CUYAMACA COLLEGE RETRACTS ENFORCEMENT OF BAN ON POLITICAL MESSAGES IN FACULTY OFFICE WINDOWS
Printer-friendly versionBy Miriam Raftery October 14, 2008 (El Cajon) – After English professor Timothy Pagaard posted a small Barack Obama sticker on the outside of his office window at Cuyamaca College, he was astounded to receive a warning from the Dean on September 27th ordering him to remove his message in support of the presidential candidate. “The next day the district distributed a letter threatening murderous fines and draconian prison time for anyone violating this policy,” Pagaard wrote in a blog post titled “Academic Freedom is at Risk.” He alleged that the Grossmont Cuyamaca Community College District violated his academic freedom and First Amendment constitutional rights. The letter, signed by Vice Chancellor Ben Lastimado and Associate Vice Chancellor Dana Quittner, included links to sections of the California Education Code, which listed hefty fines and prison sentences as potential punishments for violators. Read the district letter. The codes in question prohibited use of District funds, services, supplies, or equipment to support or oppose a candidate or ballot measure. Pagaard said the code should not apply because he did not use district supplies (except a piece of Scotch tape which he replaced with tape from home after the objection was raised). “Academic freedom is the essence of a real institution of higher learning,” wrote Pagaard, who believes the sticker clearly reflected the opinion of the scholar within the office, not an institutional endorsement. “I defy you to show me any college or university campus between here and Singapore that doesn’t honor this long-held convention–unless we want to include institutions in places such as Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, and North Korea. Thus I would consider myself craven not to resist with all my power any effort to suppress my freedom,” he noted, adding that he would defend the right of others to post opposing views. Read Pagaard’s full blog statement here: www.cuyamaca.edu/tpagaard/PagaardSite/Welcome/AcademicFreedom.html In an interview with East County Magazine, Pagaard observed that political materials are commonly posted in outside windows and on outside bulletin boards at “every college in the democratic world—including Grossmont College. “Walk around any campus anywhere, and you’ll find such materials in spades–most far more strident than my little Obama sticker,” he added. After Pagaard complained to the faculty union and to the ACLU, of which he is a proud “card carrying member,” the District backed down and informed him it would not enforce the policy and would take no action against Pagaard. In a letter to Chancellor Olmero Suarez, ACLU staff attorney Sean Riordan applauded the action and declared the policy to be an unconstitutional violation of faculty members’ right to personal political expression. “Deciding not to enforce such an unconstitutional policy is a good first step,” Riordan wrote. “However, I hope the District takes this opportunity to officially change the policy in line with the requirements of the First Amendment.” A similar case earlier this month resulted in the University of Texas backing down on threats to punish two students who refused to remove political signs from their dormitory rooms. Miriam Raftery is a national award-winning journalist and a graduate of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District. Printer-friendly version
7th DISTRICT FIGHT – EMERALD VS. BOLING: YOUR RINGSIDE GUIDE
Printer-friendly versionAccountant April Boling refuses to comment on allegations of “illegal and unethical bookkeeping”; opponent Marti Emerald shares vision for San Diego’s future By Joseph Rocha October 15, 2009 (San Diego)–Touted as “The Troubleshooter vs. the Accountant” by local media, San Diego’s 7th District Council race sounds more like a build-up to a Saturday night cage fight than a hotly contested political contest.. But the issues at stake will impact many residents in San Diego’s eastern region, since the district includes Allied Gardens, City Heights, Del Cerro, Grantville, Redwood Village/Oak Park, Rolando, San Carlos, the SDSU college area, and Tierrasanta. At stake: fire protection for our region, energy and water issues, outsourcing of public jobs, responsibility to taxpayers, integrity and openness of our City government. Here are last minute ringside highlights in the match-up between Marti Emerald and her opponent, April Boling. April Boling’s campaign declined our request for an interview and our offer to reply to an e-mailed set of questions. The information provided about her in this article is from her official website. Lets start by hearing why either candidate thinks they deserve your vote. Boling talks tough about being angry with the way politics are conducted and insists that she is not afraid of anyone. Her website states, “I’ve become an expert on San Diego’s budget. No ‘on the job training’ is needed: on the day I’m sworn in to office I’ll be ready to start going through our city’s budget, finances and priorities.” Marti Emerald In an exclusive interview with East County Magazine, Marti Emerald looked me in the eyes and said, “I was not just a TV reporter, I was a consumer and public advocate with a proven record for taking problems that communities and consumers were not able to solve and finding solutions. That’s what we need right now. We need people in these positions who know how to work with communities who genuinely want to solve problems and know how to get it done. I know how to do that.” I sat down with Emerald to talk about the top priorities that she would like to bring to the highly coveted seat on the City Council, such as fighting political corruption, ensuring fire safety and a new vision for San Diego. After she grilled me over my resume, it was time for me to whip the sweat of my brow, role up my sleeves and ask the “Troubleshooter” some tough questions. “How exactly do you plan on cleaning up City Hall?” I asked. Marti Emerald replied emphatically that she intends on “opening the government process, making it transparent, increasing accountability. That means internal control on the way money is spent, and decision are made.” Boling’s website states, “Politicians don’t like to make tough decisions about what to save and what to cut. Instead, they prefer to overspend and punt the problem to someone else later.” She pledges that “I’m not afraid to make tough decisions. As a business owner I make tough decisions every day. And as your councilwoman I’ll demand that we fund our basic quality of life services like police, fire, parks and roads first, not as an afterthought.” In an interview early in the campaign with Red County Emerald mentioned that she would “find the money to ensure that our fire department has the manpower and equipment to protect the County. Currently, we are 22 fire stations and 300 firefighters short of meeting national standards. I followed up and asked where she was going to “find” the money. Emerald pointed out that California voters passed proposition 172, which gives San Diego $8 million to fund public safety services. Since San Diego County does not operate a Fire Department, most of the funds are disseminated to other agencies. April Boling Emerald added, “In the meantime, wildfires are starting in the backcounty, burning across the County and taking out whole neighborhoods. That’s unacceptable. So I want to revisit this the way the bill was written…I am going to go to our state representatives and try to get it amended so that the County will have to share more of those resources with the City of San Diego to build the fire stations we need, to buy the equipment we need, and to hire the firefighters we need.” I contacted the San Diego Firefighters Union to inquire why they endorsed Emerald. George Balgos, assistant to the union President and public affairs officer for SDFFU, replied, “Marti supports getting the San Diego Fire Department the resources it needs to protect the citizens of San Diego.” April Boling does not list Fire Safety as an issue on her official website. Twenty three years ago, as a San Diego reporter and consumer advocate, Marti Emerald spent several nights on the streets doing a story on the homeless in downtown San Diego. I asked her if she thought the city was doing enough to address the issue. The question seemed to strike a responsive chord. She replied, “I think the city has stepped up to a degree, but more is needed. Come five o’clock as people are heading home, the homeless are settling in on sidewalks and in doorways…That’s unacceptable for a great city and San Diego is a great city. I think in many ways we are judged by how we treat the least among us and the homeless problem is very real. It’s a human problem, it becomes an economic profile; we need to address it with more than just the winter shelters.” One major difference between these two candidates is their stance on outsourcing city jobs. In a July 3rd interview with Red County, the two candidates were asked if they would push to outsource more jobs. April Boling answered yes and offered no explanation. I asked Emerald to clarify the extensive answer she had offered the Red County reporter. In response to outsourcing jobs Emerald replied, “On the face of it, generally speaking I do not support outsourcing city jobs. That has