Campus & community, Campus news

Tents return to a calm Sproul Plaza

By Public Affairs

Tents in front of Sproul Hall

Shortly after sunrise Wednesday, tents and a few protesters were gathered on the plaza just west of Sproul Hall. (Jean Smith / NewsCenter photo)

At around 11 a.m. on Wednesday, the mood was calm at Sproul Plaza, as about 100 students, including Occupy Cal and Occupy Oakland supporters, sat, talked, worked on laptops and played music. More than a dozen pop-up tents perched on the platform on the western steps of Sproul Hall. Behind the encampment, posters bore slogans such as “Tear Down the Wall.”

In a scene reminiscent of the 1960s, some protesters in the middle of the plaza sat around a teepee built of branches and made designs with beads and flowers. A small group of UCPD officers and Alameda County sheriff’s deputies walked among the protesters, occasionally ordering students to remove the tents.

Also: UC President Yudof’s statement on campus events