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GC Students Call for Charges Against
Miguel Malo be Dropped!At its meeting of February 6, 2004, the Doctoral Students’ Council (DSC) of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York passed a resolution in support of Miguel Malo and calling for all charges to be dropped against him. Mr. Malo, a student at Hostos Community College, held up a sign protesting cuts in bilingual programs at the college. In response, he was thrown to the ground by CUNY security officers, arrested, and charged with assaulting CUNY peace officers, resisting arrest, harassment, and disorderly conduct. At his trial, conflicting testimony was presented regarding whether any verbal warning was given before the security officers attacked. However, it is certain that Mr. Malo, whose first language is Spanish and who speaks little English, was given no warning in Spanish.
Mr. Malo was injured by the officers and has described himself as being “brutalized” by them. His trial began in the fall of 2003 and recently ended in a mistrial. The DSC’s resolution urges that “Instead of pursuing the charges against him, the administration of Hostos Community College and the Office of the District Attorney should seize this timely moment and cease to press charges.”
The Doctoral Students’ Council, in keeping with its constitutional charge to support democratization within CUNY, affirmed the right of all CUNY students, faculty and staff to engage in peaceful protests. The right to free speech and free expression is absolutely fundamental to the operation of democracy.For more information, see the complete DSC resolution printed on page 14. For more information about the persecution of Miguel Malo, contact Sandor John, s_an@msn.com