UC Berkeley: Our commitment to plans for People’s Park is unwavering

On Friday, campus officials issued the following statement about People’s Park: 

The appellate court has imposed a new injunction that, for now, precludes UC Berkeley from continuing construction work at People’s Park, as well as any other activity at the site that is not necessary for public health and safety.

While this new injunction will add further delay and significant additional costs to the project, we are pleased the court has agreed to an expedited process. We are also satisfied with the court’s decision to allow the campus to close and secure the construction site pending the expedited ruling. The campus is now assessing options to get that done in a safe, effective way.

While we are dismayed by the readiness of some individuals to engage in dangerous, violent and unlawful activity as a way of expressing their opposition to the project, our commitment to addressing an urgent student housing crisis, and to supporting unhoused members of our community, is unwavering. We have confidence in the strength of our legal position and will be exploring all feasible options to make up for lost time.

To learn more about the People’s Park project, visit the People’s Park Housing Page.

Additionally, on Thursday, campus officials released the following information about Wednesday’s protest activity: 

Yesterday, due to the destruction of construction materials, unlawful protest activity, and violence on the part of some protesters, the university decided to pause construction work on the People’s Park housing site. All construction personnel were withdrawn out of concern for their safety. In the course of preparing and planning for the start of construction, safety has been the university’s highest priority, and that remains the case now. The campus will, in the days ahead, assess the situation in order to determine how best to proceed with construction of this urgently needed student housing project.

There were 7 arrests for charges including PC 243(b): Battery on a peace officer, PC 602(o): Trespassing and 148(a)(1): Resisting, obstructing, delaying an officer.

2 officers were injured.

1 of the arrestees was released on out of custody complaint and transported to a hospital for minor injuries.

We documented a variety of crimes including thefts, vandalism, battery (via push), and assault via caustic liquid (urine).