madcat033
06-12-2008, 04:05 AM
I have a question regarding my rights. UCLA has a tradition called the undy run, students all follow a path on campus running in their underwear and end up in the main quad. Anyways, UCLA is a public university. Therefore, the public is allowed to be on campus. (Interesting note: there was just an article in our campus newspaper about people looking at pornography on computers in campus libraries. There is nothing they can do about it. A cop in the article specifically said that since UCLA is a public university, they are allowed to be in the libraries. And since there is no law against looking at porn, they can look at porn in our libraries).
But anyways, I always end up in confrontations at the undy run. The cops decided they want the undy run to end at 1 AM, so they go to the quad and clear everyone out then. Last year, I was standing on the grass in the quad of the university when the cops started to clear everyone out. A cop asked me to move, and I asked him why I had to move. I told him-- I was on a public university, in a public space. I was not breaking any laws, and I asked him what authority he was using to force me to move. I was very polite and merely asked him what law I was breaking that gave him authority to make me move from a public space. He just replied with "I am not going to get into a philosophical debate with you" blah blah etc. Eventually my friends kind of pulled me along and made me move because they didn't want to deal with it. But I never got an answer. Doesn't a police officer have to have a valid legal reason to make you obey their commands? They don't have unlimited authority-- they merely enforce the laws.
But anyways, I did the undy run again tonight. And as I was heading back, I had to walk through the dorms area to get to my place (I live in an apartment right next to campus). I stopped to wait for my friends. At this point, someone comes up to me and tells me I have to move, for safety reasons or whatever. I tell him again, what right does he have to make me move? This person wasn't even a police officer, he was just the resident director for one of the dorm halls. I wasn't in a dorm or anything, I was just in like the "residential area" near all the dorm halls. He wouldn't tell me exactly what authority he had to make me move, just like "safety reasons" or whatever-- they try to keep everyone moving through the area because of the undy run.
I even asked him what the safety concern was. I was literally just standing there, waiting for my friend. And he had been standing there, like 30 feet away from me. I told him, I'll just be standing here, you were standing over there watching over everyone, can't you just watch to make sure I don't harm anyone or whatever? What's the big deal? But he insisted, blah blah, threatened to call the UCPD, and eventually I just left because I didn't want to deal with it.
But my question is, this IS a public university. As a member of the public, I have the right to be on it. How can they tell me to move? I am even a student. And what's even more disturbing is, last year I even ASKED the cop to provide me with a justification for ordering me around, and he refused. He merely said he "wasn't going to get into a philosophical debate" with me. But cops don't have authority. The law has authority. Cops merely enforce the law. So unless he could quote me with whatever law he was citing, then he has no authority to tell me what to do. Am I correct in this? I am just really pissed off about this power tripping bullshit. Especially since I was just standing there for literally 5 minutes waiting for a friend, and everyone keeps forcing me along...
Anyone with any legal knowledge able to help out? I really want to stand up for my rights and prevent this power tripping authority bullshit, but I want to make sure I am 100% within my rights before I do anything.
Thanks!
But anyways, I always end up in confrontations at the undy run. The cops decided they want the undy run to end at 1 AM, so they go to the quad and clear everyone out then. Last year, I was standing on the grass in the quad of the university when the cops started to clear everyone out. A cop asked me to move, and I asked him why I had to move. I told him-- I was on a public university, in a public space. I was not breaking any laws, and I asked him what authority he was using to force me to move. I was very polite and merely asked him what law I was breaking that gave him authority to make me move from a public space. He just replied with "I am not going to get into a philosophical debate with you" blah blah etc. Eventually my friends kind of pulled me along and made me move because they didn't want to deal with it. But I never got an answer. Doesn't a police officer have to have a valid legal reason to make you obey their commands? They don't have unlimited authority-- they merely enforce the laws.
But anyways, I did the undy run again tonight. And as I was heading back, I had to walk through the dorms area to get to my place (I live in an apartment right next to campus). I stopped to wait for my friends. At this point, someone comes up to me and tells me I have to move, for safety reasons or whatever. I tell him again, what right does he have to make me move? This person wasn't even a police officer, he was just the resident director for one of the dorm halls. I wasn't in a dorm or anything, I was just in like the "residential area" near all the dorm halls. He wouldn't tell me exactly what authority he had to make me move, just like "safety reasons" or whatever-- they try to keep everyone moving through the area because of the undy run.
I even asked him what the safety concern was. I was literally just standing there, waiting for my friend. And he had been standing there, like 30 feet away from me. I told him, I'll just be standing here, you were standing over there watching over everyone, can't you just watch to make sure I don't harm anyone or whatever? What's the big deal? But he insisted, blah blah, threatened to call the UCPD, and eventually I just left because I didn't want to deal with it.
But my question is, this IS a public university. As a member of the public, I have the right to be on it. How can they tell me to move? I am even a student. And what's even more disturbing is, last year I even ASKED the cop to provide me with a justification for ordering me around, and he refused. He merely said he "wasn't going to get into a philosophical debate" with me. But cops don't have authority. The law has authority. Cops merely enforce the law. So unless he could quote me with whatever law he was citing, then he has no authority to tell me what to do. Am I correct in this? I am just really pissed off about this power tripping bullshit. Especially since I was just standing there for literally 5 minutes waiting for a friend, and everyone keeps forcing me along...
Anyone with any legal knowledge able to help out? I really want to stand up for my rights and prevent this power tripping authority bullshit, but I want to make sure I am 100% within my rights before I do anything.
Thanks!