College leader under fire for pepper spray moment
Linda Katehi was a college student in Greece in 1973 when the government used guns and tanks to crack down on campus demonstrations against military rule.
Thirty-eight years later, the Greek-born chancellor of the University of California, Davis is fighting calls for her resignation following a crackdown on student protesters who set up an Occupy camp on campus.
The school's first female chancellor has found herself in the middle of a national debate over police use of pepper spray to subdue protesters and the way colleges balance free speech and public safety.
Katehi, 57, has come under intense pressure after viral online videos showed police officers dousing a row of protesters with pepper spray as they sat passively on the ground with their arms linked. Youtube videos of Friday's incident have been watched millions of times.
"I want to unequivocally apologize to the entire community for the appalling use of pepper spray," Katehi told students at a meeting Tuesday. "I will do everything in my power to make sure nothing like that ever happens again."
Katehi declined a request to be interviewed by The Associated Press. She has, however, publicly said she was horrified when she watched videos of a police officer casually spraying protesters who could be heard screaming.
Katehi has placed the campus police chief and two pepper-spraying officers on administrative leave. She also asked prosecutors to drop charges against nine students who were arrested, and said the school would reimburse students for medical expenses related to the incident.
At her request, UC President Mark Yudof has appointed former Los Angeles police chief William Bratton to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. The 10-campus UC system also plans to re-evaluate police protocols for handling campus protests.
During Tuesday's meeting with about 1,000 students, Katehi said she had only directed police to take down tents that anti-Wall Street protesters had erected on the campus quad.
"My instructions were for no arrests and no police force," she said. "I explicitly directed the chief of police that violence should be avoided at all costs."
Katehi said students have a right to protest peacefully, but the university bans camping on campus because of safety and health concerns.
"I understand the frustration and anger students are feeling right now," she said.
Occupy UC Davis protesters have ignored the camping ban. The encampment went back up Monday night, and campus officials said it included as many as 80 tents Wednesday.
The UC Davis faculty association's board called for Katehi's resignation, saying in a letter there had been a "gross failure of leadership."
Katehi has no plans to resign and continues to have the full support of Yudof, UC spokeswoman Dianne Klein said.
Born in Greece in 1954, Katehi studied electrical engineering at National Technical University of Athens, the site of a brutal crackdown on student protesters that left a deep impression on her.
At Monday's campus protest, she said, "There is a plaque out there that speaks about the 17th of November of 1973. And I was there and I don't want to forget that."
Meanwhile, cities across the United States have spent at least $13 million (Dhs47.7m) in response to the Occupy Wall Street movement on police overtime and other services, according to a survey by The Associated Press.
Authorities say the police spending is for the public's safety, while protesters say cities could save money by simply letting the demonstrations against economic inequality and corporate greed continue.
Cities that have seen the most clashes between Occupy protesters and police, including the movement's original site in New York City, have spent the most on police work.
The AP gathered figures from government agencies in 18 cities with active protests and focused on costs through Nov 15, the day protesters were evicted from New York's Zuccotti Park, where the protests began Sept. 17 before spreading nationwide. The survey provides a glimpse of spending by cities large and small.
Broken down city by city, the numbers are more or less in line with the cost of policing major public events and emergencies. In Los Angeles, for example, the Michael Jackson memorial concert cost the city $1.4 million.
Meanwhile, Occupy protesters in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday promised some kind of surprise action on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and the traditional start of the holiday shopping season in the US.
Some said they don't want people to shop at all. Others just want to divert shoppers from big chains and giant shopping malls to locally owned businesses. Although the actions don't appear coordinated, they have similar themes: supporting small businesses while criticizing the day's dedication to conspicuous consumption and the shopping frenzy that fuels big corporations.
In Seattle, protesters are carpooling to Wal-Mart stores to protest with other Occupy groups from around Washington state. Washington, DC, is offering a "really, really free market," where people can donate items they don't want so others can go gift shopping for free.
Also on Wednesday, Occupy participants in New York said they are putting out a benefit album with music from Third Eye Blind, David Crosby and Graham Nash, Jackson Browne, Lucinda Williams, DJ Logic, Ladytron and others.
Jason Samel, a musician who is putting together the disc, said the goal is to raise between $1 million and $2 million to help fuel the movement that is protesting income disparity.