CFA RESPONDS TO HATE MESSAGES RELATED TO STANISLAUS FOUNDATION CONTROVERSY; CALLS FOR GREATER TRANSPARENCY

The controversy over transparency regarding an upcoming fundraiser at California State University Stanislaus, at which former Alaska governor Sarah Palin will speak, has spurred racist and homophobic phone calls to state Senator Leland Yee’s (D-San Francisco) office, and even a fax threatening the Senator’s life.

The hate messages arrived after Yee demanded greater transparency of the CSU Stanislaus administration regarding the upcoming visit by Palin.

To read the ugly and graphic messages sent to Yee, view his press release on the matter at: http://dist08.casen.govoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_PR&SEC={EFA496BC-EDC8-4E38-9CC7-68D37AC03DFF}&DE={437100F3-866F-475A-A6E7-6C4422A532C1}

Given the spate of racist activities that have taken place on college campuses recently, it is critical that CSU Stanislaus campus president Hamid Shirvani take these threats very seriously. CFA calls on him to join with us in strong condemnation of this behavior.

Cecil Canton, CFA vice president for Affirmative Action and a professor of criminal justice at CSU Sacramento said, “We in CFA strongly condemn this bigoted behavior and call upon all responsible leaders to do the same.”

CFA also calls upon Gov. Palin to intervene with a clear, responsible statement telling her supporters that this kind of behavior is not tolerable in a democratic republic ruled by laws that ensure individual freedoms.