Yolo deputies arrest tribal college students
By Stephen Magagnini
Feb. 21, 2008
The occupation of D-Q University, the troubled tribal college seven miles west of Davis, ended abruptly Wednesday morning when Yolo County sheriff's deputies arrested three self-described students for trespassing.
About a dozen former students have been occupying the dorms at D-Q and holding their own classes since the two-year college lost its accreditation and federal funding in 2005 over financial and enrollment problems.
Several members of the university's board – concerned about safety and liability issues and a mounting electric bill – asked the sheriff to evict the "squatters" Wednesday without notifying board Chairman Calvin Hedrick.
"This action was taken without my knowledge or approval," a furious Hedrick said. "I'm very frustrated that this is happening because I'd just spoken with the students Wednesday and tried to find some common ground so we could definitely be working together."
Board Vice Chairwoman Jane Elliott, who authorized the evictions, said in a statement: "We have no other alternative but to ensure the safety and well being of those individuals who now reside at D-Q University. There is no heat and there is no hot water. Currently the campus cannot accommodate healthy living conditions."
Greg Iron, a Crowcreek/ Lower Brule Indian who enrolled at D-Q in August 2004, said he and more than a dozen other students have "been trying to keep the school open."
Iron, 27, said they have been holding classes on indigenous farming and alternative energy to meet the requirements of the school's federal charter, which says classes must be ongoing.
Board trustees, he said, "haven't been holding their courses there, so students have to do it to be in compliance," he said. "The students have been out there tirelessly helping the school … to make sure D-Q could exist, and it's wrong for them to treat their youth like this."
Elliott said the new board of trustees has "developed an academic plan for initiating approved classes at D-Q University," including a class on building model homes and a paralegal project. For the past three years, she said, "there have been numerous failed attempts to remove all unauthorized individuals who have identified themselves as D-Q students."
Susan Reece, a former D-Q board member who's a consultant to the current board, said the evictions were long overdue. About 20 of the D-Q squatters – some of whom arrived recently – had stormed Saturday's board meeting and "started yelling and screaming" when the board wouldn't let them film the meeting, Reece said.
"Some misrepresented themselves as students when they're not," Reece said. "They've been unauthorized for three years."
Reece said the board has been trying for months to get the squatters out. "There are huge liability issues and a whole litany of health and safety concerns – it's miraculous that we haven't had a fatality or serious injury out there," she said.
Reece said the squatters ran up a $4,000 electric bill last month.
Sheriff's public information officer Michele Wallace said a member of D-Q's governing board – who had obtained court papers showing the board had the legal right to the property – asked deputies to ask the trespassers to leave Wednesday. While most left voluntarily, three who didn't were arrested on a trespassing charge.
Manuel Santana, 24, Daniel Cory, 21, and Christopher Yazzie, 26, were booked on misdemeanor trespassing charges and released with a notice to appear before a judge, Wallace said.
"We don't know if they're students or squatters, but they had no legal standing to stay on the property," Wallace said.
Link to Report
***See web site below for home video of arrests***
D-Q University Student Arrests Caught on Tape in Fight Over School Control
Feb. 21, 2008
For three years, students and school trustees have fought for control of D-Q University. Wednesday, emotions boiled over when Yolo County sheriff deputies arrested some students.
"I just woke up and the board members were sitting outside," said Steven Kee, a 25-year-old student. He claimed 10 to 15 students locked themselves inside a dorm while another student tried to reason with the deputies. "They wouldn't show us any papers at all, warrants, nothing. They were saying, you guys are trespassers," according to Kee.
Within minutes, Kee said deputies slapped handcuffs on four students. Kee said, "The students weren't acting violent or anything and [the deputies] just jumped on them."
The arrests were caught on tape by Michael Frease, a West Sacramento man who said he's supporting the students fight to reopen the school. "I knew that they were going to be arrested. There's never no room for change," Frease said.
In 2005, armed guards couldn't keep students away when enrollment declined. The school lost its accreditation and the campus was closed. Students also accused trustees of misallocating federal funds.
The school reopened later that year after two separate boards battled for control of the university and a judge ruled on which group was in charge.
Since then, students have lived on campus and also tried to keep the school going. "Currently, the students are the only ones running programs at the school," student Lupita Torres said. "We have an indigenous perma-culture class. We have a bio-diesel program that's starting up."
Trustee Calvin Hedrick said the board also wants new classes and to win accreditation, but doesn't condone the students' activities.
"I got a call about students being arrested (Wednesday) morning," said Hedrick.
He admitted other board members had the students arrested because they believe they're trespassing and don't approve of the students' actions.
"It's pretty frustrating to have this happen," Hedrick said. "When I talk to different people in the community, I hear all these things that everybody's trying to do, but we're all working toward the same place. We're just not working together."
Meanwhile, students said they won't be deterred by the threat of more arrests. They vow to keep fighting. "It's not going to stop us," said Torres. "We're going to continue to be here. We have just as much right to be here as they do."
D-Q University is California's only Native American tribal community college. It was started in 1971 when protestors took control of an old Army post about six miles west of the University of California, Davis.
Please note: The video has no sound. There is a loud shout or voice in the very beginning, then from that point on, there is nothing. No street noises, voices, etc, only the video - no audio at all. It is not known if this is due to a problem when the original filming took place, or if there was a problem later with the sound when shown on News 10.
Link to report
Please use the My Two Beads Worth Google Search box to find earlier reports on DQ University.
Special thanks to Teresa Anahuy of First Peoples News for the lead.
Contents
February 2008 News Reports
Last updated on February 23, 2008