Turning a protest into absolute mayhem police stifled free speech yet again.
Campus police pepper sprayed at least a handful of Santa Monica College students this evening as they disrupted a meeting of the Board of Trustees, which is moving forward with a controversial plan to offer a second tier of classes not subsidized by the state.
Paramedics are at the college now and evaluating students. SMC Police Chief Albert Vasquez said no one has been hospitalized and no arrests have been made.
At least 100 students disrupted the meeting with screams of "shame on you" directed at the board members. Their loud chants and screams—and the police's response—halted the meeting for nearly two hours as the building was evacuated.
The students ran out of the board chambers screaming as the halls filled with vapor. Many of the students continue to congregate outside the Business Administration building as ambulances, police and firefighters remain on scene.
Tue Apr 03, 2012 at 11:04 PM PT: Some video from the police end of the event: