Over the weekend I saw - like much of the online world - the events at UC Davis on Friday and on Saturday. I was horrified and angered at the assault on the students on Friday and was impressed by their non-violent yet firm response. Likewise I was in awe with their response on Saturday. However the shaming on Saturday was preceded by several hours of curious non-response by the Chancellor.
It amazed me that she stayed put in that building for so long. The crowd only grew while she stayed. And there was clearly only one way for her to leave and maintain any level of authority and respect - through the front door. So why the delay? Was it really fear?
Based on this interview done on Sunday, it appears it actually was: http://www.youtube.com/...
The administration's fear and the the students' hope - they both appeared in abundance the past three days.
The past several days have seen a number of actions at UC Davis driven by fear. Fear for student safety (watch the video, it's a valid if misguided fear). Fear of outside influence. Fear of a movement. Fear of students by the police.
Fear and fear based decision-making.
However the students were and are hopeful. They were hopeful the administration would listen. They were hopeful the police would not pepper-spray them. They were hopeful the police would leave. They were hopeful they would all allow police to leave in peace. They were hopeful they would all be silent as the Chancellor left.
None of them could guarantee that individually. They could only hope groups of people would behave responsibly.
The police did not. They did.
Today they are holding a rally. Today the Chancellor will address them.
I hope they will be respectful. I hope that they will be peaceful. To date I think that hope has a solid foundation.
I hope that the Chancellor will see that decisions based on some level of hope and not entirely driven by fear are superior than the ones she and her administration have been making to date. To date that hope has a less solid foundation.
If the Chancellor is allowed to speak and be heard, hope will win a battle today. It will prove the hope of the students is reality and a new generation might be emboldened to lead with hope animating their decisions. If the Chancellor allows herself to listen and to learn, hope might achieve something even greater. It might lead to more enlightened existing leadership - the younger generation having gently and peacefully reminded an older generation that we should be driven by hope. Not fear.