UC leader Janet Napolitano apologizes for calling protest 'crap’

Video: Janet Napolitano

University of California President Janet Napolitano apologized Thursday for referring to a student protest as “crap” during a meeting of the UC regents a day earlier in San Francisco. Her comment to regents Chairman Bruce Varner was captured on the university’s video stream.

“I was caught on a mike with a word that was unfortunate. So I want to just say I apologize for that,” Napolitano said at the start of the final day of the three-day regents meeting at UC’s Mission Bay campus.

Napolitano made her original remark when a few dozen student protesters got loud at Wednesday’s regents meeting.

The students were protesting not only the tuition hike set for next fall, but a new campus in Richmond being planned by UC Berkeley. The students had urged the regents to ensure that residents in the low-income community benefit from jobs and any new housing that result from the campus, which is still years from breaking ground.

In the video, students had just called “mike check!” to announce their protest action. Some stood on chairs, stripped off their shirts and tossed fake money while yelling at the regents: “Raise up Richmond! Not tuition!”

As UC police faced the protesters to escort them out of the meeting, the video camera recording the meeting focused on Napolitano and Varner to her left.

The president turned to Varner and said, “Let’s go.” Varner couldn’t hear her over the students’ chanting, so she repeated: “Let’s go. We don’t have to listen to this crap.”

On Thursday, Napolitano qualified her apology somewhat by suggesting that the raucous tone of the students’ protest was a mismatch for the serious work she was doing at the regents meeting.

“I ask for your empathy and understanding in my comments,” she said, “but also to say that we have public comment (time) to listen to comments about serious things expressed seriously.

“The governor and I are working very hard to set a budget path for this university that allows us to protect accessibility, affordability and quality over the next few years, and that is serious work to be taken seriously. Again, I’m sorry for using a word I don’t normally use, but so be it.”

Napolitano was referring to an agenda item in which she and Gov. Jerry Brown, also a regent, updated the regents on their efforts to iron out differences in the level of funding that UC can expect from the state.

University of California President Janet Napolitano listens to a presentation during the UC Board of Regents meeting at the UCSF Mission Bay campus in San Francisco, Calif. on Wednesday, March 18, 2015. University of California President Janet Napolitano listens to a presentation during the UC Board of Regents meeting at the UCSF Mission Bay campus in San Francisco, Calif. on Wednesday, March 18, 2015. Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close UC leader Janet Napolitano apologizes for calling protest 'crap’ 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Before hearing Napolitano’s apology, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, also a regent, defended the students. He called their concerns important and said that protest “is a natural response to the top-down, one-way conversation that the UC is having with them.”

Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov

Online video

To view the video, go to: http://bit.ly/1CBcl3L.