Curt Acredolo (cracredolo@ucdavis.edu)
Fri, 5 Nov 1999 13:49:23 -0800
From: UCD Directives <ucddirectives@ucdavis.edu>
Subject: Directive #99-127: An Open Letter to the Campus Community
UC DAVIS: OFFICE OF THE CHANCELLOR
November 3, 1999
DEANS, DIRECTORS, DEPARTMENT CHAIRS, AND CAMPUS/UCDMC ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS
RE: An Open Letter to the Campus Community
Dear Friends and Colleagues:
Animal activist protests are nothing new to the UC Davis campus, but last
week's threatening letters rigged with razor blades signal a disturbing
escalation of activist tactics.
Sent to more than 80 researchers across the nation and to several here on
campus, the letters are undeniable acts of terrorism - actions that fall far
outside the bounds of law, reason and civilized behavior. Indeed, they are an
absolute contradiction of the activists' professed reverence for life. The
faculty, staff and students who conduct research with animals do so with care
and compassion and for the betterment of humankind and animals, and it is an
abomination to threaten their lives and safety in the name of animal rights.
The campus is taking immediate action to ensure the safety of our faculty,
staff and students in the face of these threats.
Our police department is assisting the FBI domestic terrorism task force in its
investigation of these threats and has been in contact with each of our
targeted researchers, offering safety-precaution counsel and increased
security. Our mail division has similarly stepped up its scrutiny of incoming
mail and packages, employing an X-ray machine to examine any suspicious pieces
of mail and intercepting several of the razor-bladed letters. None of the
booby-trapped envelopes were opened and no one has been injured. (The letters
have been turned over to the FBI.)
Our police also issued a general campus safety bulletin last week, reviewing
procedures for identifying and safely handling suspicious packages and
letters. We advise anyone receiving, sorting or distributing mail to be extra
alert and to exercise caution.
As you know, the campus has also been the recent target of activists opposed to
the study of genetically modified crops. Since August, field crops have been
destroyed four times, most of which had not been genetically altered and all of
which represented a significant intellectual investment of faculty members and
graduate students alike.
These violent actions, intended to intimidate and coerce, cannot be tolerated
or condoned. Disagreement and debate are hallmarks of vibrant university
communities, furthering understanding and opening new paths of thought. But
dissent can never be allowed to devolve into threats of physical harm or into
the destruction of another's work.
We are committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment for all the
members of our campus community. Toward that end, the Office of the Vice
Chancellor--Research and the police department are initiating an orientation
program for researchers and their support staffs to discuss safety issues,
review security procedures and advise (with the campus's News Service) on the
best handling of press inquiries in the event of an incident.
We have directed campus police, government relations and research officials to
aggressively pursue the strengthening of federal and state laws to ensure just
punishment for those committing such terrorist acts, the passage of a federal
bill that would require the FBI to create a national clearinghouse in order to
aid the apprehension and conviction of offenders, and the limiting of personal
information provided on federal grant forms in order to better protect faculty
members listed as grant recipients.
And we ask your help, as well, in reaffirming the rights of us all to live free
from threat, in supporting those among us who have suffered such harm, and in
thwarting terrorist activity.
If you have any information about the razor-blade letters or their origin, or
about the destruction of field crops, please contact the police department at
(530) 752-1230 or the UC Davis Crime Tip Line at (530) 752-9944. Callers to
the Crime Tip Line may choose to remain anonymous.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact Vice
Chancellor--Administration Janet Hamilton, whose office has lead responsibility
for campus security and animal use issues, at (530) 752-2081,
jchamilton@ucdavis.edu.
Larry N. Vanderhoef
Chancellor
Robert D. Grey
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
Kevin M. Smith
Vice Chancellor--Research
99-127
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