top
Santa Cruz IMC
Santa Cruz IMC
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature

UCSC Students Occupy Stevenson Cafe to Expunge Rapist at Activists IN! Rapists OUT! Rally

by Alex Darocy (alex [at] alexdarocy.com)
Students at UC Santa Cruz occupied the Stevenson Coffee House for a short period of time on April 27 to expose a person they say is a known rapist who is presently employed at the business. The small cafe, which is privately owned and operated under a lease with the university, is located within Stevenson College on the east side of the UCSC campus. The person who they say raped at least two students was not in the coffee house at the time the group marched inside. They had first assembled in Quarry Plaza for an "Activists IN! Rapists OUT!" rally.
Copy the code below to embed this movie into a web page:
Students announced the intention of the Activists IN! Rapists OUT! rally as follows:

"The University of California is targeting and repressing student activists as “threats to the health and safety” of the community, while protecting students who repeatedly rape and sexually assault our fellow slugs. 6 students are facing unprecedented sanctions (suspension until September 1, 2016, 100-120 hours of community service, and a stayed suspension once they return to campus) for nonviolent, civil disobedience off-campus in protest of the tuition hikes and police brutality. In addition, a number of students have faced university repression for taking nonviolent action to call for the removal a well-known rapist from an off-campus benefit for the 6. Simultaneously, UCSC has come under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights for their mishandling of rape and other sexual violence cases. The University has created a climate where students cannot take any kind of action -- against sexual violence, against tuition hikes, against state violence -- without facing University repression and indifference to their calls. WE ARE CALLING for a community-based response, one that directly fights back against university repression and sexual assault, while building a broader understanding and awareness of the university's role in perpetuating sexual violence and other systems of oppression."

On the UC Santa Cruz website, the page for Stevenson Coffee House states: "This restaurant is not managed by UC Santa Cruz Dining. Please contact this location directly with your questions and/or concerns." Several students said they contacted the coffee shop's owner and manager, John J. Hadley, prior to the protest to complain about the individual in question, but that Hadley was unresponsive. Hadley, who also owns and manages the Cowell Coffee Shop, was working behind the counter of the cafe as students held the rally inside.


Alex Darocy
http://alexdarocy.blogspot.com/
§Courtney Hanson of Sin Barras speaks at Quarry Plaza
by Alex Darocy
Copy the code below to embed this movie into a web page:
Sin Barras is a prison abolition group based in Santa Cruz.
§Activists In - Rapists Out
by Alex Darocy
800_activists-in-rapists-out-uc-santa-cruz-3.jpg
§
by Alex Darocy
800_activists-in-rapists-out-uc-santa-cruz-4.jpg
§Title IX
by Alex Darocy
800_activists-in-rapists-out-uc-santa-cruz-5.jpg
Sign reads: "Why does UCSC's Title IX office have 200+ complaints of sexual harassment that have resulted in no substantive protections for the survivors and no significant punishments for perpetrators?"
§
by Alex Darocy
800_activists-in-rapists-out-uc-santa-cruz-6.jpg
§Marching from Quarry Plaza to Stevenson Coffee House
by Alex Darocy
800_activists-in-rapists-out-uc-santa-cruz-7.jpg
§Stevenson Coffee House
by Alex Darocy
800_activists-in-rapists-out-uc-santa-cruz-8-stevenson-coffee-house.jpg
§
by Alex Darocy
800_activists-in-rapists-out-uc-santa-cruz-9.jpg
§
by Alex Darocy
800_activists-in-rapists-out-uc-santa-cruz-10.jpg
§
by Alex Darocy
800_activists-in-rapists-out-uc-santa-cruz-11.jpg
Add Your Comments

Comments (Hide Comments)
http://www.cityonahillpress.com/2015/04/23/ucsc-added-to-nationwide-title-ix-investigation/
http://news.ucsc.edu/2015/04/investigation.html

Wow, 200+ unaddressed issues, via official channels?! That is exactly the kind of thing that creates demand for unofficial channels.
by Right back atcha
Show your evidence. Show your proof. So far, you've shown nothing but heresy and a sense of moral indignation that you can't back up with any facts. What's next, a good old fashioned lynching?
It's a chronic problem, across the planet. That there is a Title IX investigation is the real surprise! The cover up of campus rape by campus police and administrations is an ancient travesty. Perhaps you should have some serious talks with your girlfriend/wife/daughter, and their friends. You might learn something.

