4:33 p.m.
To Sacramento and back
More than 200 Berkeley faculty members traveled to Sacramento for today’s rally on the steps of the state Capitol. Among them was Shannon Jackson, chair of Berkeley’s Department of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies, who called the Day of Action “a great day.” She and her Berkeley colleagues joined faculty counterparts from throughout California public higher education, as well students, staff members, union representatives and many other participants that Jackson said reflect a broad cross-section of the system. She said it was “inspiring to see us all together.”
“It’s going to make a difference,” added Wendy Brown, a professor of political science who spoke at the Sacramento rally. “Whenever UC makes a case for itself (alone), it doesn’t work.”
Brown gave “a wonderful talk — not so much about what the university does for the economic future of California, but about the importance of creating an informed, educated public that you need for a democracy,” said history professor Tom Laqueur, who rode the train to Sacramento with colleagues from the departments of history, anthropology and classics. (Read Brown’s speech here.)
With a midterm to give to his students today, Lacqueur said he first offered his graduate student instructors the chance to go to Sacramento, but when they chose to stay on campus, he jumped at the chance to go. He said it was important to attend the rally “to create a community with my colleagues. You don’t want to feel that you’re facing this alone. You go to a demonstration as much to demonstrate to each other as to those in power.”
Law professor Chris Kutz, chair of Berkeley’s Academic Senate, traveled to the Capitol via bus from campus. He highlighted George Lakoff’s address to the crowd about Lakoff’s California Democracy Act. Lakoff, a cognitive scientist and professor of linguistics, is collecting signatures for a ballot initiative that would let the Legislature act on revenue and budget measures with a simple majority vote, instead of with the two-thirds approval now required under the California constitution.
Tyrone Hayes, professor of integrative biology, also took a bus to Sacramento that left the West Crescent this morning. He was in charge of giving safety training information to the student and faculty riders, telling them “what to do and not do” at the rally to make it a good experience. On the way home, after a long day that included students being “constructively vocal,” said Hayes, “I was asleep, and so were a lot of people.”
4:05 p.m.
Around UC: Calm reigns at some campuses, confrontation at others
As students, staff and faculty throughout the UC system took part in today’s “day of action,” the level and intensity of activity varied widely from campus to campus. At some, protests were escalating as the day progressed.
According to news reports, several hundred students at UC Davis were in a tense faceoff with police in riot gear, who used a pepper ball in an attempt to disperse the crowd near an entrance ramp to Interstate 80. A library at UC Irvine was reportedly briefly occupied by protesters, while at UCLA, protesters entered an administration building, demanding to see the chancellor.
Protesters barricaded the Santa Cruz campus early this morning. Due to concerns about safety, UCSC officials advised students, staff and faculty to stay away from the main campus for the rest of the day.
Protesters were said to be several hundred strong at UC San Diego. At Merced, the number was closer to a dozen.
1:25 p.m.
At least 1,000 rally at Bancroft and Telegraph; march to Oakland begins
As a carillon concert rang out from the Campanile, a crowd estimated at upwards of 1,000 protesters staged a festive noontime rally at the intersection of Bancroft Way and Telegraph Avenue, while observers took in the action from the steps of the student union or atop lampposts and boxes
Protesters swamp the intersection at Bancroft and Telegraph for a noontime rally as the march to Oakland gets underway. (Jeffery Kahn/NewsCenter)
The protesters, massed in a huge circle, at one point opened up to allow several AC Transit buses and cars to pass through, then blocked the intersection again, causing police to divert traffic to the south. A pick-up truck parked in the intersection blared a dance soundtrack that included music by Lady Gaga, and the mellow crowd saw a dance performance and listened to speeches and spoken-word offerings over the truck’s speakers.
The rally ended after 40 minutes or so, as many in the crowd began a march to Frank Ogawa Plaza in Oakland. By the time they headed away from campus, enough protesters had joined in to fill four city blocks of Telegraph Avenue and the group stretched as far as the eye could see. Observers said there were far more people participating in the march than the 1,000 participants at the rally, and that the crowd might have nearly doubled for the walk to Oakland.
As the march approached Willard Middle School, youngsters greeted the protesters from school balconies and walkways. The marchers waived to the Willard students and cheered, and the middle schoolers did the same. One of the marchers, a UC Berkeley student named Carlos Freire, yelled to them, “This is for you! This is for you!”
As the march crossed Ashby, participant Mario Zelayan, a retired elementary school teacher from Berkeley and Oakland, gestured with a double peace sign. Involved decades ago in the Free Speech Movement as a UC Berkeley student, Zelayan said Thursday’s march is “great to see. I like justice.” When asked if today’s protest activities are as effective as those during the Free Speech Movement, he said, “You gotta do what you can do. Just sitting down and being quiet doesn’t bring about change.”
12:58 p.m.
Classes mostly calm, with scattered disruptions
Deans and department chairs report that many classes are taking place today as scheduled, and that some were relocated or are being taught via the Internet. They added that faculty who went to Sacramento Thursday made alternate arrangements with their students in advance. Some exams and classes were rescheduled to avoid possible disruptions. Some classes that did go forward had to make new plans at the last minute when fire alarms were pulled, disrupting classroom activity.
One dean reported that he was not aware of any class cancellations at his school, while another dean said only one-third of the classes in her department were being held. Classroom attendance varied as well, according to deans and chairs.
“Things seem to be very quiet in my division,” reported another dean. “I thought it was a good sign that I had a hard time finding a parking place this morning.”
11:55 a.m.
