At approximately 1pm on Sept 30, Sgt. Richard H. Wheeler and State Trooper Vasquez delivered a notice to Charles T. Peterson at the doorstep of his home in Springfield, MA.

Charles was the student who was sprayed in the face with mace by Officer Scott Landry at the protest against military recruiters at Holyoke Community College on September 29.  

(Click here to see photos and read our previous statement about the police brutality )

The notice read: “Because of your conduct on the property of Holyoke  Community College, your presence is no longer desired at Holyoke Community College, its property or buildings. Your failure to abide by said trespass notice will result in your arrest and court prosecution  for trespassing. This notice will remain in effect untill [sic] revoked in writing by the Holyoke Community College Police Department.”

This is in clear violation of the College’s own stated policy that students, "have the right to procedural due process in grievance and disciplinary hearings." [Right #6, p22, HCC Policy Guide 05/06]

As Charles is employed on campus, this restraining order will keep him not only from getting an education, but also from working.

Thus far, Charles has not been contacted by any member of the Administration, besides the campus police. So he has had his education and his job taken away from him with no explanation and no opportunity to appeal.

It’s worth repeating here that Officer Scott Landry, the officer who put Charles in a headlock and sprayed mace in his face, is also the Advisor to the College Republicans at HCC. The College Republicans were also present at the protest, chanting behind the police line to incite the police to attack students.  

On campus, the student body has become frighteningly polarized, and many students who were at the protest opted out of attending classes today for fear of harassment.

Professor Mark Clinton, the faculty advisor to the Anti War Coalition has been summoned to see the Vice President of Academic Affairs on Monday afternoon. The Office of the Vice President would not inform Clinton’s dean of the agenda for the meeting.

Yesterday, Professor Mark Clinton’s daughter was called an “ugly communist bitch” by a fellow student.

Cindy Sheehan is scheduled to visit HCC in November. We will be trying to contact her to notify her of the recent police brutality and to ask her to make a statement in support of students.  If anyone reading this can help us get in touch with her, please let us know  (our email is at the bottom of this statement).

Amazingly enough, a George Mason University student was assaulted by  police on the same day as the HCC protest. Tariq Khan, a Pakistani-American and Air Force Veteran, wore a sign reading, “Recruiters tell lies” while standing in front of a US Marine recruiting table. After being harassed by ROTC members, the JC operations Representative told Tariq that he had no right to voice his opinion without a permit and to leave. When Tariq peaceably refused, campus police violently assaulted him—choking him, pushing him, and slamming him against a stage. 

In Wisconsin, students at UW Madison were threatened with arrest and forced to dismantle their protest against the presence of the Air Force, CIA, and Marines at the College’s career fair. They were told that they were violating the Administration’s codes for protesting when  in fact they were in no way breaching any part of it.

We are sticking with our former demands but we would like to add the following:

---That the restraining order against Charles T. Peterson be lifted immediately so he can continue his education and return to his job.

---That an impartial investigation be conducted into Officer Scott Landry’s role in the battery at the September 29 protest-- given Officer Landry’s dual role as armed police officer AND student advisor to the College Republicans.

For the over 700 of you who have already called the school THANK YOU!  Please keep the pressure on. Please keep calling. We are hoping to flood the school with calls on Monday.

Sincerely,

Members of the Anti War Coalition at Holyoke Community College

Please call Holyoke Community College to register you concerns.

President Messner     
1-413 -552-2222

Officer Scott Landry,
Campus Police/ Advisor to the College 
Republicans 1-413-552-2048 

Vivian Ostrowsky, Student Activities Coordinator                
1-413-552-2418  

_________________________________________________________

Additional Statements from members of the Anti War Coalition at HCC

One leading member of the AWC, whose brother was permanently injured in Iraq last year, stated:

“I was there to speak for my brother. He was wounded in Iraq. He’s a different person since he came back, it’s a different person looking at me, more like my little brother than my big brother. He may never be the same, and he may never open up and tell me what happened in Iraq. But I believe he fought for lies, and I believe he was lied to when he joined the military. He was promised money for college and a chance to see the world. But he went to Iraq, and he wasn’t the same when he came back.”

Shinah Santiago, an AWC Steering Committee member stated, “I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.  It’s totally unjust to ban him from campus without any kind of hearing or anything. And to have one of the officers who assaulted us serve the papers was part of their effort to intimidate us. They think he’s our leader, but everyone in the AWC is a leader, and none of us is going to be intimidated.”
 
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