And then there is that (former?) TBSC/Clean Team convicted sex offender (of local minors)...
by hmmm
No offense, Gary, but this article is pretty thin on details? Obviously, misogyny and brutality towards women is one of the biggest problems in our society. However, this article doesn't really explain what happened in this one case? Was it reported to UCSC but they didn't inform the police? Did the police arrest someone, but the DA decided not to prosecute? It's really hard to figure out what's going on, and I've found that other discussions of this protests have also been limited in those kinds of details?

Personally, if they hold another protest, I would love to come... but we need more info on what happened?
by Razer Ray
"The person who they say raped at least two students was not in the coffee house at the time the group marched inside..."

Were the rapes ever reported? Have charges been filed?

If not, then this is simply vigilantism and unacceptable.

IF charges were made and unacted on, this would be more acceptable as protest instead of simply bullying, but as a commenter suggested above it IS NOT made clear. In which case, until clarification, I consider it bullying, mob bullying, as odious and potentially more dangerous than the alleged rape. In many ways similar to the persecution and burning of witches by so-called Christians of the 16 and 1700s
While it is understandable why some would be desperate to ignore such details, exist they do.

While it is understandable why some would be scared of shaming protests with direct economic impact, exist they do.

Rather than ignoring such details, and the predictable reactions to letting them fester; better questions to ask, hmmm/atcha, are why there are 200+ reports and why there is a Title IX investigation of UCSC. Those questions are no longer ignorable. A chronic lack of answers is no longer ignorable. As embarrassing as implicit support of rape culture might be, that is also no longer ignorable.
by Razer Ray
If that was a response to my comment instead of a self-contained diatribe it does NOT answer the extremely simple question even a UCSC student can understand: "WERE CHARGES FILED IN THIS PARTICULAR INSTANCE?" All else is irrelevant until that quesation is answered considering the lede.

If the protest was about Title IX investigations or anything else, that should have been CLEARLY STATED in the headline. Because what we're left with otherwise is a headline that's an apparently unsubstantiated charge of rape against an un-named individual, and WTF good does THAT do?
by G
This tweet was...

"Huh, even 'burn it down'/'hang them from lamp posts' types go all 'prove it'/'use proper channels' when women exercise power. #RapeCulture"

https://twitter.com/PeaceCamp2010in/status/593450374775767041

but my previous post, posted as yours was posted, wasn't.

BTW; the "Apache doesn't work that way" fold was amusing, apparently you have capacity to reform your tech-newbie ways. Hopefully the same potential exists for misogyny!
by hmmm
Razer, I don't think Gary's response was to your question, just an overall comment on the situation. Obviously, Gary is right that we should not be ignoring Title IX violations. However, as you said, if there were NO charges filed or this case wasn't reported, then I'm not sure what this protest is about? Steve Pleich posted on this on FB as well, but his post also didn't have much details.

To me, the biggest disappointment in a lot of this is that students have somehow been mentally trained to treat rape as a "student conduct issue" or something a college should address "in-house" through "sitdowns" or "moderation councils". Sorry, that smacks of Catholic Church shit to me.

Not a big fan of the police, but they are the proper venue for rape cases... if they don't do anything about your case, scream to the fucking heavens, and organize protests. But society is never going to take rape accusations seriously that don't even get reported to the cops.
by hmmm
"'use proper channels' when women exercise power"

So you DON'T think women should try to use proper channels at first when assaulted? So you basically don't believe in due process, innocent until proven guilty, etc? As much as I distrust the cops, I would always suggest to any woman who was assaulted to bring their case to the cops. If the cops ignore, shame, etc. THEN you go ballistic, go to civil courts, hold protests, etc.

