Friday, November 20, 2009
Students Continue to Protest California Tuition Increases - NYTimes.com
Students Continue to Protest California Tuition Increases - NYTimes.com:
"BERKELEY, Calif. — The day after the University of California Board of Regents approved a 32 percent increase in fees that are the equivalent of tuition, protests continued on several campuses, with students occupying buildings at Santa Cruz and Berkeley."
On the Berkeley campus, at least 50 students took over a classroom building, Wheeler Hall, barricading themselves on the second floor. Hundreds of students surrounded the building, huddled under umbrellas, tarps and plastic, chanting slogans like “Fee hike! We strike!”
“We are planning to stay as long as possible,” Andi Walden, a 21-year-old senior in the building, said by cellphone. “It appears the police are getting ready to break down the doors and drag us out. We had to take direct action. The regents won’t respond to anything else.”
Ms. Walden said she and the others sneaked into the building with sleeping bags and food on Thursday night and slept in a classroom, keeping quiet until the police arrived around 7 a.m. Friday. Three students were arrested, she said.