Pope Gregory Day, last Monday of Fall SemesterÂ
Make this John Yoo's last class ever! 
There is a battle raging right now over the future of the University of California. But the question is not only whether education will be affordable, but what kind of education it will be...Â
If, as is too common, our universities are merely providing new technicians for sustaining the status quo, the debate over private vs public might indeed be moot. But, if we use higher education for realizing a better and more equitable world, the public could be best convinced that student demands are justified.Â
The battle over higher education in California is really a battle over the shape of the future, not just in California, but the country...Â
At UC Berkeley the question is starkly posed:Â
What kind of University is it that harbors an international war criminal directly responsible for the torture of thousands of innocent people across the Middle East and South Asia, and yet arrests 4 people for protesting against him?Â
What kind of country are we living in, where torture is carried out systematically in pursuit of oil, power, and empire - and we are taught that it is necessary to keep Americans safe?Â
And what kind of people are we if we tolerate a torturer on our campus, in our community?Â
What kind of students are we if we think only of our classes and our careers and not of the wars and torture being carried out around the world in our name?Â
What kind of professors are we if we treat John Yoo as a respected colleague? In passively allowing the humanity of others to be violated, our own humanity becomes degraded.Â
If you refuse to allow the next generation to be educated that torture is OK, take a stand.
It is up to us.Â
In the name of "looking forward not back," Barack Obama has refused to prosecute those responsible for torture, a war crime and a crime against humanity. Not only that, but he has blocked the evidence - thousands of photos documenting torture of detainees, including rape - from being released publicly. He pledged to shut down Guantanamo, but the torture continues (in fact worsens) there and it is almost certain that he will not close it by the 1 year deadline he set. And now a show trial has been set for alleged "9/11 mastermind" Khalid Sheikh Mohammed whose outcome is pre-determined. Meanwhile many more are "tried" by military commissions and hundreds of others continue to rot for years, without trials or lawyers, in "preventative detention." What kind of justice system is this??? If you want real justice... be there November 30th!Â
What kind of University is it that harbors an international war criminal directly responsible for the torture of thousands of innocent people across the Middle East and South Asia, and yet arrests 4 people for protesting against him?Â
What kind of country are we living in, where torture is carried out systematically in pursuit of oil, power, and empire - and we are taught that it is necessary to keep Americans safe?Â
And what kind of people are we if we tolerate a torturer on our campus, in our community?Â
What kind of students are we if we think only of our classes and our careers and not of the wars and torture being carried out around the world in our name?Â
What kind of professors are we if we treat John Yoo as a respected colleague? In passively allowing the humanity of others to be violated, our own humanity becomes degraded.Â
If you refuse to allow the next generation to be educated that torture is OK, take a stand.
It is up to us.Â
In the name of "looking forward not back," Barack Obama has refused to prosecute those responsible for torture, a war crime and a crime against humanity. Not only that, but he has blocked the evidence - thousands of photos documenting torture of detainees, including rape - from being released publicly. He pledged to shut down Guantanamo, but the torture continues (in fact worsens) there and it is almost certain that he will not close it by the 1 year deadline he set. And now a show trial has been set for alleged "9/11 mastermind" Khalid Sheikh Mohammed whose outcome is pre-determined. Meanwhile many more are "tried" by military commissions and hundreds of others continue to rot for years, without trials or lawyers, in "preventative detention." What kind of justice system is this??? If you want real justice... be there November 30th!Â
