Tag Archives: UC Berkeley
Occupy the Farm: ‘We’ll keep coming back’
Despite four arrests Monday and the destruction by UC Berkeley of seedlings they had planted in rows over the weekend, Occupy the Farm activists returned to a plot of land in Albany that’s slated for development and began their work again Monday night.
“We’re not leaving this land,” said an Occupy the Farm spokeswoman, Lesley Haddock. “We’re going to continue to contest this space. We’re not going away.” … Continue reading »
4 arrests, as Cal ends brief Albany occupation
Update, May 18, 6:20 p.m. Activists say no charges were ultimately filed against the people who were arrested Monday.
Update, 3 p.m. A group of Albany residents has announced its plans to hold a counter-protest at 5:30 p.m. Monday in opposition to Occupy the Farm activities in Albany. The group plans to meet at the City Hall corner at Buchanan Street, “then walk or ride down to Monroe and show the news media that ALBANY SAYS NO TO OCCUPY.”
Update, 1:42 p.m. A UC Berkeley spokeswoman said four people were arrested Monday as the university resumed control of land in Albany’s University Village that had been taken over by activists who said they want to turn the land into an urban farm. Claire Holmes, a UC Berkeley associate vice chancellor who handles communications and public affairs, said one person was arrested early in the morning; two were arrested while interfering with the plow; and the fourth was reported to be interfering with police activities. Holmes identified the four as Erik Eisenberg, Ian Saxton, David Grefrath and Brooke Marino. All four were listed as in-custody at the Berkeley Jail by the Alameda County sheriff’s department, and scheduled for arraignment Tuesday at 2 p.m. at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in downtown Oakland. … Continue reading »
Urban farmers plan ‘short-form’ Gill Tract occupation
Following a recent announcement by urban farming activists about plans to “occupy” an empty lot in Albany that’s slated for development, UC Berkeley officials have issued a statement urging local residents to prepare for “potential traffic obstructions” should “illegal activities proceed” this coming weekend.
“The university will not allow a permanent encampment on our property,” said George Breslauer, UC’s executive vice chancellor and provost, and John Wilton, UC’s vice chancellor of administration and finance, in the prepared statement. (Scroll down to see the full statement.)
The activists, who call themselves ‘Occupy the Farm,’ put out a call Wednesday to ask supporters to speak out against the planned development at a city meeting in Albany that night, and to come out at noon on Saturday to “launch an action that manifests the highest and best use of the Gill Tract farmland!” … Continue reading »
Cal Day: When UC Berkeley opens its doors to the world
Every year, UC Berkeley throws its campus open to all-comers to showcase what the university has to offer. On Saturday April 20, an estimated 45,000 current and prospective students and their families attended Cal Day 2013, the school’s official open house.
The event, which sees hundreds of Cal organizations set up around 300 booths, is an important recruitment time for the school. The spillover from the event reached all the way to Telegraph and Haste, according to a vendor there, and local hotels enjoyed good business. … Continue reading »
What’s in a name? Reading Berkeley’s bilingual signs
By David Malinowski and the students of UC Berkeley’s freshman/sophomore seminar East Asian Languages 39A
Perhaps nothing visible in the streets of Berkeley seems more straightforward than the signs that name its businesses. The “heat” of the new Heat Hot Sauce Shop and “sliver” of Sliver Pizzeria highlight key traits of the products being sold. Andronico’s, Philz, Moe’s and Oscar’s name their founders. FedEx, McDonald’s, and Bank of America are instantly recognizable for the scale of their brand. Even the bowling alley origins of Berkeley Bowl can be confirmed with a little asking around.
Yet what becomes of the seeming straightforwardness and simplicity of a name when it is written in two languages? Do the names written onto Berkeley’s many bilingual shop signs say the same thing in both languages? How might speakers of these languages read the identities of these businesses differently? And what lessons can be learned about the naturalness of familiar business names in English by studying names in other languages? … Continue reading »
Cal men walk a mile in stilettos to support women
Twenty members of Cal campus Latino organization Hermanos Unidos de Berkeley on Saturday marched in solidarity with the suffering of women by walking a mile in stiletto-heeled shoes.
“Now I really know women bear pain pain better than men,” said Cal student Juan Carlos Rodriguez, 19.