But accusing people of crimes without being willing to pursue them legally isn't "women exercising power".... it's sheer negligence, anti-democratic, unconstitutional. Watching your rapist go to prison for 10 years and watching the bailiff escort them out after sentencing is REALLY damn empowering. Ask rape victims who've won their cases. Not enough of them, but they are out there.

Of course, I'll change my tune if it turns out that this victim DID go through those channels and the cops ignored here, shamed her. But that detail is simply missing from all coverage of the case.
by G
One of the classic problems degrading justice in campus rape cases is that campus police have jurisdiction, not local police. Campus police are notorious for burying crimes that could implicate the 'big men' on campuses, or dissuade the enrollment of fresh victims (like TBSC, the Church has an ugly history, in this regard). I do not know who has jurisdiction at UCSC, although their supply of 'enhanced' vehicles does imply 'self rule'. I also do not know the details of the issue with the employee on campus but suspect that the 200+ reports reveals the cause of the broader frustration amongst victims of sexual violence at UCSC. It takes a lot to get Feds to act on self-implicating stuff like this, so the Title IX investigation is also an interesting development. Perhaps that investigation will provide the useful detail you demand.

Another classic problem is victim blaming, when victims speak up. Some say rape isn't always about the sex, it's often about the domination of others. The knee-jerk reactions to women 'standing their ground' are depressingly predictable.

Meanwhile, back at the misinterpretation: my impression is that victims DID use 'proper channels' at UCSC. 200+ worth. My point was that such systemic failure is the very thing that promotes the use of 'unofficial channels'. That warning gets conflated with 'lynching'?! A 'bobbitt' seems more likely.
by hmmm
>.One of the classic problems degrading justice in campus rape cases is that campus police have jurisdiction, not local police. Campus police are notorious for burying crimes that could implicate the 'big >men' on campuses, or dissuade the enrollment of fresh victims (like TBSC, the Church has an ugly history, in this regard).

Uh, seriously? Comparing TBSC to the friggin' Vatican? Not a member or a fan, but it should be pointed out that they dumped Dylan Greiner like a hot potato the second that story came out. I can't think of any efforts by TBSC to defend or protect him. Can you point one out, Gary? Also, what does TBSC have to do with this story? I mean, they aren't exactly considered "soft on rape".

>I I also do not know the details of the issue with the employee on campus but suspect that the 200+ reports reveals the cause of the broader frustration amongst victims of sexual violence at UCSC.

Just to be clear, the 200 was NOT all rapes, it included things like "sexist graffiti". Not that stuff like that is cool, but it's not on the same level as a rape. Either way, it's clear that there is a problem on America's campuses and whatever number were actually rapes, it's still too damn high.

>It takes a lot to get Feds to act on self-implicating stuff like this, so the Title IX investigation is also an interesting development.

UCSC is not fed, so how is it self-implicating? And, if the system isn't working, well, who the hell do you think is working the Title IX investigation? Anarchists? They are investigating colleges all over the country, which is long overdue.

> Perhaps that investigation will provide the useful detail you demand.

But it's not going to release individual details. It's going to be a large-picture investigation and report. However, if the activists want the people of Santa Cruz to support their rallies and effort to shame this alleged rapist, WE are going to ask for some details. Do you think, for example, that activists who are considering getting involved in the fight to end the sleep ban should get details on the ban NOW before joining protests.... or should they wait around for a HUD investigation to release its results? If I get actual details about the ban and WHY it is wrong, I'm going to be much more likely to join that cause. Folks like you and Robert Norse have done a GREAT job informing the public about those kinds of anti-homeless activities in Santa Cruz. You don't just expect people to show up without having any understanding of the actual issues, right?

>Another classic problem is victim blaming, when victims speak up. Some say rape isn't always about the sex, it's often about the domination of others. The knee-jerk reactions to women 'standing their >ground' are depressingly predictable.

