Tag Archives: UC Berkeley
Oil spill on campus, environmental impact being assessed
Update, 12.12.11, 9:20 am: UC Berkeley reports that emergency crews on Sunday removed hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel from Stanley Hall. About 1,700 gallons of fuel spilled within the building, with some fuel reaching Strawberry Creek and a smaller amount making its way to San Francisco Bay. Stanley Hall reopened Monday morning in time for the beginning of final exams.
If members of the public see fuel that may be pooling as a result of the spill, they are asked to avoid touching it, and should report it to (510) 664-4406.
We will continue to provide updates on this story.
[See update at foot of story.]
Emergency crews were on the scene Sunday morning cleaning up a diesel fuel spill that occurred Saturday evening at Stanley Hall on the UC Berkeley campus after what appears to be a pump valve failure.
Staff from East Bay Regional Parks were also assessing the extent of the spill which has flowed into Strawberry Creek. Other agencies called to the incident include UCPD, Berkeley Fire Department, the Coast Guard, and crews from the campus Environmental Health and Safety and Physical Plant.
The incident forced the closure of the Stanley building, which houses Cal’s bioengineering department, after gallons of fuel spilled into the basement and out through pumps to Strawberry Creek, according to a UC Berkeley News Center posting. … Continue reading »
Poet writes about Occupy Cal, protesters plan next steps
Robert Hass, professor of poetry and poetics at UC Berkeley, attended Occupy Cal this month and wrote about his experience in an op-ed piece for the New York Times on Sunday titled “Poet-Bashing Police”.
He decided to go on campus with his wife, Brenda Hillman, after hearing about police beating protesters with truncheons in order gain access to, and dismantle, tents that had been declared unauthorized by the Cal administration.
“I wanted to see what was going to happen and how the police behaved, and how the students behaved. If there was trouble, we wanted to be there to do what we could to protect the students,” he writes.
As we reported on November 14th, the former poet laureate ended up being hit by police and his wife was knocked to the ground. The experience, he writes, got him thinking that “life is full of strange contingencies.” Read the full column in the New York Times. … Continue reading »
At Occupy Cal: Let books take the place of banned tents
The police may have forcibly evicted slumberers and their tents set up Wednesday night by Occupy Cal protesters on campus, but never let it be said that Berkeley students aren’t creative. Replacing the tents we have — fittingly enough for a storied institution of learning — books, or rather books made to look like tents. Symbolic perhaps, but making a point nonetheless. Thanks to Arturo Snuze for the photograph which was taken after today’s pre-dawn eviction.
Related:
… Continue reading »
Man shot at Cal’s Haas School identified, died in hospital
Update, 5:34 pm: More details continue to emerge in the case. According to information released by UC Berkeley at 5:23 pm, UCPD Captain Margo Bennett said that four officers, not three as previously reported, entered the school’s computer lab where the suspect Christopher Travis had gone on Tuesday. Nine people were in the room at the time, in addition to Travis, she said. The Alameda County coroner’s office conducted an autopsy this morning on Travis and a report will … Continue reading »
Cal students vote to set up Occupy camp on campus
At the Occupy Cal general assembly held Tuesday night on the UC Berkeley campus, protesters voted to set up an encampment in the style of the Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Oakland tent-cities both of which have been forcibly dismantled by authorities this week.
The vote to establish a camp was passed by 1,267 people according to the Daily Californian reporting on Twitter.
UC Berkeley administration issued a statement last week saying it would not tolerate an encampment. When tents … Continue reading »
Shaken Cal Chancellor recalls Kent State, Virginia Tech
[See update at foot of story.]
“Now we’re there along with Kent State and Virginia Tech,” said a visibly upset Chancellor Robert Birgeneau at the end of a press conference today about the shooting at the Haas School of Business. No students, faculty or staff were injured in the incident — the only injury was to the unidentified suspect.
The chancellor received news of the incident at his home, following a lunchtime meeting there. He had thought the main focus of the day would be the Occupy Cal protests. “We’re very pleased with the way the students have conducted themselves today,” Birgeneau told the press conference. “I have confidence in our students that they’ll stay focused on the important issues, which are disinvestment in higher education by our state and higher tuitions.”
But the first shooting on the Cal campus for over 20 years changed the tenor of the day.
According to UC Police Chief Mitch Celaya, there is no evidence that the suspect had any connection to the protests. Throughout his description of the events leading to the shooting, he cautioned that his department was at a “very preliminary stage” of the investigation. The press conference was held at 4:00pm, less than two hours after the incident. … Continue reading »
Rally begins after teach-ins at Occupy Cal Day of Action
The Occupy Cal Day of Action is under way on the UC Berkeley campus with a noon rally in progress at the time of writing, and news helicopters aloft to cover the action. According to the BPD, an estimated 1,500 people were gathered at Sproul Plaza at midday.
This morning, hundreds of students were sprawled around the Plaza, carrying signs, hanging out and listening to teach-ins by various faculty members. The mood was festive as they waited for the noon rally to begin.
Many had brought furniture and rugs, as well as a couple of pianos and bookcases to make the protest space like “an outdoor room”. There was no evidence of tents, despite rumors that some demonstrators might try to set up an encampment on campus.
UC Berkeley linguistics professor George Lakoff was talking about the impact of Prop 13 at one of the teach-ins, while other subjects under discussion included the Chilean political system and corporate control of the food system. … Continue reading »
After Oakland eviction, Occupy focus shifts to UC Berkeley
With the dismantling by police of the Occupy Oakland camp early this morning, the Occupy focus has shifted to UC Berkeley where students are preparing to hold a general strike on Tuesday. Reports suggest that Occupy Oakland protesters may march to Berkeley to join Occupy Cal demonstrations tomorrow too.
But plans by protesters to demonstrate at a Regents’ meeting scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday this week at Mission Bay have been foiled, as the meeting has been rescheduled at the advice of law enforcement officials.
Meanwhile, the violence used by police on November 9th continues to draw comment. Writing in the Huffington Post, cultural commentator Jesse Kornbluth points to reports that say several UC Berkeley faculty were assaulted in the clashes, as well as students. They included 70-year-old former Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Hass, and English Professors Celeste Langan and Geoffrey O’Brien.
Cal professor Robert Reich, who is delivering the Mario Savio Memorial Lecture tomorrow, has agreed to move its venue from the Pauley Ballroom to the Mario Savio Steps in Sproul Plaza at the request of the Occupy Cal General Assembly. … Continue reading »
Police use of force at Occupy Cal gets national attention
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The manner in which the police handled Occupy Cal protesters on Wednesday night has come under scrutiny and attracted attention beyond the boundaries of Berkeley.
Videos taken on the scene (including one published on Berkeleyside on Wednesday) show UCPD and Alameda County sheriff’s deputies in riot gear hitting a line of protesters with batons after they refused to leave an area outside the campus administration building.
In a piece in the Chronicle today, Jim Chanin, a Berkeley attorney who specializes in police misconduct issues, said: ”Using a baton to go through a nonviolent crowd is as inappropriate today as it was in the South when they used it to enforce segregation in the 1960s.”
In the same story, UCPD Captain Margo Bennett defended the action, saying: ”The individuals who linked arms and actively resisted, that in itself is an act of violence.” … Continue reading »
After protests and arrests, calm returns to Cal campus
The UC Berkeley campus was calm this morning after a night of protests and altercations with police that resulted in 39 arrests, including one faculty member, and several injuries, although as yet there have been no reports of protesters being taken to hospital.
A couple of dozen protesters with placards, and one tent, could be seen in front of Sproul Hall at around 9:00 am Thursday.
Captain Margo Bennett, spokesperson for the UCPD, said two of the 39 arrests were made for battery of a police officer. The remainder were for interfering with police officers, failure to disperse/unlawful assembly. Capt Bennett confirmed that UCPD police officers were joined by officers from the Alameda County Sheriff department and, late on Wednesday night, by officers from the Oakland PD.
The Berkeley Police Department managed the protest when it went onto Berkeley streets, including Telegraph Avenue, Wednesday afternoon, but were not involved in any on-campus activities, according to BPD Sgt Mary Kusmiss.
The Occupy Cal Day of Action on Wednesday was held to to demonstrate against public education budget cuts and tuition hikes, and to show solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement. … Continue reading »
