UC Berkeley began removing tree-sitters' gear and slicing ropes from a grove outside Memorial Stadium today, as an 18-month-long protest aimed at preventing the university from cutting down the grove neared a possible climax.
About 25 officers have cordoned off the sidewalk on Gayley Road just west of the stadium and are "telling people it's a crime scene," said Doug Buckwald, director of Save the Oaks, a group that has opposed the university's plans to clear the grove to make way for a training center that would adjoin the stadium.
Dan Mogulof, a spokesman for the university, said, "We are removing gear and removing lines. We are not removing people."
Climbers hired by the university are cutting lines that run from one tree to another and are trying to remove supplies that protesters have stored in the branches, Mogulof said.
The university launched the operation one day before an Alameda County Superior Court judge is to rule on a lawsuit filed by the protesters, city and a neighborhood group seeking to block construction of the center. The sitters have occupied the grove of oaks and other trees since Dec. 1, 2006.
It is unclear how many protesters are in the branches. Buckwald estimated there were four, while Mogulof said there were as many as 11.
Mogulof said some of the tree sitters were "using their own waste as weapons."
Almost none of the protesters are students. That era has passed. It's the residents that are problem children these days. Here's a little background for those that care (oh so few of you, I know...)
As a journalist who has covered the Berkeley tree sit in depth, the fact is that there are MANY UCB students (as well as USC staff and alumni) involved with the tree sit -- both on the ground and in the trees. Learn your facts before you make public judgements about these people. In the end, you're the one that looks stupid.
ReplyDeleteAnd whether the protestors are students or not, they are all human beings who realize the precarious situation our planet's health is in. They are up in the trees as active defenders of NATURE -- who cares whether they're UCB students or not?