After Night of Protests, Arrests, Calm Returns to Cal Campus
Occupy Cal protested against budget cuts and tuition hikes
The UC Berkeley campus was calm this morning after a night of protests and altercations with police that resulted in 39 arrests, including one faculty member, and several injuries, although as yet there have been no reports of protesters being taken to hospital.
A couple of dozen protesters with placards, and one tent, could be seen in front of Sproul Hall at around 9:00 am Thursday.
Captain Margo Bennett, spokesperson for the UCPD, said two of the 39 arrests were made for battery of a police officer. The remainder were for interfering with police officers, failure to disperse/unlawful assembly. Capt Bennett confirmed that UCPD police officers were joined by officers from the Alameda County Sheriff department and, late on Wednesday night, by officers from the Oakland PD.
The Berkeley Police Department managed the protest when it went onto Berkeley streets, including Telegraph Avenue, Wednesday afternoon, but were not involved in any on-campus activities, according to BPD Sgt Mary Kusmiss.
The Occupy Cal Day of Action on Wednesday was held to to demonstrate against public education budget cuts and tuition hikes, and to show solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Protesters voted Wednesday afternoon to set up an encampment on the campus, despite a warning issued by Cal’s administration on Monday that any encampments on campus property would not be tolerated.
On Wednesday afternoon protesters began erecting tents on campus. Police officers moved in to dismantle them and were met with a wall of students. Video footage (published on Berkeleyside yesterday) shows officers beating protesters back with batons.
Berkeleyside readers expressed differing opinions on viewing the video clip. One wrote: “Looks like raw footage of the campus cops doing their job and shutting down an unlawful assembly and encampment”. Several others shared “Berkeley Citizen”‘s view, who said: “What I see are a bunch of police gleefully brutalizing college students who are lawfully assembled. The punishment for peacefully assembling and erecting symbolic tents justifies police brutality?"
News helicopters hovered over the campus for many hours Wednesday and only left at around 11:00 pm. Several Berkeleyside readers complained about the noise pollution and said it felt like living “in a war zone”. ”Lhasa7″ wrote: “The only thing I am enraged about here are the ‘news copters,’ which are making Berkeley completely uninhabitable by sentient life.”
Several writers covering the events of yesterday, including Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic, drew parallels with the Berkeley Free Speech demonstrations of 1964. Allison Kilkenny, writing for In These Times, said: “… if yesterday’s police actions are any indication of things to come, the 1960-style riots may very much be back in vogue.”
At 11:15 pm Thursday morning, Capt Bennett said there was little activity on campus. “There is a small group on the Sproul Plaza steps, two teach-ins and a couple of speakers,” she said. “We are waiting to see how the day unfolds.”
According to the Daily Californian which has been covering the events live on its website and through Twitter, protesters are said to planning for a possible rally this evening on campus. Another push may occur on Saturday, according to KQED California Report, where rallies for student debt reform are being organized as part of Operation Cash Back.
Stan Chaz
America used to work The people had work. The system worked. Hey, EVEN the Congress used to work...(sometimes). God knows, it was far, far, far from perfect - but at least we all had some share in the struggles AND the rewards. But somewhere along the way, we lost our way. And now we seem to have an economy and a political system that works only for the rich. And what they call "trickle down economics"... just leaves most of us out in the cold cold rain. We need to get back to what America was, and what it should be, and what it can be. Occupy Wall Street is no longer just a place called Zuccotti Park - Zuccotti Park is everywhere. You can try to pen us in, you can beat us and arrest us, you can mace and tear-gas us , and you can try to "permit" us to death....but you can't kill an idea. You can't keep down a people’s hopes and dreams for a better life.....a life with dignity and freedom....for us... for our kids. More power to Occupy Wall Street, as it spreads to every town and city - because OWS is us, and for us, and by us. It comes up from the grassroots, and it lifts us up in turn. With OWS America has found it’s voice, and that voice demands fairness and justice. This land IS our land! AND WE WANT IT BACK! ...We want our lives back!... We want our future back! ....So why not take some time, find a quiet place somewhere, and consider this: Each of us has only one brief life...one chance...and many choices. It’s time to choose...and to act. If not now...then when? If not you... then who? You DO have the power, my friend....and the choice is yours.
nandro n
"The punishment for peacefully assembling and erecting symbolic tents justifies police brutality?"
Who are we kidding here? The students made a very plain declaration that they planned to camp here and in fact said they are coming tonight with more tents, sleeping bags and people to try take over the plaza. The police were ordered to clear out the plaza and they did what they had to do. Did not excessive to me (notice how the batons were only wielded towards torsos and not heads)
I'm afraid OWS speaks for probably the .1% of radical left that believe in these tactics. The thing is lots of people are against the big banks. Very few, however, are for breaking the law, taking over public space, vandalism, lighting fires, breaking windows, etc. all of which both Occupy Oakland and the Berkeley student strikers have done (yes the Bekeley radical types tore-up the UC president's house last year.
OWS loves to believe that because they are against the same things that most of the country is that therefore they are a) right in their methods and b) supported their methods. The plain fact is most people are not supportive of these tactics, mainly because they break the law and encourage lawlessness (e.g. the riots in Oakland).