University students protest budget cuts
Thursday, October 7, 2010
(10-07) 15:07 PDT BERKELEY -- Thousands of UC Berkeley students and staff swarmed Sproul Plaza today, the latest in a string of rallies initiated last year to protest fee hikes and cuts to education across the state.
The rally, followed by a march across the campus, was part of a state and nationwide call to action in support of higher education. Hundreds of students occupied the campus' Doe Library, vowing to stay until 5 p.m.
Police were preventing anyone from entering or exiting the library.
"Right now we're just evaluating the situation," said UC Berkeley spokeswoman Janet Gilmore as the students broke into a rendition of the 60's anthem "We shall Not Be Moved."
While midterms kept many students and professors in class, loudspeakers broadcast the discontent of students and UC workers who lambasted increasingly crowded classrooms and other cuts resulting in nearly 1,000 eliminated positions on the Berkeley campus alone.
Many speakers blamed the UC Regents for lowering the quality of a California university education in classrooms rather than cutting administrative costs.