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PROVOST ADDRESSES
RETENTION-GRAD RATES

Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Ralph J. Hexter issued the following letter today, in response to a question at last night’s town hall:

Dear �ٺ���Ƶ
Campus Community:

At the all-campus forum on Tuesday (Nov. 22), a speaker stated that Latino/a undergraduate students at �ٺ���Ƶ experience a 64 percent dropout rate. This information is not accurate. In the freshman cohort that joined us in fall 2004, 73 percent of Hispanic students graduated in six years, by 2010 (70 percent of male Hispanic students and 75 percent of female Hispanic students). In the transfer cohort that joined us in 2006, 79 percent of Hispanic students graduated in four years, by 2010.

While there is no evidence in this nearest term cohort — nor in any past cohort — of a 64 percent dropout rate among Latino/a undergraduates at �ٺ���Ƶ, I would caution us against complacency. Indeed, the six-year graduation rate of Hispanic students who started as freshmen lags behind our overall rate of 82 percent. The four-year graduation rate of Hispanic students who started as transfers lags behind our overall rate of 85 percent. There is work for all of us to do in understanding and overcoming the circumstances that drive these differences. We owe every one of our students the best possible opportunity for timely completion of her or his undergraduate degree.

You will find a multiyear record of retention and graduation rates for �ٺ���Ƶ undergraduate students parsed by ethnicity, gender,and other variables at the following Web sites:

Best regards,

Ralph J. Hexter, Provost
and Executive Vice Chancellor

By Dateline staff

“Never again.”

In one form or another, Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi said it. Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Ralph J. Hexter said it. Student Affairs Vice Chancellor Fred Wood said it. And so did Matt Carmichael, acting chief of the campus Police Department. 

They pledged at a town hall Tuesday night (Nov. 22) to take whatever steps necessary to prevent a repeat of last Friday’s pepper spraying of nonviolent protesters on the Quad. More than 1,000 people turned out.

"I want to unequivocally apologize to the entire community for the appalling use of pepper spray," Katehi said in her in Freeborn Hall. "It betrayed our values and did not reflect well on this university. You have my word that I will do everything in my power to make sure nothing like that ever happens again."

Katehi also reported that she had:

• requested that all charges against students who have been arrested be dropped.
• any medical expenses incurred by students who were sprayed with pepper spray will be covered by the university.
• the independent task force that she called for Saturday morning will report directly to UC President Mark G. Yudof.

Speaking after the chancellor, Wood also shared his sorrow over the incident, describing it as “nothing less than a tragedy.”

“I am still deeply troubled and still searching for answers,” an emotional Wood said. “I look forward to working with all the various reviews, with complete honesty, to understand what happened as a first step to ensuring this does not happen again in the future.”

The pepper spraying injured 11 people. The university will cover the medical expenses for the students among the injured, Katehi said Tuesday night.

The spraying occurred on the fourth consecutive day of demonstrations over tuition increases and budget cuts, with many of the participants allying themselves with the “occupy” movement as well. That led to a tent encampment Nov. 17, in violation of campus policy.

The university gave the campers until 3 p.m. Nov. 18 to clear their tents. Some did, and police removed the rest — making 10 arrests in the process; Katehi announced at the town hall that she had asked for all charges to be dropped.

Two officers did the spraying as police attempted to leave the Quad.

Katehi’s instructions

Katehi repeated that she takes full responsibility for Friday's events, while vowing to review what happened on the Quad and why. She also said she wanted people to understand her specific actions:

“I explicitly directed the chief of police that violence should be avoided at all costs. It was the absolute last thing I ever wanted to happen,” she said.

In addition, Katehi said she directed police only to take down the tents. “My instructions were for no arrests and no police force.”

Yudof has already announced that the Office of the President will undertake a review of all police procedures, protocols and training.

Indeed, audience members at the town hall asked about those policies, about the weapons that police use, and why we needed an armed police force and why the university called in officers in riot gear.

Vice Chancellor Meyer, who oversees the Police Department, said the tents sprang up in the wake of violence at similar encampments in Oakland and at UC Berkeley.

“It seemed very troubling,” he said. He and other administrators did not want to see here what happened in Berkeley, where campus police used batons on protesters on Sproul Plaza.

Campus safety

Carmichael, who became acting police chief Sunday after the university put Annette Spicuzza on administrative leave, said having an armed police force is paramount to campus safety.

“Unfortunately, in today’s world, there are things that happen, like at Virginia Tech,” he said.

If Friday’s protest drew such a response, an audience member asked, “When is it ever going to be the right time and the right place to protest?”

Katehi responded: “The decision was not made to remove people,” only the tents. And she promised to make changes to ensure the right to peaceful protest. Among the policies under review: the prohibition on camping.

Carmichael said he is putting his faith in communication. “Let’s have open dialogue,” he said.

As an example, when a student complained about late-night drumming — with the sound making its way into the 24-hour study room at Shields Library — panelists and audience members advised her to take her concern directly to the camp.

Support for the chancellor

Other audience members voiced support for the chancellor, and one said that while the pepper spraying was indeed tragic, that the protesters had brought it upon themselves. “When you encircle a police officer, it can be very traumatic for them,” he said.

The night’s final speaker received perhaps the biggest response of the night, cheered when he advised the chancellor and other administrators to “go out and listen to people.”

Jason Hsu, a third-year computer science major, said “there’s a silent majority out there, and I’m one of them. Get out among us.”

He said he had never met or seen Katehi or Wood or Hexter, and suggested that they take some of their many meetings to the Coffee House. “How transparent is that? Hey, here’s a report, and have a coffee, too!”

Katehi said, “Yes,” she welcomed the idea of coffee at the CoHo. As she said earlier, “I need, as a chancellor, to spend a lot more time with the students.”

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