Thursday, August 30, 2007
Don't sell yourself short
Speaking of the tree-football-hippie thing, the folks protesting definitely have a sense of perspective. (I'm going to assume the reader is aware that the university fenced in the grove in preparation for football season) Just ask their lawyer, Steve Volker:
"This fence is contrary to Judge Barbara Miller's ruling on Feb. 9 that there should be no physical alteration on the environment of the oak grove until the court rules on the merits of the case on Sept. 19," he said. "It is a direct attack on fundamental rights, a noose on the First Amendment ... Berkeley is the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement and it now threatens to be its graveyard. This day will be remembered as a day of infamy for this university as an attempt to crush the community's voice." Yes, because the university is trying to remove protesters from its trees so that it can take them down and build a building, FREE SPEECH IS DEAD!!!
He cites a case at Cornell, but I'm not finding the reference through a cursory Google search. If anyone knows it, let me know.
The arrests led to more pushing, yelling and general chaos at the grove. At one point police chased a man dressed in black down Piedmont Avenue. Some protesters formed a circle in front of the evening traffic and refused to budge from the spot for almost 15 minutes.
"Cut your engine off," one woman told a driver of a silver Toyota. "You are not going anywhere."
"Berkeley's back," yelled another oak grove supporters. Antagonizing random strangers: The Berkeley way? I don't really see what they're gaining by taunting motorists here.
"How much did that fence cost?" asked Jonathan Huang, a UC Berkeley sophomore.
"That's my out-of-state tuition money that's going to build a fence," said another UC Berkeley student. "My parents worked their butts off to pay the $40,000 a year and this is what I get! I am pissed off!" Shouldn't your parents be the ones pissed off? What do you have to be pissed off about?
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