UCSD students get crash course on legal defense after protest arrests

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Monday, October 21st.

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Some UC San Diego students are getting a crash course on legal defense, after being arrested during protests.

More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….

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In just a few months, M-T-S riders caught without a valid fare will be given a citation on the spot.

The M-T-S board approved the change late last week.

Currently, if someone is caught without a valid fare, M-T-S security offers them the chance to buy a fare.

But, starting February first next year (2025), riders in violation will be issued a citation on the spot.

An analysis of M-T-S's fare collection estimated the agency lost up to 23 million dollars in fare revenue because of violations between May 20-22 and July of this year.

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The county's unemployment rate dropped last month, compared to August.

The rate went down by half a percentage point, bringing it to 4-point-6-percent.

This time last year, the county’s rate was slightly lower, at 4-point-2 percent.

But, the county is still performing better than the state, which is seeing an unemployment rate of nearly 5-point-3-percent.

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Fall in the county still feels a bit like summer for most areas, as the weather continues to heat back up this week.

Today (Monday), in the inland areas, temperatures will be in the low 80s; in the mountains and by the coast it’ll be in the 70s, and in the deserts, it’ll be in the low 90s.

Temps will slightly increase each day through the end of the week.

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From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now. Stay with me for more of the local news you need.

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COLLEGE STUDENTS ACROSS THE STATE WERE ARRESTED THIS YEAR PROTESTING UNIVERSITY INVESTMENT SUPPORTING ISRAEL.

REPORTER KATIE HYSON SAYS UC-SD STUDENTS ARE GETTING A CRASH COURSE ON LEGAL DEFENSE.

In May, UCSD police arrested 60 student protestors. Annie Rios is the pro-bono lawyer coordinating their defense. I accepted the task not knowing that we'd be here for months. She says most California students were basically settling with their schools. Showing remorse in exchange for lighter punishment. Her brain was racing. One, can this school prove this, what they're alleging happened? . . . And two, if the students accept responsibility, although it may be easier for them, in the long term, will this open them up to any kind of criminal liability? She asked if they wanted to fight the charges. All 60 agreed. Dozens more attorneys and faculty members stepped in to help. They were ready to steamroll them, thinking that they weren't going to have a community behind them. UCSD responded to interview requests with a written statement. It supports free speech, but calls the May protest an illegal encampment and safety risk. Says the camp denied entry to a fire marshall and health inspector. And they found some items that could be used as weapons, including a sword, and bear spray. They wouldn’t comment on individual cases. Rios doesn’t think they have enough evidence. None of it is personal. It's very much a description of group activities. The group was on the lawn. The group refused police instructions. The group, the group . . . If a written report is used against a student, a witness has to back it. And the student can choose to cross-examine them. In this case, the witness . . . was a police officer. Honestly, what went through my mind is this is going to be so hard . . . I don't know who in their right mind would choose this. Nearly all the students did. So she held bootcamps. What would happen if the witness said this? How do you do a cross-examination? Down to me actually showing video clips of My Cousin Vinny.Max Sklar was among them. They wear a keffiyeh, the Star of David, and a shirt that says: “Not in our name.” Like the rest of the students, the school put a hold on Sklar’s degree. Fighting the charges would prolong that. But it’s a matter of principle. It's David versus Goliath and it's a really big giant. But, you know, eventually David won. They say the arrest report was copy pasted for all the students. And the witness wasn’t the officer who arrested Sklar. I had actually never seen this guy. He had never seen me. Sklar got him to admit he hadn’t even read the report. And wasn’t a suitable witness. It was one of those, like, gotcha moments. Lawyers aren’t allowed to speak at student conduct hearings. But they can send messages. I am losing my mind . . . I am caps locking to Max: ‘I can't believe you just got that!’ Rios says one officer's allegations were false and . . . bizarre. The students had sharpened bits of wood into spears, that they had urine in gallons . . . and saying what I would consider particularly racist things . . . that the Black Panther Party of San Diego was here . . . teaching the students tactical warfare and chokeholds. You're posing them as more dangerous than what they were for the purpose of having people fear them. About a dozen students have gone through the process so far. She says regardless of their charges, they’re all getting the same punishment. One year academic probation. 15 hours of community service. And a decision making course. That asks questions like: How did you harm the university? I kind of was just like a lot of us were harmed more by seeing their fellow students be arrested. If the university decides Sklar’s answers aren’t good enough, they could tell them to redo it. Sklar needs their degree to apply for grad school. They want to become a therapist for incarcerated people. They say the effects of this will linger. Rios agrees. There are students who have had suicidal ideation. There are students that weren't able to go home because they didn't know how to tell their parents that they had been arrested. And she’s worried probation will discourage free speech. And I think that's done on purpose. Hedaia Anayah  is another arrested student. She says including her Palestinian ethnicity on her UCSD application was a risk. But they accepted her. I was so like excited and motivated and able to express a part of me that I've hidden for over 20 years. She says having to prove she’s not a threat to the school soured that. But she won’t stop calling on them to divest from Israel. My voice will always come back. It’s gonna be a ringing, ring tone in Chancellor Khosla’s ears. She plans to become a lawyer, like Rios. First, she’ll need the school to grant her degree. Katie Hyson, KPBS News.

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YOUNG ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES ARE GAINING VALUABLE WORK EXPERIENCE WHILE HELPING SHELTER DOGS BECOME MORE ADOPTABLE.

HEALTH REPORTER HEIDI DE MARCO BRINGS US THIS STORY ABOUT A PROGRAM MAKING A DIFFERENCE ON BOTH ENDS OF THE LEASH.

Dogs barking D’ANGELO GARCIA STUDENT My name is D’Angelo. I've been working here for about maybe three years now. Dog drinking water D’ANGELO GARCIA I wanted to work at the animal shelter because helping all these dogs is my goal in life. Because every single one of these dogs here and other animals deserve a loving home and a caring family. RACHAEL BORRELLI My name is Rachel Borelli. I'm the interim assistant director at the County of San Diego Animal Services. So we have 40 adults with special needs that come in to the shelter five days a week. And they do tasks from laundry, making treats for the dogs, walking the dogs, helping with socialization. A lot of people are scared to give adults with special needs job experience. But we at Animal Services, we noticed that the incredible benefit that it was not only to our animals, but to the adults that were coming in. We got the zoomies… RACHAEL BORRELLI D’Angelo is a perfect example. He came in three years ago. Super shy. Super withdrawn. So we've seen tremendous growth in him and he would be a perfect candidate to be an animal care attendant once he gets, you know, enough experience. D’ANGELO GARCIA It makes me feel confident in life. My family's proud of me because my mom especially wanted me to get a job here. And I told her I'm working my best to get a job so I can help all these animals get a home.

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SAN DIEGO COMIC FEST MAY LIVE IN THE SHADOW OF THE SUPER-SIZED SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON, BUT ARTS REPORTER BETH ACCOMANDO SAYS IT PLAYS A VITAL ROLE IN POP CULTURE.

San Diego Comic Fest was designed to stay small. ALONZO NUNEZ I really do feel like Comic Fest punches above its weight in terms of the talent, the enthusiasm, and the programming. That’s Alonso Nunez, board president for Comic Fest. For a pure kind of grassroots comic experience, there's nothing quite like San Diego Comic Fest. It was started by Mike Towery in 2012, one of the original founders of Comic-Con. We took a couple years off to do some fundraising post pandemic, but we are back, and I think stronger than ever. Part of the reason for the break was not being able to find an affordable venue. This year, Comic Fest has happily landed in North County at the Westin Carlsbad Resort & Spa. The convention will be celebrating the centennials of Mad Magazine founder Harvey Kurtzman and Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling. There will be panels dedicated to both men, along with programming on comics, games and pop culture. Attendees can also enjoy an artist alley, small press area and dealer’s room, all in the laid-back, no-lines atmosphere of what organizers call, “the friendly intimate Comic-Con experience.” Beth Accomando, KPBS News.

TAG: Comic Fest runs this Friday through Sunday.

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SAN DIEGO’S OWN HANNAH SHAW IS KNOWN TO MILLIONS AS "KITTEN LADY."

SHE HAS A NEW BOOK OUT WITH HER HUSBAND, PHOTOGRAPHER ANDREW MART-ILL-A.

"CATS OF THE WORLD" FEATURES ESSAYS AND PHOTOS THAT EXPLORE THE BOND BETWEEN FELINES AND HUMANS AROUND THE GLOBE, HIGHLIGHTING THE HISTORY AND CULTURE THAT SHAPE CAT CARE IN EACH REGION.

SHAW SAYS THE BOOK IS BUILT ON A FOUNDATION OF HUMANITY AND KINDNESS.

"Sometimes people can feel very divided by culture and by where we live, there are things that really unify us — and compassion is definitely one of them … There is not a place on earth that we tried to go that we couldn't find someone who is doing something kind for cats." 

THE AUTHORS WILL DISCUSS AND SIGN COPIES TODAY (MONDAY) AT 7 P-M, AT THE SAN DIEGO CENTRAL LIBRARY DOWNTOWN.

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That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. Join us again tomorrow for the day’s top stories. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great Monday.