Tag Archives: arrests

Lecturer’s Arrest in the Emirates Stirs Debate Over Academic Freedom in the Middle East

The Chronicle: Lecturer’s Arrest in the Emirates Stirs Debate Over Academic Freedom in the Middle East

The recent detention of a Sorbonne lecturer in the United Arab Emirates has rekindled the debate over the nature of academic freedom at Western institutions in the Persian Gulf region and the political impact those institutions, especially the high-profile new campus of New York University in Abu Dhabi, will have.

33 members of CUNY union arrested in protest at NYS governor’s office

Capitol Confidential: Dozens arrested outside Cuomo’s office (video added)

Thirty-three [updated number per State Police] members of the CUNY Professional Staff Congress and other groups will be charged with disorderly conduct following an orderly but rather loud protest that began just after 2 p.m., when a portion of the 150 or so advocates who had been circling the Mural Room filed into the Senate stairway corridor just outside Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office. A sizable contingent of state troopers were waiting to block the closed security door.

The protesters who had elected to be arrested sat down and continued a variety of chants protesting what they characterized as a war on workers, unions, the poor and CUNY. Methodically, troopers crouched down to read a script in which the protesters were informed that they were creating an unsafe blockade, and asked to move to a different spot. All refused, and stood up to have hands secured behind their backs. They were calmly led away to cheers from the rest of the protesters hanging back at the opposite end of the stairwell.

Midway through the action, Sen. Ruben Diaz stopped to linger by the foot of the steps, and joined in the sloganeering. Sen. Bill Perkins passed by briefly.

Arrests End Building Takeover at San Francisco State

San Francisco Chronicle: Police break up building takeover at S.F. State

(12-10) 13:28 PST SAN FRANCISCO — Police arrested 25 protesters early Thursday at San Francisco State University, a day after students barricaded themselves inside the business school to protest fee hikes and budget cuts at California’s public universities.

Campus police in riot gear, joined by officers from throughout the California State University police system and San Francisco police, entered the business administration building at 3:15 a.m., said university spokeswoman Ellen Griffin.

Some of the officers broke windows to get inside because protesters had blocked doors, authorities said.

Police arrested 12 protesters inside the building on suspicion of trespassing, a misdemeanor, Griffin said. There may have been more people who slipped away, she said.

RUSSIA: Arrest of historian sparks outcry

World University News: RUSSIA: Arrest of historian sparks outcry

The arrest and seizure of research notes of a Russian historian investigating the wartime imprisonment of German troops and Russians of German descent has sparked outrage among academics and human rights activists. Figures from higher education internationally as well as within Russia have condemned what they see as part of a Kremlin-backed move to suppress discussion of the country’s darker historical episodes.

Authorities in Iran Arrest 18 Students

The New York Times: Authorities in Iran Arrest 18 Students

Iranian authorities arrested 18 student leaders in Tehran on Friday in a crackdown on demonstrations, which flared up at two universities as classes resumed this week.

Harvard professor Gates arrested at Cambridge home

Boston Globe: Harvard professor Gates arrested at Cambridge home

Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., one of the nation’s pre-eminent African-American scholars, was arrested Thursday afternoon at his home by Cambridge police investigating a possible break-in. The incident raised concerns among some Harvard faculty that Gates was a victim of racial profiling.

India: Education official, middleman arrested

Hindustan Times: Education official, middleman arrested

In the first move to clean up higher education, a senior official of India’s technical-education regulator was arrested on Thursday in New Delhi and several others charged with accepting bribes from private-college managements, after raids in Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bhopal.

LA Teacher Cuts Prompt Walkouts, Arrests, Hunger Strike

Labor Notes: LA Teacher Cuts Prompt Walkouts, Arrests, Hunger Strike

Each year around budget time, Californians hear a familiar story from Sacramento: There’s another stalemate, because state law caps property tax rates and requires two-thirds of legislators to approve tax hikes.

The state’s inability to make budgets continues to mean less money for California public schools, which are funded at well below the national average, 46th in the nation in per-pupil spending. This time, Governor Schwarzenegger wants $10 billion in cuts from the state’s $45 billion yearly education fund.