Lack of Civility at Long Beach City College

Actually, it's the LBCC Board of Trustees that lacks civility, according to Michael Smith of Long Beach, in a letter at the Los Angeles Daily News, "Trustees Lack Civility":

Never have I been so ashamed of elected officials as when I attended the Long Beach City College Board of Trustees meeting on April 24.

Issues being discussed were the mass layoffs of necessary and important classified staff and how it would affect students' classes and the community. So many eloquent people spoke clearly and directly on the issues and presented their cases to the elected Board of Trustees, from international students, to ESL students, from faculty to classified staff. But time after time Board President Doug Otto rudely interrupted them and told them their stories weren't relevant. He scolded them to wrap it up, even though they were under the five minutes allowed. Then he told the community they were being rude and they couldn't continue. Shame on the trustees. Our community elected them, and now they are stifling free speech and telling a concerned community their stories don't matter.

-- Michael Smith, Long Beach

Video of the meeting is here.

I mentioned the tension on campus previously: "LBCC Announces 55 Layoffs — Tensions High as Faculty Union Prepares Jobs Actions and Protests."