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Occupation and Liberation at UCSC to Stop Expansion

Published on November 13, 2007 in Education, Environment, Police

Students at University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) have been occupying spaces high up in redwood trees and on the ground since November 7th on Science Hill, site of a proposed Biomedical Sciences facility. The space below the redwoods is transforming from a parking lot into a temporary autonomous zone. Meetings are events take place every day and students enjoy the space for doing their school work. This year, anti-colonialists plan to celebrate an all day Thanks-Vegan Holiday Sit-in and Potluck at the liberated community space in resistance to UCSC expansion.

On November 14th in Berkeley, 75 miles from Santa Cruz, three people were violently arrested by UC police officers at a midnight prayer vigil at the long-standing Oak Grove tree-sit on UC Berkeley’s campus. More than 40 people, lead by a group of Indigenous peoples, walked in procession to the Tree-sit to show support for human rights and sacred sites and hold a prayerful candlelight vigil at the area, which is a sacred Ohlone burial ground. Read More and View Photos

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Tree Sit, Rally and March Protesting UCSC Expansion

Published on November 7, 2007 in Animal Rights, Audio, Education, Environment, Police

UCSC Students Launch Tree-Sit at Site of Controversial Biomedical Sciences Building

Early in the morning of Wednesday, November 7th, activists opposed to UC Santa Cruz’s Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) launched a tree-sit in redwoods near Science Hill. UCSC plans to develop the occupied site into a new Biomedical Sciences Facility.

One person was arrested by UC police early in the morning. Police surrounded the site, where at least 4 activists were 50 feet up redwood trees. A scheduled rally and march that began at 11am drew hundreds of supporters to the site. A tense standoff with police commenced, as supporters attempted to get close enough to the trees to send up supplies. Police pepper sprayed the crowd and at least four people were arrested.

The Biomedical Sciences facility would be the first project under the University’s plan to develop 120 acres of forest in order to accommodate 4,500 new students. The Biomedical Sciences building will have no allotted classroom space, despite student complaints about overcrowded class sizes. But it will have room for live animal experimentation, which includes such practices as food/air deprivation, infection, and non-anesthetized surgery, according to campus guidelines. Read More | Overview | SC-IMC feature

Audio: Press Conference | Rally

Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

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Press Conference

Rally

2007 Practical Activism Conference at UCSC featuring Angela Davis

Published on October 27, 2007 in Audio, Community Building, Education

Hundreds of students crowded into the College Nine-Ten Multipurpose Room on October 27th for the 5th annual Practical Activism Conference at UC Santa Cruz. The room’s capacity was maxed out when Angela Davis spoke and approximately 175 students heard the speech through speakers setup outside the Multipurpose Room. Activist organizations based on campus and in the community were tabling, food was provided and the workshops were very well attended.

Angela Davis spoke about many topics, including solidarity with the antiwar demonstration in San Francisco and those around the United States taking place at the same time, the meaning of “Practical Activism”, growing up in Birmingham, Alabama during Jim Crow segregation, the importance of imagination in activism, a brief history of her persecution, organized resistance in the 1930s and 1960s, prisons, the juggernaut of privatization, attacks on education and the ongoing plans for the privatization of the University of California, the racist theories of James Watson, connecting the issues, the plan for a Blackwater training camp in Potrero, the role Blackwater wants to play in repression along the US / Mexico border and the need for global solidarity. Read More, Listen to Audio and View Photos

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Hatred and Ignorance on Display for “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week”

Published on October 22, 2007 in Education, Race

This report is published to raise awareness and as a call out for people to counteract the messages of hate, ignorance and bias on display at UC Santa Cruz and other college campuses.

Three young men sat behind a table in the Baytree Plaza at UC Santa Cruz on October 22nd as part of “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week.” The men and their table of hate-charged literature denouncing Islam were largely ignored for the hour they sat in the plaza. The table had a black, green and red sign for “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week,” glossy booklets and a petition about “Islamo-Fascist Jihad.”

A student disgusted with the table looked at the literature, read some quotes out-loud and then asked the people behind the table if they believed the statements made in the booklets they were hoping to hand out. The people behind the table were not in agreement with each other about the influence of the United States and Israel in Islamic Jihad. They also said that they did not really support or agree with a lot of what the booklets were saying.

The people behind the table said that on Wednesday, October 24, they would be showing a film called “Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against The West.” The screening is said to take place at 7pm at UCSC’s College 8, room 240. I know that people are busy with life, school or skool and activist organizing, but it might be worth the time and effort to attend the film screening and counteract the intolerance advocated by David Horrowitz and several other hate-peddlers. Read More and View Photos

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Student and Worker Solidarity Kicks Off School Year at UCSC

Published on September 27, 2007 in Education, Solidarity & Outreach

September 27th marked the first day of Fall quarter at the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC). The Baytree Bookstore was packed with students purchasing books while the Baytree Plaza was filled with fraternities and sororities attempting to lure in the incoming freshman. At 3pm, women and men who are service workers at UCSC organized with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299 initiated an informational picket for a fair labor contract. Workers, some with their families, were joined by student allies for a powerful rally sending a strong message to UC administration that AFSCME, the Student Worker Coalition for Justice (SWCJ) and graduate students organized with UAW Local 2865 are united in demanding that UC prioritize workers, students and their families. Read More and View Photos

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