WRONG. Nobody is blaming victims here, maybe you are mistaking this for a different thread you are posting on? I'm all for women "standing their ground" and fight for their right to be human and not be assaulted by men. But when women are raped and don't report it to the police, they are enabling their attackers to DO IT AGAIN. In that sense, they have BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS. Yes, that right, any woman who DOES NOT report a rape, then sees another person violated by their assailant is partially responsible. That may not be a popular attitude these days, but that's the way I see it.

"Meanwhile, back at the misinterpretation: my impression is that victims DID use 'proper channels' at UCSC. 200+ worth."

-OK, so what is your basis for claiming that nothing was done in response? From what I can see, you are basing this on ONE cardboard sign from a picture. First of all, UCSC is not going to let out many details on these incidents simply due to the privacy of both victim and assailant. 200 incidents has been reported in the media and by UCSC's Title IX office.... but we have not seen proof that they were all either a) addressed or b) ignored. I suspect, due to the fed investigation, that a lot may have been ignored. But again, this is the problem with letting colleges deal with this stuff. In my opinion, campus police forces should be outlawed and local police given jurisdiction over ALL American college campuses.

>My point was that such systemic failure is the very thing that promotes the use of 'unofficial channels'.

Huh?

>That warning gets conflated with 'lynching'?! A 'bobbitt' seems more likely.

So you would be OK with that?
by G
"Yes, that right, any woman who DOES NOT report a rape, then sees another person violated by their assailant is partially responsible."

There is a semi-popular observation (in some circles); males, especially white males in the USA, play the game of life on the 'easy setting'. I suppose that's helps explain why they get so indignant when others question faith in their system.

When a rape is reported, and that victim is shamed, and the report belittled or ignored; perhaps you should be considered partially responsible.
by hmmmm
"When a rape is reported, and that victim is shamed, and the report belittled or ignored; perhaps you should be considered partially responsible."

TOTALLY AGREE. However, you nor the others writing about this specific incident have given ANY evidence that this incident was reported or belittled. So how do you get off claiming that? Do those things happen in many cases? Absolutely! But where is your evidence that it happened in this case with the coffee house worker? That's right... you have none. You just read the cardboard signs and that is all you need.

We are talking about ONE specific incident and protest. To ask questions is not "mansplaining" (love hearing that comment from a GUY, LOL!), it's called "asking questions".

So where is it, Gary? Step up and explain to us what happened in this case. Oh, that's right, YOU DON'T KNOW, but you seem to have a problem with people asking questions.

by G
Do YOU have any evidence? At all? No? And yet you make 'thus spake' assertions galore. Even wikipedia has a fitting description of that brand of 'reason'!

"Mansplaining also covers a heterogeneous mix of mannerisms in which a speaker's reduced respect for the stance of a listener, or a person being discussed, appears to have little reason behind it other than the speaker's assumption that the listener or subject, being female, does not have the same capacity to understand as a man or should not be given the same respect as a man."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansplaining#Definition

While we wait for those details; I posted some links, including one from UCSC itself.

http://www.cityonahillpress.com/2015/04/23/ucsc-added-to-nationwide-title-ix-investigation/
http://news.ucsc.edu/2015/04/investigation.html

Then I described chronic issues that you yourself seem to acknowledge, in the middle of hand waves. Would you do the same, while speaking to victims, in person? Especially your friends and family? Perhaps now would be a good time for you to go talk to them, assuming they trust you enough to open up about such painful topics...
by hmmmm
"Do YOU have any evidence? At all? No?"

-Nope, I have no evidence whatsoever that a rape occurred. Nor do I have evidence that the accuser made anything up. It's not on me to prove or disprove a rape. It's on the person who was assaulted to report it to the police and testify if called upon. If the police and DA ignore it, and people feel strongly that a rape did in fact happen, then it's time to start protesting. If you have evidence other than that a rally occurred, please share it on this board. But you don't... otherwise you would have done so by now.

