POLICING IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Policing and Repression at the UC
The University of California has a long and ongoing history of policing and repression. Harm is being produced through the UC’s ties to the prison and military-industrial complex and the war industry. As a tool of the colonial project, UC violence has given space for a growing legacy of student activism and resistance. UC students, workers, and communities must be aware of this history to continue building unity and documenting both UC violence and student power.
“Increasing inequality and social instability, brought about by long-term financialization and divestment from social welfare, have led to mass demonstrations and civil unrest, both inside and outside the University of California (UC). Universities serve as models for broader society – just as historic social movements have taken place within and through the UC, the Berkeley police served as the model for modern policing in the United States. Although campus police forces have always served in alliance with de facto financialization, ongoing investments in campus police forces by the UC directly fund racially targeted violence and brutal crackdowns on demonstrators. Our findings call into question whether the UC serves the working people of California.”
