Justice for Dr. Antwi Akom
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Robert A. Corrigan, President
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President Robert A. Corrigan
San Francisco State University
Dear President Corrigan,
The Faculty, Staff and Student population of San Francisco State University are outraged by the actions of Wackenhut Security and SFSU "Department of Public Safety," against Dr. Antwi Akom, Assistant professor of Africana Studies. We are happy that you have addressed the situation and have appointed a review team; however, we feel that additional action is needed.
1. We expect that the University will pull all of its resources together in urging the D.A. to drop all charges against Prof. Akom.
2. We respectfully suggest that the University issue a public statement condemning the practice of racial profiling and the actions of the Security Guard and DPS in this case. We would like a formal apology be given to Dr. Akom, as well.
3. We expect the officers and security guard to be held accountable for their actions and we believe that this should mean the immediate termination of their employment.
4. We are committed to the principle of ethical and social responsibility within our community. With that said, we propose that DPS require some sort of diversity training for all incoming officers and those currently employed by the University. This could mean taking some of the Introductory Ethnic Studies courses offered by the College of Ethnic Studies, or hiring an outside company to teach issues to those employed by DPS on ethical issues in diversity.
This is the second time such an incident has occurred to Prof. Akom. Why wasn't anything done last year? In other words, why wasn't a policy put in place when he reported racial antagonism and racial profiling on the part of the SFSU PD to the Dean (who forwarded the message to the Police Chief last year)? Why did no one address his concerns?
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Can other faculty and students of color feel safe in their own offices or on their own campus? Is the administration supporting the creation of a safe work/campus environment? Shouldn't the police and professors/students/staff/administration be working together not against one another to create a safe work and learning environment?
In the interest of fairness and reminding the broader community of SFSU's commitment to fairness, equal treatment under the law, and due process, we urge you to act expeditiously on this matter. We are outraged that charges against Dr. Akom have not yet been dropped by the university. Dr. Akom is a brilliant scholar, an amazing person, exceptional teacher, and we should be happy to have him on campus serving us. We should be doing everything in our power to see that he remains a part of our community.
We ask you President Corrigan: Do you know what racial profiling looks like? This could have been any of us, and everyday it happens to many of us.
San Francisco State University
Dear President Corrigan,
The Faculty, Staff and Student population of San Francisco State University are outraged by the actions of Wackenhut Security and SFSU "Department of Public Safety," against Dr. Antwi Akom, Assistant professor of Africana Studies. We are happy that you have addressed the situation and have appointed a review team; however, we feel that additional action is needed.
1. We expect that the University will pull all of its resources together in urging the D.A. to drop all charges against Prof. Akom.
2. We respectfully suggest that the University issue a public statement condemning the practice of racial profiling and the actions of the Security Guard and DPS in this case. We would like a formal apology be given to Dr. Akom, as well.
3. We expect the officers and security guard to be held accountable for their actions and we believe that this should mean the immediate termination of their employment.
4. We are committed to the principle of ethical and social responsibility within our community. With that said, we propose that DPS require some sort of diversity training for all incoming officers and those currently employed by the University. This could mean taking some of the Introductory Ethnic Studies courses offered by the College of Ethnic Studies, or hiring an outside company to teach issues to those employed by DPS on ethical issues in diversity.
This is the second time such an incident has occurred to Prof. Akom. Why wasn't anything done last year? In other words, why wasn't a policy put in place when he reported racial antagonism and racial profiling on the part of the SFSU PD to the Dean (who forwarded the message to the Police Chief last year)? Why did no one address his concerns?
.
Can other faculty and students of color feel safe in their own offices or on their own campus? Is the administration supporting the creation of a safe work/campus environment? Shouldn't the police and professors/students/staff/administration be working together not against one another to create a safe work and learning environment?
In the interest of fairness and reminding the broader community of SFSU's commitment to fairness, equal treatment under the law, and due process, we urge you to act expeditiously on this matter. We are outraged that charges against Dr. Akom have not yet been dropped by the university. Dr. Akom is a brilliant scholar, an amazing person, exceptional teacher, and we should be happy to have him on campus serving us. We should be doing everything in our power to see that he remains a part of our community.
We ask you President Corrigan: Do you know what racial profiling looks like? This could have been any of us, and everyday it happens to many of us.
1240 Signatures
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Ashley Moore
- Comments
- "This could have been any of us, and every day it happens to many of us."