This whole paragraph is completely confusing. I would respond to you, but I don't even get what you're trying to say. Try again:

"Then I described chronic issues that you yourself seem to acknowledge, in the middle of hand waves. Would you do the same, while speaking to victims, in person? Especially your friends and family? Perhaps now would be a good time for you to go talk to them, assuming they trust you enough to open up about such painful topics..."
by Sonya SJW
Seriously, WTF? Is this going to be a board for MRAs and Gamergaters? Also, what is up with the mobshamng going on? Angry mobs have achieved a lot through history: American Revolution, the death of Mussolini, the death of Qaddafi, etc. We are seeing a lot of mobshaming in regards to Baltimore, for example.

The womyn who organized this rally have had enough of cisgender white males trying to dominate the dialogue on rape and triggering us with micro-aggressions. Gary is right about the mansplaining angle as well. Not everything fits into the patriarchal system with it laws and "rights". Rapists have been hiding behind "the Constitution", "due process", "innocent before proven guilty" for decades now and rapes have never been higher.

The courts and police have failed to prosecute more than a handful of rapists nationwide. The stats show that there are only a few hundred men in jail for rape in the ENTIRE country. So why would you expect womyn to go to the "system" when they are assaulted? In addition, when a rape victim actually gets a DA to prosecute, he will often demand that they testify in court before their accuser and relive the events as part of the trial. NO woman should have to go through that traumatic experience. Fuck your "due process'. We tell our friends about our experiences, organize, and fight back through physical means or nonviolent means like internet shaming and Doxxing. Sorry if that offends your "liberal, democratic" sensibilities. And, yes, occasionally, like with all vigilante justice, some people will be punished for crimes they didn't commit. But how is that different from our current Amerikkkan system?

Old saying: "no use crying over spilt milk".
by Westy
Their friends, people they know and trust, tell them someone has raped them, news spreads and people seek nonviolent ways to create a safer space. Now they are critiqued. If someone has wronged me I may not call the police because I want to abolish the police.
by Sonya SJW
Great post, Westy. That's the whole point. The only problem with this protest I have is the reliance on "Title IX" bullshit. Don't use their stats, don't support their investigations. Gary makes some great points, but his support for the DOJ's investigation is not among them. Real anarchists do not rely on the Feds to protect womyn. We got it alone.

They are the cops, the feds, get it? They do not have womyn's interest at heart. They like to look like they're "doing something"... but they're not. And when protestors like that one guy with the sign saying "200 cases"cite such investigations they are only giving creedence to the Feds and the patriarchal system of imprisonment and laws.

Abolish prisons, abolish the police, and rapes will immediately decrease due to the lower levels of stress and top-down domination present in a new, lawless society.
Just in case that wasn't clear.

Oh, and 'bobbitt'; not surprised != endorsement.
by @
great job on this. beats the hell out of calling the pigs. the late pig butch baker molested 9 womyn and got a promotion for it. ironically he was killed by another rapist in 2013.
this is also the issue the university most fears the public finding out about.

who wants to send their child to a school known for its rapists?
by Savior
TBSC has never addressed the issue of rape or the safety of women like this action at UCSC has.

The anti-homeless politics of TBSC has had a negative impact on the safety of women in Santa Cruz.

TBSC printed up those 'Never Forget' t-shirts about the death of SCPD officer Butch Baker, but the one thing TBSC always 'forgets' about Butch Baker is he was investigated by the Grand Jury after women complained he was molesting them during body searches. A large group of women complained he was molesting them. There's no way they were all lying. TBSC will NEVER talk about this.

TBSC dumped their member Dylan Greiner? Hardly. TBSC never posted anything on their website about Greiner and the danger he could have been to the rest of their members. Greiner was a TBSC member whose video production skills increased the membership of TBSC by 500 people according to the President of TBSC, and after Greiner was found to have molested a young girl, and also secretly recorded girls changing at his surf school and at the Boys and Girls Club, TBSC could have warned their members about him, but their is no mention of him on their website.

