly an hour, without stepping in.
It was not until 2:42 a.m. that officers began to move toward the encampment, after which counterprotesters dispersed and the night’s violence between the two camps mostly subsided.
The L.A.P.D. and the California Highway Patrol did not answer questions from The Times about their responses on Tuesday night, deferring to U.C.L.A.
While declining to answer specific questions, a university spokesperson provided a statement to The Times from Mary Osako, U.C.L.A.’s vice chancellor of strategic communications: “We are carefully examining our security processes from that night and are grateful to U.C. President Michael Drake for also calling for an investigation. We are grateful that the fire department and medical personnel were on the scene that night.”
L.A.P.D. officers were seen putting on protective gear and walking toward the barricade around 2:50 a.m. They stood in between the encampment and the counterprotest group, and the counterprotesters began dispersing.
While police continued to stand outside the encampment, a video filmed at 3:32 a.m. shows a man who was walking away from the scene being attacked by a counterprotester, then dragged and pummeled by others. An editor at the U.C.L.A. student newspaper, the Daily Bruin, told The Times the man was a journalist at the paper, and that they were walking with other student journalists who had been covering the violence. The editor said she had also been punched and sprayed in the eyes with a chemical.
On Wednesday, U.C.L.A.’s chancellor, Gene Block, issued a statement calling the actions by “instigators” who attacked the encampment unacceptable. A spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized campus law enforcement’s delayed response and said it demands answers.
Los Angeles Jewish and Muslim organizations also condemned the attacks. Hussam Ayloush, the director of the Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, called on the California attorney general to investigate the lack of police response. The Jewish Federation Los Angeles blamed U.C.L.A. officials for creating an unsafe environment over months and said the officials had “been systemically slow to respond when law enforcement is desperately needed.”
Fifteen people were reportedly injured in the attack, according to a letter sent by the president of the University of California system to the board of regents.
The night after the attack began, law enforcement warned pro-Palestinian demonstrators to leave the encampment or be arrested. By early Thursday morning, police had dismantled the encampment and arrested more than 200 people from the encampment.
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