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By Donna Lamb |
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Support Miguel Malo and free speech rights for
Students of color at CUNY!
 f it were only about Miguel Malo it would be bad enough. The most
troubling thing is, it's about much more: the first amendment rights of
Blacks, Latinos and other students of color at the City University of
New York (CUNY.)
 In August 2001, students at Hostos Community College in the Bronx
held a demonstration protesting cuts in Spanish and bilingual programs.
During this protest Miguel Malo, the Student Senate President, was
arrested for holding up a sign in a public atrium that had traditionally
been the "free speech area" on campus.
Others were also arrested that day, but the charges against them were
eventually dropped. However, CUNY has continued to prosecute Malo,
claiming that this 5 foot 2 inch self-possessed, dignified young man had
"assaulted" two 6 foot CUNY "peace officers" - even though numerous
faculty and student witnesses saw that it was Miguel who was assaulted
by seven campus cops who threw him to the ground. Now, he could
be sentenced to a year in jail for the totally ridiculous charges of
assaulting these officers and resisting arrest. He is also charged with
disorderly conduct and harassment.
Clearly CUNY wants to make an example of Miguel Malo in order to
intimidate other students of color who are thinking of standing up for
their rights and protesting tuition hikes, budget cuts, and all the
attacks on the working-class students at this, the largest urban
university system in the United States.
Stated Malo's attorney, Ron McGuire, "Miguel's story is really an
example of what's happening to Black and Latino students at CUNY where
they're being essentially locked down and deprived of their rights. His
case is not the only one where students are being arrested or told that
they can't demonstrate. Students at Hostos are not allowed to give out
leaflets in public places on the campus like they used to and like
students are permitted to do at most colleges."
McGuire told of the glaring disparity he's seen between the way
students are treated on different CUNY campuses depending on whether
they're in wealthy white neighborhoods and attended mainly by white
students - such as Queens College and Hunter - or in predominantly
non-white neighborhoods and attended by people of color - such as Medgar
Evers College in Brooklyn, City College in Harlem, and Hostos.
In the colleges where the students are mostly white you can drive
right onto the campus, enter any door of any building, and just walk
around anywhere without being challenged. But at places like Hostos you
have to go through gates to enter the campus, most of the entrances to
the buildings are permanently locked, and you've got to make it through
security check points to get in. It's extremely repressive, feeling more
like a prison than a campus.
Furthermore, when the students hold their protests at majority white
campuses there's more of the attitude "Well, that's what students do."
He told of a sit-in at Hunter. The students had asked him to be present.
The angry students came in with their list of demands and sat in at the
President's office. She came out and spoke with them. Then, the students
were told, "Ok, you can spend the night. Just don't mess up the
furniture." Next, the Dean of Students came in with two trays of fruit
so they wouldn't get hungry during the night, and the Vice President
gave $15 when the students took up a collection for food.
But, stated McGuire, "When Pedro Rivera and other students tried to
march on the president's office at Hostos, they weren't even allowed
near the office. At campuses like Hostos and City College when
students protest there's a fear of domestic insurrection. They call out
this incredible security force. We have gotten documents about their
deciding whether or not they need to wear guns to control the students.
There's a very intense kind of racial profiling going on, and that's
what Miguel is caught up in."
Miguel Malo's line of defense is very simple: that it's not against
the law to hold up a sign in a public place, which is what he was
arrested for. But he's been dragged through the courts for almost two
years now as CUNY and the DA have "amended" their story and charges over
and over, refused to turn over their videotapes of the protest where he
was arrested, failed to bring key witnesses to court, and even tried -
unsuccessfully - to throw the lawyer of Malo's choice, Atty. Ron
McGuire, off the case. That little maneuver even shocked some jaded
court personnel.
But despite everything he's been put through, Malo has steadfastly
and courageously maintained his stand. He says that a student's right to
free speech shouldn't end at the schoolhouse door. He is grateful for
the public support that his case has received and confident that justice
will prevail and he will be found innocent. And Malo has said that he
hopes his case will establish that Black and Latino students at Hostos
and all CUNY campuses have the same constitutional rights as white
students.
Please come and help pack the courthouse at Miguel Malo's next court
appearance on Monday, June 2nd at 9:30 AM at Part TAP-1 in
the basement of Bronx County Criminal Court, located at 215 East 161st
Street - one block east of the Grand Concourse. Take the 4 or D train to
161st Street. Please arrive early since there's often a long
line outside the court.
Donna Lamb can be reached at
dlamb@gis.net.
Read Donna's Last Column |
