Police arrest DQ University Students

Police arrest DQ University students, who recently hosted the Longest Walk2

Watch arrests on Youtube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18jjkTK9Vxs
For more information:
http://www.myspace.com/dquniversity
Chris Yazzie
530-554-8377 yazzieyazzie@yahoo.com
Manuel
408-914-1079
Lupita Torres
408-529-3849 peetuhpocket@yahoo.com
More info here as well: http://www.indybay.org//
Yolo Deputies Arrest Tribal Students At DQ University
Three Charged With Trespassing
February 20, 2008
YOLO COUNTY — Students say they were living in dorms on tribal land, but on Wednesday they were arrested for trespassing.
It's all part of an on-going rift at the former DQ Tribal University.
Michael Frease captured a video on the tribal land of the former DQ University, as Yolo County Sheriff's arrested several students for trespassing. "He's lived here longer than 30 days they're supposed to provide him with a notice of eviction, they didn't do that," Frease said.
Back in 2005 D-Q University lost it's accreditation after the former administration was found to be mishandling funds, now free cultural classes are still being held here, but it's a constant struggle between the faculty, board and the students to get the university up and running again.
The rift has gotten so strong that three of the board members made the decision to call law enforcement and have them make the arrests. But not all board members agreed with the decision. In fact, some weren't even notified. "As board members trying to rebuild this college we've been set with the task of meeting with different government agencies and different people to try and straighten out a lot of things that had gone wrong here and that was something I was very willing to do and something I'll continue to try to do but fighting against indian people is not what I signed on for," said Board of Trustees Chairman, Calvin Headrick.
The members who called for the arrest say the students were blocking them from doing what they needed to do to move forward. But students like Lupita Torres, say rebuilding D.Q University is a common goal, and they should be working together. "We're here for the future generations. We want our college to be here. This is the only tribal college in California so they can't scare us out of being here."
Copyright © 2008, KTXL
DQU UPDATE !
CHRIS, DAN AND MANUEL ARE ALL BACK AT DQU.
Here is the copy of the news-release from The Vanguard :
Breaking News: Three Students Arrested for Trespassing at DQ University
The Vanguard responding to reports that students at DQ University had been arrested for allegedly trespassing went to the campus this afternoon to find it for the most abandoned and empty. However, at the entrance a number of the students who witnessed events spoke to us.
One of the students, a female, told the Vanguard:
"Early this morning there were arrests that happened, three of our students were arrested for trespassing supposedly."
The Sheriff's deputies entered the grounds this morning. Some of the students came out to find out what was going on and were arrested at that time. But other students who remained inside the dorms were neither arrested nor told to leave according to those who stayed behind.
"The cops they went around through the building without a warrant and they were searching for more students. All the doors are locked right now."
According to a student identified as Steve:
"I woke up and some of the other guys they woke me up, board members were standing outside and we all tried to get everyone together in the dining hall... As we were having our meeting the cops came, sheriff I guess, Yolo County and we started locking the doors because we didn't want them to come in."
However, three of the guys went out to talk to the Sheriff's Deputies.
"Those three guys went out to talk to the cops and see why they were here. I was on the second floor with a video camera."
They were just trying to figure out what was going on.
"The cops they've been here before, but they've never arrested anyone."
There were separate complaints about use of force. The student had received a text from a fellow classmate saying that the Sheriff's had arrested him.
The female student told the Vanguard:
"They were very forceful. Five cops took him down and he's a very skinny, passive, gentle young person and he didn't even resist or anything at all. They just arrested him along with two other students."
Steve agreed.
"They started really forcefully gathering students, arresting them, taking them down... One of the guys, he was just trying to explain to the cops what was going on here and how we had just as much right to be here just as anybody else, because it's native land and everything... So he was just out there explaining to the cops, they didn't come with a warrant, they didn't come with any legal papers, they said they had some, but we kept asking for it but they never showed it to us."
When the students refused to leave, they were arrested.
"Five guys took down Chris, he's a pretty skinny guy and they were very forceful with him."
The events of today are part of a continuing dispute between the students and the new board.
"This is part of an ongoing psychological warfare being conducted by people on the board that for some reason or other don't want us running programs here or being on campus."
According to the female student,
"I'm not sure why trespassing, we have as much right to be here as the board does. There's not any law or treaty that states that we cannot be here. So I'm not sure what grounds they were arrested on."
In 2005 the school lost it accreditation and since then the board and the students have been struggling to get along.
Last Saturday tensions increased during a public board meeting when the students tried to bring cameras to the public board meeting.
"This Saturday we had a board meeting and they attacked us. It was quite funny because they didn't want the video cameras in. We're allowed to have video cameras in a public forum, a public board meeting. So we're not quite sure what that was about."
Members of the board allegedly assaulted the students grabbing them by the arms and by the camera. One of the witnesses believes that a student has actually filed charges against the board for that alleged assault.
Meanwhile the students told the Vanguard that they were not ordered to not return, so we shall see how this situation continues to develop.
The Vanguard will continue to monitor this situation for any updates.
---Doug Paul Davis reporting
http://www.indigenousaction.org/ - Independent Indigenous Media