Racist graffiti unsettles campus community

Police investigating hate crime
by Leslie Layton | Posted April 11, 2019

Racist, homophobic and sexist graffiti was used to deface faculty bulletin boards, photographs and office doors in Butte Hall during the April 6-7 weekend, according to police and faculty.

The Chico State University Police Department (UPD) released a brief statement that says it’s investigating the graffiti incident as a hate crime and “seeking to identify suspects.” UPD estimated the damage and clean-up cost at $400.

Police were contacted Sunday morning and the graffiti that had defaced the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice was promptly removed.

Two forums are now being organized at Chico State around issues of racism and student safety, and Tim Sistrunk, president of the Chico chapter of the California Faculty Association, says the union is assuming a role and wants to collaborate with police on behalf of teaching staff. read more

Chico commits to a fossil-free future

Council declares climate emergency as storm rages
by Leslie Layton | Posted April 4, 2019

photo by Karen Laslo
Alma Miranda

Pounding hail, bolts of lightning and tornado alarms drowned out plaintive voices of the shyest of the teens who spoke before the Chico City Council Tuesday night.

To many in the chamber, nature had also spoken in a thundering, biblical voice.

To others, of course, the racket was produced by a mere flash flood.

As rain water filled the streets of Chico, trapping a few vehicle passengers and flooding some homes and businesses, the City Council voted 5-1 to pass a resolution declaring a climate emergency. It commits the city to act on climate change and prepare for extreme weather events.

The resolution states “it makes economic sense… to be proactive rather than wait for more wildfires, severe storms, heat waves, and floods which threaten public health and safety… ” read more

To people of color, Chico seems less friendly, more hostile

Chico State promises "Safety Summit"
by Leslie Layton and Denise Minor | Posted April 2, 2019

photo courtesy of Vickie Nailing

When Vickie Nailing first came to Chico to pursue a master’s degree in 2015, she was taken aback by how friendly people were. She loved the community’s “hippy vibe” that reminded her of the 1970s.

“When I would pass strangers they would look me in the eyes and smile,” said Nailing, a graduate student in the Teaching International Languages program. “I’m from L.A. I wasn’t used to that.”

Nailing left Chico one year later to train English teachers in Ukraine on a Peace Corps program. When she returned in January, she sensed that something in the city had changed. Nailing, an African-American re-entry student, says she sometimes found herself facing upfront hostility and defensiveness. read more

Governor shares his views on death penalty, race bias

Gavin Newsom explains why he imposed a moratorium on capital punishment
by Leslie Layton | Posted March 20, 2019

photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
The San Quentin death chamber has been shut down, as well as the state’s lethal injection program.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, in a passionate defense of his moratorium on use of the death penalty in California, pointed Tuesday to well-documented inequities in the criminal justice system that helped lead him to his decision.

The process that places convicts on Death Row is “error prone,” Newsom said in a telebriefing with members of the ethnic media. “I think it’s a racist system that disproportionally affects black and brown people.”

Newsom told journalists belonging to the Ethnic Media Services network that economic and geographic inequities in the criminal justice system also played a role in his decision, as well as practical and moral considerations. read more

Justice for Desmond group marks second anniversary of killing

Families again gather to demand reform
by ChicoSol staff | Posted March 18, 2019

photo by Karen Laslo
David Phillips, father of Desmond Phillips.

Community members gathered Sunday to mark the second anniversary of the killing of 25-year-old Desmond Phillips, shot multiple times by Chico police officers in his father’s living room. Other parents frustrated with Butte County’s criminal justice system again joined the Phillips family for a march, potluck dinner and a program that included speakers and performances.

Scott Rushing, father of Tyler Rushing who was killed in a shooting that involved Chico police and an armed security guard in July 2017, traveled from Ventura to attend the Sunday gathering.

Rain Scher from the Justice for Desmond Phillips team said in an email, “We believe that the community at large should be reminded of who Desmond is and what happened to him and all the things that we fight for in his name: accountability for the officers who killed him and the chief of police, better mental health care access in Butte County, better training for police officers including anti-bias training.” read more