Shikera Chamndany, a Black alumna in biomedical engineering at UC Irvine, went to campus to collect her transcripts on Feb. 20. She ended up spending the night in Orange County Women’s Jail.
That day, UC Irvine students held a protest in solidarity with graduate student strikers at UC Santa Cruz, fighting for a cost-of-living adjustment to their wages, which meant there was more security on campus than usual. Chamndany was unaffiliated with the protest, but according to a Facebook post by campus police, “forcibly entered” Aldrich Hall – a building on lockdown because of the student rally – and was arrested for “assaulting a police officer.” Campus police reportedly tackled and handcuffed Chamndany and took her to jail, where she stayed until her release the next morning.
Minority students have been demanding a response.
The day after the incident, a petition – put out by the Black Student Union and United Students Against Sweatshops – called on the university to fire Trish Harding, the officer who arrested Chamndany, and ideally remove police from campus entirely. It also asked UC Irvine to provide free mental health services for Chamndany with a Black therapist for as long as she needs and to offer financial support toward her legal fees, student loans and graduate education – plus the campus parking fees she accrued while she was in jail.
“The university claims to be a ‘safe’ place, a place for all students to excel academically,” the petition reads. “But instead, the university engages in a range of practices and policies which reaffirm the message that we, Black people, are undeserving of safety and are dispensable.”
It ended with a request to UC Irvine chancellor Dr. Howard Gillman to respond to student demands by March 4. Over the course of a week, it collected over 1,500 signatures.
On Wednesday, Dr. Douglas M. Haynes, vice provost for academic equity, diversity and inclusion, addressed the incident in a letter to the UC Irvine Faculty Association, assuring them that the university shares “concern for those involved in the situation.”
