Support Needed: Police Repression of Laney Education Defense Queer Activists

Thursday Mar 3rd, 2011 indybay.org

Hello, we are calling for support! The queer community at Laney is under
attack!

Yesterday, at Laney Community College, in Oakland California, a
gender-queer student, Jesse Trepper, was violently arrested by Alameda
Sheriffs, while participating in the March 2nd Day of Action in defense of
education.

Peralta students marched on the district office demanding to meet with the
Administration and to have their concerns be heard. They were met by a
locked and empty office guarded by Alameda Sheriffs. As students requested
access to the building, they were met with unwarranted violence from both
sheriffs and administrators, up to and including being shoved and verbally
assaulted.

Jesse was wrongfully arrested while their girlfriend was presenting the
administration with hundreds of signed petitions demanding that measures
be taken to address the targeted violence against Transgender youth and
Queers on campus. Jesse was forcefully tackled and dragged from the
building despite their non-violent cooperation with law enforcement and is
now facing charges that the dozens of witnesses present can substantiate
as blatantly false.

The problem of harassment is made even more serious because thus far by
the response of the Administration who, in their interactions with Trans
students about this issue, have been everything from completely ignorant
of Trans reality, to belittling, to outright humiliating.

Ironically, this arrest came immediately after students raised the clear
contradiction between the cuts being directed at critical student services
and the district’s renewed funding for Alameda Sheriffs. Students made it
clear that for us, student programs, reasonable class sizes, a safe
environment for Trans and Queer students, and safe working conditions for
staff are the keys to campus safety, NOT an increased police presence.

This violent action taken by the Alameda Sheriff’s Department is
reflection of the current homophobic and Transphobic environment that is
on the Peralta Community College Campuses and of the administration’s
efforts to criminalize and silence the student resistance through
targeting queer activists who have played a central role in this struggle.

We have been unable to get any information on the health status of Jesse,
who has been in custody for more than 24 hours now, and are worried of
their safety.
We are urgently calling for support from our comrades, communities and
allies.
We are demanding the Peralta administration immediately drop the charges.
We are trying to raise Defense and Bail funds ($35,000!).
We need a mass show of support at the court at 2pm tomorrow (come in your
best court drag and meet us outside at 1:30pm):
Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse
661 Washington Street
Oakland, California 94607
Dept 107
Please donate, and get this awesome Queer out!

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=...