List of human rights abuses by brown university
The recent incident where brown university had targeted me with legal harassment and threatened to use lethal force against me if seen on campus for walking into their police station to handle a complaint, going about my business at the watson institute where the staff have told me I am welcome there as they have since 2003, and returning to the watson institute to retrieve my property is only the latest in a series of human rights abuses committed by brown university. I will not go into further details here about my personal issues, as I have detailed them already elsewhere, rather I will go into human rights abuses that have occurred and which I and others have observed.
1. Targeting of activists; While brown hosts many events on important forumson important issues which are open to the public, many activists who attend those events are subject to legal harassment by the brown university police. This often happens days leading up to events or during them and often includes charges of trespassing or disorderly conduct.
2. Targeting of minorities; Despite the diverse student body and faculty, as well as public who deal with brown, many minorities continue to be targeted. Two instances occurred in 2002. One was when a Black African student was beat by the bupd because he had no ID. A few days later a talk on police brutality by David Bates to be held at brown was cancelled. In 2003 a poor Native American man, James Powell, was arrested for trespassing at the rockefeller library where he had purchased a membership. In November 2006 Shahriar Mandanipour, a visiting Iranian author at the watson institute, was advised to pay for a traffic ticket issued by the city of providence for an offense he did not commit and he consented because he was ignorant of local laws. Poor people have even been targed and many who walk through campus are cited for trespassing, including those who visit the brown bookstore which is open to the public. The worst incident occurred in December 2004 when a poor Black African man who was playing Christmas music on a saxophone was beaten by police. One reason brown refused to allow outsourcing of it’s bookstore was that brown’s administration realized if it did their discrimination would have been exposed.
3. Requirement of involuntary control by brown; Upon admission students at brown are required to sign control of their bodies to the university, if they refuse they are denied admission. In doing so brown makes sure it is able to manipulate others.
4. Targeting faculty who dissent; Recently I and other people had noticed how faculty members at brown who disagrees with the administration on issues have been targeted either by being moved into other positions, pressured into leaving positions, or pressured into leaving brown. One instance occurred in 2004-5 where the entire Middle east Studies department, which disagreed with the administration, was pressured into taking a years sabbatical. Another example is how from 2006-2008 the watson institute has gone through 3 directors because the directors often stood up to brown’s administration. I have noticed many faculty who dissent with the administration being pressured into taking sabbaticals or into taking jobs at other universities. In the case of the first watson institute director though he stated his reasons for leaving were academic I met him weeks after he stepped down as director and found he was physically unkempt, though previously I had only seen him before in good health and impecabilly dressed in any situation. The second director stated the same reasons for her stepping down as director.
5. Unwarranted surveillance; Among the dirty tactics brown uses is spying. One example is how brown has cameras in many of it’s bathrooms. When brown is confronted with this accusation the responses are evasive and vary, but they include denial, claiming the cameras are there for security, claiming that they are an odd art form, and claiming that brown is private property and the law does not apply. One instance of this occurred in February 2004, when a member of the Palestinian government spoke at brown, then a few days later pictures taken of her using the bathroom at brown were found online on a voyeurcam website. Another tactic used is having brown faculty posing as street people off campus so they can spy on those who have issues with the university off campus.
What can you do to stand up to brown?
Boycott brown university. Do not send them donations, do not sponsor events, do not buy their products, do not buy from brown businesses, do not order anything from them.
Do not apply there as faculty or a student, do not accept invitations to events there.
Inform people and corporations who deal business with brown about how brown really behaves, so people will be better educated and prepared to take action
