Greetings Cherished Friends!

As the guest of Honor to the Last Public gathering of Tent University for this Spring, I was asked to give and address. I thought I would give a bit of a lesson instead.

(For background info on Tent U see: )
santacruz.indymedia.org/


Free Speech Rally Address May 13, 2005

I want to thank you all for being here.

I also want to thank my partner, Patty Burkart, for all her hard work last night helping me prepare this address.

We have a Free Speech Lesson from Tent University’s Continuing Education Program today . . . Let us begin.

I just ended my hunger strike last week that began on the night of April 18. I did this to clear my mind and to draw public attention to the violence by UC campus police against members of Tent University on that fateful night. I was shocked by the assault on the peaceful students that the UCSC top administrators authorized and the campus police used to stop a peaceful exercise of the right to free speech and peaceable assembly. I am appalled that the top management of the University of California values profits more than respecting the human rights of students and employees. This university has now joined our nation’s global corporations in their race to ignore basic human rights and needs.

Corporations must disguise and hide their abuses and continue disregarding the health and happiness of our communities and our world in order to maximize profits. They need to maintain the deception that they are doing good things. Tobacco companies, munitions companies, chemical companies, oil companies - they all go to great lengths to promote a positive public image. To prevent being exposed as the greedy and heartless organizations that they are, corporations today actively work to undermine freedom of the press, free speech, peaceable assembly, and redressing grievances.

Let me focus on redressing grievances. This means they block you from all avenues that can fix your problem such that you must resort to civil disobedience – and it is legal because it is your last resort. This is exactly what brought Tent University into being. We all know that we have no great avenues to get our point out about many problems with our society.

Since many of the university regents are themselves active in profiteering corporations, it is no surprise that UC imitates corporate culture. Of course UC would fiercely resist Tent University - or anyone – from disrupting business as usual or having a public examination of its unethical practices. To put it bluntly, the UC violence against Tent University’s members clearly said, "Shut up and sit down or we will slap you down."

To stop the trend at UC to disrespect and disregard the needs of students and employees, we must scrutinize UC’s practices in the light of public exposure. We must document and publish all instances of injustice to students and employees.

As in the case of Tent University, the video documentation by students and friends, told the true story. If you were to believe what University Relations told the news media, the students had been badly behaved and the police showed judicious restraint. However, once the videos went on-line to the public, the UC top administration was forced to back-pedal, and has yet to give a coherent account of why peaceful students had to be choked unconscious for their own safety.

If the UC top administration had focused on human dignity and on the real needs of the Tent University students, they would not have assaulted those young people. They would not have broken the US federal law contained in the UN "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" treaty, Article 5: "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." They would not have disregarded the US Constitution’s Bill of Rights allowing free speech, peaceable assembly, and redress of grievances.

Somehow UC top management forgot their legal limits, but maybe they will recover their senses when the law suits and public outcry settle. We must all be clear that UC, like every institution, is not above the laws; including those that ensure civil liberties and human dignity.

Now it is time to roll up your sleeves. My Dad used to tell me, “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. And it is important to not just complain, but to bring ideas for solutions to contribute.

Everyone here needs to talk with all of their friends, parents, and family. We need to make lots of formal complaints at every level available and write letters to everyone we know in positions of power expressing our outrage.

I want to work at a university where I can feel proud. I want to work at a university that demonstrates the best examples of human respect, social justice, as well as excellent education.

And to our new Chancellor, Denice Denton and the UC top administrators and campus police, “Welcome to Tent University, we are happy to play a part in your continuing education on human rights and respect.� Let’s look at the lessons to be learned recently and make positive changes right away!

Now we must all learn the lessons of Solidarity, Compassion, and Respect for one another all around the world. I believe we must create a community that cherishes respect, diversity, and human dignity. Let’s start here at UCSC, then work our way out to the rest of the world.

Thank you.



Caring and Sharing to Heal the World!! Pat ; )

Patrick (time4respect) True
ptrue (at) ipmts.ucsc.edu

DO NOT SETTLE FOR LESS THAN A TRULY BETTER WORLD!