TBSC has focused on a lot of issues, but rape prevention is not one of them, and since TBSC has been active, the rape rates have increased in Santa Cruz. We see TBSC members hollering they want a BearCat armored vehicle to protect police (and police didn't demonstrate they needed one) and we see TBSC hollering they want stay away orders for homeless people in the parks, but TBSC has never asked for any political change or change to the police department that would address the complex issues of rape. It's because TBSC knows homeless people are an easy target, and they know that reducing rape is a much more difficult problem to address.

Reported rapes increased dramatically in Santa Cruz from 2011-2012

Take Back Santa Cruz Needs These Stats and so does the city's Public Safety Task Force.

According to FBI statistics, there were:

23 known rapes in 2011 in the City of Santa Cruz:

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/crime-in-the-u.s.-2011/tables/table8statecuts/table_8_offenses_known_to_law_enforcement_california_by_city_2011.xls

compared to,

34 known rapes in 2012:

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2012/crime-in-the-u.s.-2012/tables/8tabledatadecpdf/table-8-state-cuts/table_8_offenses_known_to_law_enforcement_by_california_by_city_2012.xls

TBSC probably needs to shift its focus if they are truly interested in public safety.

Violence against women has increased dramatically during their tenure in our community.

TBSC members also have a history of violence against men.

TBSC member Ken Skindog Collins who assaulted a homeless person during a clean up event with the Santa Cruz 'Clean Team', and then a year later he also assaulted a surfer in Capitola for not being local.

Or how about TBSC member Steve Schlicht saying he would be "fine with junkies dying" as long as they left Santa Cruz first. He said this as a member of the Public Safety Task Force.

A TBSC founder has also been implicated in corporate crimes. The Securities and Exchange Commission found that Dexter Cube the founder of TBSC ripped his clients off.

See:

Was Tough-on-Crime Take Back Santa Cruz Founded by a Corporate Criminal?
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/06/02/18649646.php

Here is the source info.....

http://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/33-8201.htm

TBSC isn't the best organiztion to cite in the context of violence against women, or when it comes to their members harming the public.
by Robert Norse
We named and featured on a "wanted" poster Sgt. Butchie (Loran) Baker of the SCPD for sexually molesting 9 women. That's the same guy the SCPD and City Council have billed as the hero of 2013 who was killed with Elizabeth Butler (and Jeremy Goulet). Naming him was considered both an act of public education and public safety. Incidentally the women Baker molested also came forward at press conferences. That was their choice as it would be the victim's choice in this case.

The City Council meeting that established a committee to look into the charges against Baker was replayed in a historical flashback some years ago at http://www.radiolibre.org/brb/brb061001.mp3 (70 minutes into the audio file); at http://www.radiolibre.org/brb/brb061008.mp3 (98 minutes into the file); and http://www.radiolibre.org/brb/brb061015.mp3 (54 minutes into the file).

I think it would be helpful if the posters are sure of their facts to name the man they accuse.
by Robert Norse
Baker was never charged by the D.A., was exonerated by the SCPD Internal Affairs "Investigation", and was ultimately promoted to a Detective job. In 1993 declared "Officer of the Year". The case helped produce a weak Citizen Police Review Board which lasted from 1994 to 2003.

It ain't just Baltimore that needs a massive shake-up.
by Mob rules ok!
Ask Ken Maffei what it's like to suffer at the hands of a mob without a shred of evidence.

Robert, I take it that Goulet didn't collect the reward?
by JBK
it would be prudent to teach civics in the schools again....at least just the basics ......and divine if those who don't know or forgot them take the classes....
by pk
Who is the group protesting the rapist on campus?

Do they have a name? A contact person? What are the facts surrounding this alleged rapist?

were they accused but not charged? charged but not convicted? convicted but served time?


What is the background to the claim of 200 unsolved /unresolved sexual assault cases on campus?


This is an interesting but seriously deficient report!
Unfortunately child predator Dylan Greiner has been quietly released after serving only a year and a half in jail. We should have Occupied the Santa Cruz Superior Court to protect countless young girls who are at risk in Greiner's new city of residence.
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$110.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network