Linda Katehi, UC Davis Chancellor, Walks to Car Amid Eerie Silent Protest [Video]
The first video- the one that started it all- is undeniably shocking.
Yesterday at UC Davis, a YouTube clip of a line of sit-in like protesters, pepper sprayed by a single cop, pinged around the world as netizens watched in horror. The footage has become front page news, on mainstream media and in the blogosphere- with protesters chanting “shame on you” and “the whole world is watching” as the officer sprays the unmoving line of students directly in the face with the bright orange spray.
It did not take long to put a name to the single officer’s face- Lt. John Pike- whose email and phone contacts were swiftly posted online, as well as information about his salary and other personal details. But a follow up video to the original can be seen as perhaps more shocking, depicting the massive protest in the evening hours, gathered to observe the school’s chancellor walking to her car.
In the second clip, UC Davis chancellor Linda Katehi walks to her car while throngs of students and protesters stand in complete silence. Eerily, not a word or sound is uttered by the silent mass of demonstrators stands by during the entire two-minute walk. Earlier, Katehi had commented:
“The events of this intervention have been videotaped and widely distributed. As indicated in various videos, the police used pepper spray against the students who were blocking the way. The use of pepper spray as shown on the video is chilling to us all and raises many questions about how best to handle situations like this.”
Since the clip went viral, students and staff alike have called for the voluntary resignation of Katehi. In the clip below, she says she intends to address the school Monday at a General Assembly.
