Officers arrested 17 protestors at a rally sponsored by teacher and other educators' groups when they refused orders to leave a University of California at Berkeley campus building on Wednesday night, according to a campus police officer.
At about 4:30 p.m., hundreds of demonstrators gathered on the steps outside of Wheeler Hall, a building near the center of the campus, UC Berkeley police Officer Alex Yao said. Yao said that the group congregated as part of a statewide day of action, rallying against budget cuts to public education.
Callie Maidhof, a second-year Ph.D. student at UC Berkeley, said that the demonstrators gave speeches and chanted on the south side of the hall before moving inside the lobby of the building about an hour later. Once inside the hall, Maidhof said that student bands began performing and, while the chanting persisted, the demonstrators remained nonviolent.
"There were Aztec dancers and bands that serenaded the crowd," Maidhof said. "People were eating dinner provided by a campus organization. Everything was very civil."
At about 9:30 p.m., officers from the Alameda County Sheriff's Office and campus police alerted protestors that the hall would be closing in 30 minutes, urging those inside to leave voluntarily or risk arrest, Yao said.
When the hall closed, Maidhof said that she saw nearly 30 police officers dressed in riot gear headed toward the building.
"They went inside, geared up for a rowdy crowd, with handfuls of zip ties," Maidhof said.
Officers arrived inside the hall's lobby and found 17 protestors sitting in a circle with their arms linked, Yao said.
"People were pressed up against the doors and some even tried to pry them open," Maidhof said. "All you could hear was the students screaming 'no cuts, no fees, education should be free.'"
Police arrested all of the demonstrators for trespassing, some of which resisted officers' orders, Yao said. No injuries were reported, he added.
"Even though they have the right to demonstrate, they also need to abide by university conduct and state law," Yao said.
The demonstrators were transported to Alameda County Jail, according to Lt. Adam Tejeda of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office.
While 14 of the protestors were cited and later released, Tejeda said that three would remain in jail, awaiting a court hearing scheduled for this morning.
Comments
Parkside
on Mar 3, 2011 at 8:28 am
on Mar 3, 2011 at 8:28 am
Another example of the civility that the left cried about needing after the Jeffords shooting. Nothing like an arrest record to round out your lightweight public service resume.
Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Mar 3, 2011 at 8:36 am
on Mar 3, 2011 at 8:36 am
You tell 'em, Steve! Steve is right! Steve is always right! All those pampered students at Berkeley! They've all been taught by teachers! Teachers are the problem! The teachers are unionized. The unions are the problem! The teachers teach in schools! Schools are the problem! Banish Schools!!! Banish civil disobedience!!! Save your children! Keep them away from Teachers!
Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Mar 3, 2011 at 8:47 am
on Mar 3, 2011 at 8:47 am
'People were eating dinner provided by a campus organization. Everything was very civil.'
Ha! That's what the article says. But what were they eating? If you readers can't see the similarities between this and the Jeffords shooting, there's something wrong with you!
We need to protest schools like Berkeley and in Pleasanton. They are breeding grounds for future union members and teachers. We don't really need education. Steve and Me are GREAT examples.
Downtown
on Mar 3, 2011 at 9:51 am
on Mar 3, 2011 at 9:51 am
Wow! "Steve is right" sounds little grumpy this morning...and over the top with his UNcivility, as he has a right to do, as were the student (enrolled?) protesters, supported by the Magnanimous (yeah, right!) and Wonderful Unions of the world, who after making their point literally loud and clear, had to take it over the top.
Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Mar 3, 2011 at 10:16 am
on Mar 3, 2011 at 10:16 am
Hey Gary, 'UNcivility' ? Sounds like you went to the same High Skool as Me. Steve to the left of me, Gary on the right, here I am stuck in the middle with you. Stay strong brother!!! We all think good and we's all fighters against the forces of UNcivility!!! Think like Steve and Me. Vote No on E!!! Me and my family of 16 in the household are all going to vote No!!!
Birdland
on Mar 3, 2011 at 1:42 pm
on Mar 3, 2011 at 1:42 pm
These teachers are complaining about being furloughed, when they know very well furloughs are nothing but unpaid vacations that allow them to supplement their lavish lifestyles.
But there's something all the NO on E voters might do when the teachers are all off enjoying their unpaid holidays at our expense. We can hold off-campus seminars on political discourse, spelling, and syntax as a way of combatting UNcivility. All UNspellers, UNgrammarians, UNteachers and UNunionists are welcome! Hinters, satirists, ironists, hyperbolists and humorists are UNwelcome.
Registered user
Amberwood/Wood Meadows
on Mar 3, 2011 at 2:30 pm
Registered user
on Mar 3, 2011 at 2:30 pm
You are no satirist. Satirists do not use humor to attack and marginalize people.
Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Mar 3, 2011 at 3:02 pm
on Mar 3, 2011 at 3:02 pm
It's always so easy to spot the union activists....their manual says "change the topic"...make it about the other person, their typos,etc, ANYTHING EXCEPT the topic or issue. They certainly do not want to offer facts...just spew about the irrelevant,, so it's no longer about the thread topic.
I believe the topic was Berkeley,academia, and public unions....... pretty deadly mix, it's bound to be a bad exchange....aka UNcivil.
Birdland
on Mar 3, 2011 at 4:51 pm
on Mar 3, 2011 at 4:51 pm
Hmmmm, the meaning of satire. Well,...
You may call my meaning of satire nonsense, if you like, states the Red Queen. And she continues, satire means what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less.
My dictionary pledges obeisance to the all powerful and moralistic Red Queen's own personal and very private meaning.
Birdland
on Mar 3, 2011 at 4:56 pm
on Mar 3, 2011 at 4:56 pm
My problem is that I always think the topic has been changed, no matter WHAT anyone says. I'm sure this isn't me. It must be the union thugs who are responsible.
Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Mar 3, 2011 at 8:28 pm
on Mar 3, 2011 at 8:28 pm
Hmm, trying to recall, when was the last time anyone remembers 17 arrests of TEA Partiers, you know, those violent, heavily armed racists, at any of there events, or any protest, anywhere, ever?
Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Mar 3, 2011 at 10:40 pm
on Mar 3, 2011 at 10:40 pm
Boy... whatta lot of noise over nothing... The protesters were arrested for civil disobedience, not vandalism or threatening activities. Why so incensed?
The arrests might not be common occurrence, but the media has blown this thing way out of proportion. If you'd actually BEEN there, you would've seen that the "event" consisted of a couple speeches after which the students dispersed and went on their way. The truly committed student and teacher activists are fairly few, because most of us care about our classes and grades... Not like the good ol' days...
Today Wheeler Hall was shut down, however...