Hey all,
First off, just wanted to give a quick update about my status hearing, which happened earlier today. I met with my public defender for about fifteen minutes and told her that I wont take a deal and am taking this to trial. She met with the prosecutor and all went well–just awaiting the motion for my trial.
I have heard from several folks that they’d be interested in writing letters to the Integrity Board at Skidmore, the people who are making me come before them to justify my actions during the tree sit. The hearing is currently scheduled for next Friday, November 4th.
I think that it will be important to highlight that although I may have technically broken Skidmore’s policy, there needs to be flexibility within this policy. This action should be glorified by Skidmore, not condemned; and they need to do a better job (well, a job) at supporting civil disobedience as a way of challenging this system and affecting change. Although I definitely disagree with how this is being handled, and I know many folks also disagree, I think the letter needs to not talk too poorly on Skidmore and instead try to talk about what they should be doing with this case and how the actions I, along with Squirrel, Eli, and Junior, took should be praised. For more info, check out my previous post.
I would love to bombard the Integrity Board with letters of support, so if you have a free minute, please send something this way:
Skidmore College
Rounds Hall – 1st floor
815 North Broadway
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
I will write a letter. I have been very disturbed about this action for many reasons, one of which is because it seems to be a unwise use of time for everyone involved. A person who engages in non-violent tree sit in an unpopulated forested area is an unlikely threat to the Skidmore community. I actually regard this hearing as more of a threat to the Skidmore community because it forces a student to divert attention from their academic work and it sends a message that students should not care about societal issues nor engage in any form of civil disobedience. Perhaps someone in the history department can enlighten policy makers about the role of civil disobedience in this country. I hope Skidmore officials will re-examine their policy so that serious students are able to focus on their academic work and develop the capabilities to effect social change.
If you can post any other information that sheds some light on the Skidmore policy it would be helpful. This makes no sense to me. There should be some preliminary judgement on a case to determine if there should be a hearing. If not, every single law violation, of any kind, would require a hearing. Why does this case require a hearing?
Best wishes and I am so sorry that you have to go through this. I have a friend who has a former student who is a professor and department chair at Skidmore. I will see if I can learn more about the culture of Skidmore that has influenced ths policy.