Dear Chancellor Katehi,
We are writing you in regards to the university’s promise to assume financial responsibility for the medical costs incurred by student protesters harmed by the events of Nov. 18. In light of the fact that the demonstrations were at least in part due to the atrocious tuition hikes that students have had to endure, we find it upsetting that you have volunteered university funds to pay the medical expenses of these students.
We certainly agree that their medical expenses should be paid for by those responsible. However, we feel that if the gesture is intended as an effort toward correcting the damage wrought by the incident, using the limited funds of the university ignores one of the most pressing issues that lead students to protest in the first place. Using university funds to pay the expenses of these demonstrators is essentially using the tuition hikes to fund the reparations for the mistakes made by university administration and police.
We urge you to consider paying their expenses out of your own salary. Personally assuming financial responsibility for these events would demonstrate that you not only understand the underlying issues that caused students to protest, but that you truly assume responsibility for the incident, and that you are sincerely dedicated to repairing the damage done by the police actions.
Kathleen Troy, Nora Badal, Leigh Trout, Melania Gharakhanian, Elizabeth Schuh, Kimby Lo, Cho Cha, Lois Wu, Zuhal Elhan, Jennafer Olsen, Stacy Hall, Ruthie Parsley, Greg Frankfurter, Allison Reichert, Sarah Rippy, Samantha McDonnel, Catherine Gunther-Murphy, Josh Krumheuer, Leon Tu
UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
