This coming Tuesday, the Students, Faculty and Staff of the University of California at Berkeley will take part in a campus-wide strike, teach-ins, a rally against police violence, a protest march, and a General Assembly.
Unlike other #Occupy movements, they have created a list of demands. The complete list, along with more details about the day's events, is at their website. Here are their Local Demands.
- Respect Free Speech, Including the Right to Set Up Tents.
- Immediate Resignation of Robert Birgeneau, George Breslauer, Harry LeGrande, and Mitch Celaya. Democratic Election of their Replacements by Students, Faculty, and Staff.
- Charge the Police Responsible for Brutalizing Protesters. No Use of Force Against Protests on Campus.
- Amnesty for All Protesters.
- Make UC Berkeley a Sanctuary Campus for Undocumented People. Pass the UC-wide Dream Act.
- Equal Benefits and Retirement Security for UC Union Workers.
More news about the Cal #Occupy movement below the squiggly.
I reported yesterday that over 600 Professors, Instructors and Teaching Assistants had signed onto a protest letter sent to Robert Birgeneau, the UC Chancellor. Now that number has doubled, to nearly more than 1200.
Professor Celeste Langan, violently yanked to the ground by UC Police after she submitted peacefully to arrest in the Cal protests, has written an essay on her experience: Why I Got Arrested with Occupy Cal--and How. She digs the rhetorical knife into Chancellor Bergeneau and twists it:
In my opinion, time to think is exactly what gives liberal education the value that it has. It appears that Chancellor Birgeneau does not always recognize this value. At the very least, his (unwarranted, unjustified) assertion that linking arms "is not non-violent civil disobedience" suggests that he has not taken the time to engage in a conversation with Berkeley scholars in various departments who have thought long and deeply about the nature of violence and non-violence and the difficulty of making such a distinction.
Another protest letter, this one from Veterans of the 1964 Free Speech Movement, has been sent to the Chancellor. An excerpt:
The University is a commons dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. It appears that the campus police are in need of remedial education concerning fundamental protections offered by the US Constitution -- including First Amendment rights to Free Speech and Free Assembly that were clearly recognized and enshrined on the UCB campus 47 years ago on these very steps.
We further condemn the actions of the armed police who beat and arrested students and faculty. We deplore the decision of University officials who, once again, opened the campus to armed and club-wielding Alameda County sheriffs. And we applaud the inspiring example of the students who bravely and nonviolently held their ground against police batons.
Finally, #OccupyOakland has announced a march in support of the Occupy Cal action. It will leave at 2:00 PM from Ogawa Plaza / Oscar Grant Park (assuming, I guess, that the plaza is not under seizure by Oakland Police) and march the long march up Telegraph Avenue all the way to the UC Campus.
4:54 PM PT: Berkeley City Councilperson Kriss Worthington's open letter re. police violence on campus
5:00 PM PT: Contact info for Chancellor Birgeneau
Email:chancellor@berkeley.edu
Phone (510) 642-7464
6:14 PM PT: You can't make this stuff up
Most recently, Birgeneau was one of three recipients of the Shinnyo-en Foundation’s 2009 Pathfinders to Peace Prize for his contributions to bringing about a more peaceful world. The foundation singled out Birgeneau for his “commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and to the integration of public service as an essential component of the academic experience.”
http://cio.chance.berkeley.edu/...
6:20 PM PT: Endorsements:
The following groups have endorsed the November 15th higher education strike:
UC Berkeley Faculty Association
UCSF Faculty Association
UC Davis Faculty Association
UC San Diego Faculty Association
The UC Council of Faculty Associations
AFSCME 3299 - UC patient care and service employees
Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment
California Nurses Association
Communities for a New California
UAW 2865 - UC student employees
UAW 4123 - CSU student employees
UC-AFT - UC lecturers and librarians
http://reclaimuc.blogspot.com/...