UC regents grapple with how best to protect president after racist attack on his home

[RandySF]

For months, University of California President Michael V. Drake has been unnerved by a series of security threats at his Berkeley home: Racist graffiti. A smashed window. A break-in. Trespassers who jumped a fence surrounding the property that was erected in March.

In one particularly disturbing attack in May, a vandal spray-painted racial slurs and profanity across the front and back of the presidential residence. Drake, the UC system’s first Black president in its 155-year history, was not at home. But the attack shocked the UC and Berkeley community, led to an ongoing hate crime investigation by local law enforcement and fueled alarm over the need for better security for Drake and his wife, Brenda.

Regents, however, have not come up with a workable plan — and they are still looking for solutions. A majority rejected a proposal to use private funds to buy a new, reportedly $12-million home for Drake in a 13-7 vote at a closed session meeting late Wednesday.

The high price tag was a major issue for those who voted no, but regents emphasized that they were committed to finding other alternatives.




https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-09-16/how-best-to-protect-uc-president-after-racist-attack-on-home-divides-regents

[Karadeniz]

1. Armed security outside.

[Hekate]

2. This UC president is a catch for them. His current home is "an architectural gem" but hard to secure

Altogether, a bad situation created by the awful times we live in.

Who he is:
A regent who supported the purchase said Drake deserved decisive action on his pressing security concerns as an “unusually effective, principled leader” who has led efforts to make a UC education more affordable, fight climate change and open more access to California students, particularly those from low-income families and communities of color.