According to event organizer Diana Lopez, 20, the men were joined on the march by female members of Hermanos. Many marchers returned to the student union building after the 40-minute trek, where food and drinks awaited them. … Continue reading »
UC Berkeley students celebrate the Holi Festival of Colors
The Holi Festival of Colors was celebrated Saturday by a mob of brightly painted UC Berkeley students high in the Berkeley hills, near the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Berkeleyside contributing photographer Ted Friedman captured these images of the event, which was sponsored by Cal’s Indian Student Association. … Continue reading »
New Cal cherry tree grove honors Japanese grads
On Saturday, UC Berkeley held a dedication ceremony for a grove of 40 cherry blossom trees which have been planted to honor university alumni of Japanese ancestry.
The idea for the Cherry Tree Project was formed several years ago, at a California Japanese American Alumni Associated dinner following the Big Game, when George Matsumoto suggested planting a row of flowering Japanese cherry trees along Crescent Drive at the west entrance of the campus off Oxford Street.
A total of $350,000 was eventually raised to complete the project, which includes new landscaping, planting, long-term maintenance, and a stone-mounted bronze plaque. … Continue reading »
Before new Berkeley art museum can rise, a demolition
Major demolition is under way in downtown Berkeley on the site of the new location for the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.
The UC Berkeley-owned parking lot at 2150 Addison Street, on the corner of Oxford Street, is being torn down, and several large trees have been removed, to clear the ground for construction.
The UC Berkeley-owned museum is creating a new home, designed by New York firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro, from a 1930s former printing plant owned by the university. The new BMA/PFA is slated to open in the summer of 2016, bringing more bold contemporary architecture into the heart of Berkeley. … Continue reading »
I-House honors gay couple as equality fight unfolds in DC
This week, as the battle for marriage equality raged before the U.S. Supreme Court, UC Berkeley’s International House posted its own vote of support by highlighting a more than 50-year partnership between two men who met at I-House in 1951.
Vern Haddick and Paul Herman met as residents, and were together until Herman died last fall. Their relationship was featured on the the I-House Facebook page Tuesday as the “Couple of the Week.”
The feature is part of an effort launched earlier this year by I-House to highlight “some of our couples we knew about and garner more photos and stories from new couples. I also wanted to highlight friendships on this new page so it’s not just focused on couples. Creating life-long friendships is part of the I-House mission after all,” said Laurie Ferris, communications rep for I-House, who created the campaign.
Ferris said, before the campaign launched, the residence hall had already documented more than 1,000 couples with I-House connections. In January, Ferris created a page featuring heart-shaped graphics to layer over photos, and sent an email to alumni to let them know about the graphics. The email also served to put out the call for more love stories and photographs. … Continue reading »
Mock funeral at UC Berkeley to support campus workers
Yesterday, a group of UC Berkeley students and staffers held a mock funeral to show their support for workers on campus who are members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), who are currently in contract negotiations with the university.
The rally was part of a Thursday March 7 day of action held across the UC system. Students and campus workers spoke about the demise of workers’ rights and delivered a coffin holding a petition to deliver to the Cal administration.
Berkeleyside photo intern Kaia Diringer was there to document the event. … Continue reading »
Video: “Temporary” 1945 UC Berkeley housing demolished
Bulldozers have been at work for the past few weeks bringing down the UC Berkeley Smyth-Fernwald housing complex built at the top of Dwight Way as “temporary” housing for married students after World War II.
Tom Miller shot the video above, and said that, given that the university has no current plans for the newly opened vista, his guess is that local wild turkeys and deer will be moving in.
The Smyth-Fernwald buildings, designed by architect Walter H. Ratcliff Jr. in 1945, served as student family housing for 68 years until they were vacated last June. The complex includes apartments, a community center and maintenance offices. Parts of the property were demolished in 1999 due to safety concerns about creep structural damage. … Continue reading »
At UC Berkeley, the musicians are making it up
Cal is a bustling world unto itself peopled by an extraordinary array of scholars, scientists and artists, which can make keeping track of campus events an overwhelming undertaking. But the creative ferment taking place in the Department of Music’s Jazz and Improvised Music (JIM) Initiative shouldn’t go unnoticed.
On Saturday March 2, JIM presents a benefit concert at Hertz Concert Hall featuring pianist Dan Tepfer, who often collaborates with alto sax master Lee Konitz, and woodwind player Ben Wendel, a founding member of the influential band Kneebody (a Q&A with the artists precedes the concert, and a reception follows). The Berkeley Nu Jazz Collective, an impressive group of JIM graduate students, opens the concert.
Pianist/composer Myra Melford, an associate professor of improvisation and jazz, connected with Wendel while performing with Berkeley bassist Todd Sickafoose several years ago, and knew that he would be a hit in the program. … Continue reading »