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Carolyn Thuy Linh Tran
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Tiffany McWhinnie
- Comments
- I have seen a similar incident on our campus in the past week. When is it going to end?
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Jemima Pierre, Ph.D.
- Comments
- As a young professor of African descent, I am concerned about the kind of precedent this sets for faculty of color nation-wide. The university--especially one with such a rich history of ethnic studies as SFSU--cannot be a safe place if its own professors cannot safely conduct their duties. I am ready to mobilize faculty of color nation-wide if there is not a prompt solution to this situation. SFSU should make sure that, first and foremost, all charges against Dr. Akom are dropped!
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Melissa Ortiz
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Gustavo Choto
- Comments
- Racism, oppression and reppression will not be tolerated. I stand with Dr. Akom. You will feel our tenacity!
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Erika Trayer
- Comments
- It scares me---if we treat our own professor like this, how are blue collar-type people treated? Racism is a much bigger problem than we realize. It's apparently a huge problem on our own campus, and it is not getting dealt with. The African-Americans and other people of color need to be honored, respected, and valued, especially on our campus!
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Sharis Nazari
- Comments
- В
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Rafinee` Butler
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Ana Payes
- Comments
- This appauling incident and others like this need to be immediately remedied and serious action needs to be taken to ensure these incidents do not continue in such an institute of "higher learning"! If action is not taken to resolve this matter, the message the president and all the powers that be are giving us are contradictory to the socially advanced image the administration likes to publicly portray. This cannot and will not be tolerated by the faculty, staff and student body. Today it was Dr. Akom, tomorrow it could be one of us. We demand justice now!
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Falu Bakrania
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Elizabeth Solis
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Eileen Choi
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Emily Choi
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Richard Heredia-Arriaga
- Comments
- Justice Must Be Served!
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Jessica Viramontes
- Comments
- В
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Jeannine Villasenor
- Comments
- This incident is an outrage.
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Jamil Smart
- Comments
- В
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Deborah A. Gerson Ph.D.
- Comments
- I am outraged and appalled that this could take place at SFSU.
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Logan Gutierrez-Mock
- Comments
- I am outraged that Dr. Akom was arrested and has been banned from campus for 14 days for "resisting arrest" when there was nothing for him to be arrested for!
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Jorge Rivas
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Emory Chen
- Comments
- В
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Judith Javier
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Matthew Shenoda
- Comments
- Faculty, Ethnic Studies
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Sho'men Evans
- Comments
- This campus must embrace cultural diversity with real action instead of use the diverse student body to be SFSU only statement to diversity and commitment to social change!
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carlos hagedorn
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Cecilia Herrmann, English Department
- Comments
- The Department of Public Safety must reveal the reason for Professor Akomвs вarrestв in the first place, since he is now charged with resisting such arrest. The administrationвs acknowledgement or refutation of what this seems to beвa deplorable mixture of incompetence, racism, and (now) quite possibly obfuscationвshould occur publicly and immediately. Professor Akom must be assured that his place as a scholar and valued member of this community is not in question.
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Julio Bonilla
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Kristal Matthews
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Ericka Nicole Bratton
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Joanne Barker, American Indian Studies
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Justin Metoyer
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Amalia Alvarez
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Tandy Iles
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Michael A. Levesque
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bob livingstone
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Gail Meadows
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Jason Bell/ Project Rebound
- Comments
- Please do not sweep this under the rug
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Jessica Jones
- Comments
- Free Dr. Akom
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Eric Mar, President SF Board of Education
- Comments
- stop racial profiling at SF State, drop all charges against Dr. Akom
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brett Cook-Dizney
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Sally Silva
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Clay Dumont
- Comments
- Far too many of us, our friends and our families, have had racialized experiences with police officers.
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Monica Washington
- Comments
- I agree with what was written. For something like this to happen at SFSU is sad and shameful. We need to work to see that it doesn't happen again. These officers should definitely be fired there is absolutely no excuse for what they did. What is most shameful is that is not the first time this is happened, but we need to make sure that it is the last.
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Marilyn L. Hollinquest
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Angela Bacca
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Kristal Brister
- Comments
- Bring some type of reform to an unjust system
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Aurora C. Lopez
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Kiely Hosmon
- Comments
- В
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Dr. Dina Ibrahim
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1240
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