Ryan Davis Remembers Jessica Hoke

Ryan Davis (center) passes out UCI PD citations for "failure to disperse" after 24 February 2010 sit-in. Photograph © Daniel C. Tsang 2010.

For UCI student Ryan Davis, the past two weeks must have been simply awful. Last week, his roommate, recent KUCI DJ Jessica Hoke died from injuries sustained when she was hit by debris from a three-car accident in Costa Mesa as she was walking to work at H&M in South Coast Plaza.

The day before this past Friday's memorial service at UC Irvine -- the Orange County District Attorney's Office charged Davis -- and 18 others -- with misdemeanor counts stemming for a sit-in outside UCI Chancellor Michael V. Drake's Office back in February this year. Those arrested potentially face up to one year in jail.

Labor protesters outside UCI Chancellor's office. Photograph © Daniel C. Tsang, 2010

As Davis recounted at the UCI memorial for Jessica Hoke Friday 10 December 2010 on Gateway Plaza next to Langson Library, he had asked Jessica if she would participate in the sit-in, to which Jessica responded, she could go take pictures. Jessica, as many noted at the memorial, was a talented photographer. Davis called her his "personal photographer".

Davis, who wore Jessica's clothes to the memorial, told the 200 gathered that Jessica was wonderfully accepting of his gayness and the two had become close friends, a "partner" he "loved". They became each other's confidant.

The 19 charged -- 15 UCI students and 4 supporters -- face a December 28, 2010 arraignment, effectively eliminating their holiday break. Most of those arrested are represented by Jacob White, an AFSCME 3299 attorney, given they were participating in a labor protest at the time.

Davis was among the student actiists who appeared on the 1 March 2010 Subversity show covering the protest. The February 24 protest was also picked up by Huffington Post.

We'll follow-up on the memorial service and arrests of the 19 on today's edition of Subversity on KUCI, 88.9 FM in Orange County, at 5 pm -- it is also simulcast via kuci.org.