“We care about the safety of our students very much.�
-- Liz Irwin, UCSC admin.

--Transcribed by Becky Johnson of HUFF


Elizabeth Irwin:

“A very tiny percentage of our 1500+ student body were involved. So I’d hate to think that this occasion actually characterizes our campus. In fact, It is the opposite.
We’re accustomed to challenging debate.

KION: The arrests? How was this decision made?

Elizabeth Irwin: This was a difficult situation made in consultation with faculty, leaders….actually after the Student Affairs staff had spent a lot of time warning students of alternatives and of consequences.

So The final decision was made by the senior administration and it was made with the understanding that there would be every precaution taken for safety. Another reason that things stopped for awhile was there seemed an intensive interest in accelerating on the part of the students….. We care about the safety of our students very much,
we did not want anything untoward to happen to them We thought it was better to just wait for awhile and see if the situation got less tense.


KION: So how was the decision made to pull back? When they had everyone surrounded?

Elizabeth Irwin: For the very reasons I mentioned.

The students became more expressive and seemed to be more interested in the kinds of behaviors that actually, we didn’t want to see continue. And so rather than engage in further confrontation it was better to just step back. Wait. Hope for the better as the evening wears on.

KION: this was supposed to be a weeks event-classes were going to be held by some professors down here. What is going to happen now the rest of the week?:

Elizabeth Irwin: Its too soon to know. We’ll have to see how things progress.
Our hope was this was to be a productive conversation a real opportunity
For students, faculty, and members of the community to come together in a productive way discuss issues that people care about. But it seems that There appears to be an interest in other kinds of approaches, ones that are not acceptable.

KION: The University supposedly made them some kind of offer they could go to a rock quarry? Why not let them put up tents and stay out here overnight?

Elizabeth Irwin: There are several reasons. First of all, this is not an area which we feel we could maintain for a safe environment. We are responsible for our students. We know that the campus at 8PM is closed accept for authorized access. We are concerned, frankly, about the possibility of unknown individuals coming to the campus, not necessarily with the best interests of our students at heart.

There was a wide advertisement for a “Y’all Come! Its gonna be a real occasion!
As I was down here earlier, even when there was productive discourse there were a number of members of the wider community whose agendas are unlikely to be those that are necessarily in sync with that of our own campus community.

Our hope was this was to be a productive conversation a real opportunity
for students, faculty, and members of the community to come together in a productive way discuss issues that people care about. But it seems that there appears to be an interest in other kinds of approaches, ones that are not acceptable.

So it was just a variety of concerns. This was not the place. There are other places.
If there is genuinely an interest for reasonable discourse and an opportunity to get together and share the experience, and make an improvement for what we hope has elements of interest for all of us, then why does it have to be here? Couldn’t it be somewhere else where everyone could have a more safe environment? That’s where we are today.
KION: What about tomorrow? could the same thing happen again?

Elizabeth Irwin: Its too soon to say.

We are interested in restoring the kinds of intellectual engagement that IS productive and that really can make a change. There are many examples of student activities that have accomplished

For example, there was a group of students who put together a Sustainable energy conference. Their consolidated efforts were able to change Regental policy
for ecological, and for sustainable green architecture.