News of a police officer pepper-spraying students at UC Davis has dominated national headlines over the weekend. This incident is a huge embarrassment to the University of California and a threat to our constitutional right to peacefully protest.

On Friday, university police were ordered to disperse student protesters occupying the quad at UC Davis. According to administrators, tents that had been pitched on the quad represented a serious health and safety risk. No explanation was offered for how this was even remotely plausible.

When several protesters refused to leave, police entered the quad in riot helmets and arrested 10 people. Video of the incident shows one officer vigorously pepper-spraying the faces of a dozen students who were sitting with arms linked. The officer went on for 20 seconds, spraying some protesters twice and stopping at one point to shake his can before resuming.

The chief of UC Davis police supported these actions, stating that his officers felt they were in danger. But video clips show no evidence that police had been threatened.

Instead, onlookers stood horrified as officers mobbed the protesters, who huddled together covering their heads for protection. It was the police, not the protesters, who acted with violence.

At the heart of this debacle is UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi. It was Katehi who initially called for the protest to be broken up, and it was Katehi who later criticized protesters for “(choosing) not to work with our campus staff and police.”

But when national response turned strongly against the police response, Katehi flip-flopped – apologizing for what happened, suspending two of the officers involved and promising to enact appropriate reforms.

Rather than disband the protesters, she should have engaged them in dialogue. This is a university, and ideas should triumph over forceful intimidation.

Katehi is clearly trying to protect her neck by calling for an investigation of campus police. But her handling of this situation represents a gross failure of leadership that has shown disdain for students and has given a black eye to the whole UC system. She should own up to her mistakes and resign.

We applaud UC President Mark Yudof’s response denouncing the actions of UC Davis police and administrators. Yudof also held a teleconference with all the UC chancellors on Monday to discuss how universities can better protect the rights of students, staff and faculty to peacefully protest.

Ultimately, this is not just a UC Davis concern but also has UC-wide implications. So as students continue to mobilize against the tuition hikes that have placed our college educations at risk, it is vital that the UC enacts stronger policies to protect our right to protest.