Occupy Cal

Occupy Cal is an ongoing series of demonstrations in Berkeley based in the University of California, Berkeley in Sproul Plaza. It started on November 9, 2011, in protest of budget increases the UC Regents will vote on November 16, 2011. It is an offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement. A major theme of this particular demonstration is the role of education in creating jobs and improving the quality of life of society as a whole, and the contrasting failure of the UC Regents and the State of California to honor commitments made in the California Master Plan for Higher Education. Recent 81% tuition increases for students, mandatory furloughs (including for professors), firings of lower-ranking workers (especially those working directly with students) as part of the Berkeley Operational Excellence reorganization, and well-publicized raises for the highest paid administrators link here have further fueled discontent.

Police violence at Occupy Cal and backlash

External videos
Police beat and arrest students at UC Berkeley, Nov 9

On November 9, students and professors at UC Berkeley began with a series of "teach-ins" around campus, a noon rally and march. Approximately 1,500 demonstrators attended the days' events. Midday, protestors set up seven tents to symbolize their support for Occupy Movement. In response, law enforcement officials from UC Berkeley Police, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office and other UC Police officers in riot gear arrived to remove the seven tents from the protest site.

Video footage of the afternoon confrontation showed police using batons and dragging two protesters by the hair, one of whom was UC Berkeley English professor Celeste Langan. 39 protesters including Professor Langan were arrested for charges including "resisting and delaying a police officer in the performance of their duties, and failure to disperse when given a dispersal order."

Response to Occupy Cal beatings

The ACLU expressed "grave concerns" about the use of batons on protesters. The UC Student Association a statement saying "UC Students are outraged by the brutal tactics used by the UCPD against students."

In response to the police brutality and other perceived failings of Birgeneau and the UC Regents, the Occupy Cal General Assembly called for a general UC strike on November 15th, 2011. Other student groups from around the state announced plans to join in the protest. On November 11, the UC Davis Faculty Association also voted to endorse the November 15 systemwide strike.

November 9: Demonstration begins; Police response

External videos
Police beat and arrest students at UC Berkeley, Nov 9

The first day of protests began with a series of teach-ins around campus, a noon rally, and a march to a Bank of America. Approximately 1,500 demonstrators attended the days' events. Not long after demonstrators set up seven tents in front of Upper Sproul Plaza in the mid-afternoon, dozens of law enforcement officials from UC Berkeley Police, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office and other UC Police officers in riot gear arrived to remove the tents.

Protesters formed a human chain in front of the tents to prevent officers from dismantling the encampment. Police used 36-inch riot batons to push back the protesters and to break the human chain. After the police broke through the protesters, they confiscated and threw away the tents.

Video footage of the afternoon confrontation show police beating protesters with batons and dragging two protesters by the hair, one of whom was UC Berkeley English professor Celeste Langan. 39 protesters including Professor Langan were arrested for charges including "resisting and delaying a police officer in the performance of their duties, and failure to disperse when given a dispersal order."

November 10: Reaction and criticism of Nov. 9 police action

In response to questions about the officers' use of force, UC Police Captain Margo Bennett stated "The individuals who linked arms and actively resisted, that in itself is an act of violence".

Robert Birgeneau, UC Berkeley Chancellor, George Breslauer, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, and Harry Le Grande, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs released a "Message to the Campus Community" in which they stated, "It is unfortunate that some protesters chose to obstruct the police by linking arms and forming a human chain to prevent the police from gaining access to the tents. This is not non-violent civil disobedience." The administrators also stated, "We regret that, given the instruction to take down tents and prevent encampment, the police were forced to use their batons to enforce the policy. We regret all injuries, to protesters and police, that resulted from this effort. The campus's Police Review Board will ultimately determine whether police used excessive force under the circumstances."

The ACLU has "grave concerns" about the use of batons on protesters. The UC Student Association is "outraged by the brutal tactics used by the UCPD against students."

In response to the administration's statements, several resolutions and petitions are currently circulating among faculty and staff, condemning police beatings of peacefully protesting students and calling for resignations, firings, or findings of no confidence against police and administrators responsible. The Department of Integrative Biology stated, "We are deeply disturbed by the images of violence against members of the campus community, as well as the justification and defense of these acts that followed" A further 2,363 faculty and staff stated "We express no confidence in the willingness of the Chancellor, and other leaders of the UC Berkeley administration, to respond appropriately to student protests, to secure student welfare, and to respect freedom of speech and assembly on the Berkeley campus." (link to final petition text needed).

November 14: Reactions from UC Administration

Robert Birgeneau sent an email in which he tried to defuse criticism by claiming he was out of the country when the events happened. The UC Regents also have canceled their planned meeting, citing credible law enforcement intelligence of a threat, while others have denounced this as an attempt to avoid protest from an organization that historically has canceled planned meetings only for very extreme reasons such as the Loma Prieta earthquake or the outbreak of the Iraq War. It is likely the administration wishes to avoid the confluence of displaced Occupy Oakland protestors, strong campus response to police violence, and the previously planned Mario Savio Memorial Lecture, held in memory of the late Mario Savio, "for moral courage and vision showed... during Berkeley's Free Speech Movement" (paraphrase from Berkeley official website).

November 15: General Strike

In response to the police brutality and other perceived failings of Birgeneau and the UC Regents, the General Assembly held a general strike at UC Berkeley on November 15th, 2011. The timing of the strike and protests was intended to coincide with a meeting of the UC Regents the next day, which was then cancelled by UC Regents and administrators from the UC Office of the President. Many students and faculty did not attend classes and walked out, or incorporated teach-ins, or spent at least part of the day actively protesting. The UC Davis Faculty Association also voted to endorse the November 15 systemwide strike. Events included a downtown march past Berkeley High School, speeches, and resolutions.

November 19: UC Davis Police use lachrymatory agents against passive, peaceful protesters

The San Francisco Chronicle reports (and provides video of - add link) several passive, peaceful protesters, demonstrating as part of the related Occupy UC Davis protests, seated on the ground being sprayed with pepper spray in the face by a police officer. The Chronicle names the officer as Lieutenant John Pike of the UC Davis Police. The details of this event are not yet clear, but there appears to have been no threat of force against the police officer using the pepper spray. The Los Angeles Times reports statements by UC Davis Police Chief Annette Spicuzza defending the use of chemical weapons: "The students had encircled the officers, they (the officers) needed to exit. They were looking to leave but were unable to get out," however it is clear from videos that the police were not threatened.

UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi also defended events by stating "The group was informed in writing... that if they did not dismantle the encampment, it would have to be removed... However a number of protestors refused our warning, offering us no option but to ask the police to assist in their removal... [and that the presences of students on their own quad comprised an] encampment raised serious health and safety concerns." Commentators have likened the escalation of police violence to militarization, and have compared Katehi's statements to Birgeneau's a week earlier defending the use of riot sticks on similarly peaceful protestors.

Katehi's responses have prompted calls from UC Davis faculty for her resignation, as well as a student protest the following night where students linked arms and formed a symbolic cordon of shame between her office and her car, asking her if she "felt threatened by students anymore."

See also

2