Metaphor of the Day: UC-Berkeley Builds Escape Hatch for Chancellor
Safety first.
The University of California at Berkeley has just finished construction on an extra door—dubbed an "escape hatch" by some—that will allow the chancellor to leave his office without encountering student-protesters.
Note that Chancellor Nicholas Dirks did not personally request the door, which cost $9,000, according to The Daily Californian. Other staff members, as well as the police, thought public safety would be improved if the administrative building had a second exit.
But some students are annoyed—now administrators will be able to enter and exit the building, even during sit-ins. According to an editorial in the student newspaper:
"Protests on this campus are commonplace, and they frequently occur around the chancellor's office and residence. We acknowledge the chancellor's right to safety and security, but we fear that many of these 'safety' measures are coming at the expense of accessibility to students and faculty," the editorial continued.
The students are actually raising a valid point: public safety is often used as a pretext to limit speech and activism on college campuses. It's a funny mental picture, though.
Hat tip: The College Fix
