http://sfgate.com/...
Oak-tree activists' encampment cleared away by UC campus police
Carolyn Jones, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Using front-loaders and a flatbed truck, UC Berkeley police staged a predawn raid Friday to clear an encampment next to Memorial Stadium pitched by oak tree activists.
Police arrived about 6 a.m. to roust the protesters, who have been camped in the oak grove since Dec. 2 providing support for demonstrators sitting in the trees. The tree-sitters, now numbering six, were not removed and pledged to remain.
No one was cited or arrested, but police collected sleeping bags, blankets, a barbecue grill, a dozen backpacks, tables, chairs, food and two laptops.
"We were strictly trying to clean up the area because it was becoming a public safety concern," said UC police Assistant Chief Mitch Celaya.
safety? it didnt feel safe to me.
After the police removed the camping gear, protesters returned to the site and started setting up another camp. Later in the afternoon, about 50 people turned out for a rally and march on campus to protest the action.
it was 70 people and we will have a lot more people when school starts tuesday.
"We're even more motivated now," said Richard Goodreau, a Berkeley resident who has been camping at the site for more than a month. "People are really angry. We're going to bring in more stuff and rebuild."
The university plans to remove 42 oaks, redwoods and other trees in the 1.2-acre grove to make way for an athletic training center intended, in large part, to bolster the football program. Four lawsuits, including one from the city of Berkeley, have been filed to stop the project.
The suits have been consolidated and will be heard by an Alameda County Superior Court judge Jan. 23. UC agreed to a voluntary injunction until the hearing.
after asking to put a fence around the site and cut down the big redwood that zack originaly climbed.
The training center is part of a larger development for the southeast campus that has generated controversy because of its proximity to the Hayward Fault, the increased traffic it would attract to the area, and the planned removal of the oak trees.
UC police decided to clear the site Friday morning in preparation for 30,000 students returning to school on Tuesday, Celaya said.
Police had told the protesters to remove their gear several times over the past few weeks because it was creating a safety hazard, Celaya said.
the students are most all for us. the only dangerous thing that has happened has been an incident where 2 or 3 people threw 6 glass bottles at the camp. and one where one person threw a full plastic bottle frozen rock solid. the police did nothing.
Their attorney, Stephan Volker, is also representing the California Oaks Foundation and other plaintiffs in one of the suits against UC over the stadium project.
"They have harmed no one," Volker said. "They've had a civil relationship with the authorities. But despite their best efforts, police continue to harass them."
our site:
http://www.saveoaks.com/...
Do they need to cut down the oaks because the stadium is unsafe?
UC is claiming that they must build a training facility at the oak grove to move people out of Memorial Stadium. But that is simply not true, in fact UC already has the ability to move people out of the stadium before building a new facility. Lets look at the facts.
• The Stadium is directly on top of the Hayward Fault, it is VERY dangerous.
• UC has a campus program called SURGE which is dedicated to transferring people out of dangerous buildings during earthquake retrofits and new construction. The SURGE program utilizes tens of thousands of square feet of space and also routinely uses portable temporary buildings. UC could begin moving people into safer conditions next week, if safety was the real priority.
• Meanwhile the plan for the training facility will take two years to build. UC should stop messing around and move the people who are inside the stadium to safety, right now.
some youtubes:
http://www.youtube.com/...
http://www.youtube.com/...
http://www.youtube.com/...