So today was kind of a mixed Berkeley craziness day. There were multiple events going on, and I had some time to swing by them multiple times but not to stay at one for a long period. The events were...
The main Oaks tree sit near the stadium - I drove by, it looks the same as it always does when there's nothing going on. If you want to see that this December oaks report is as good a place as any.
The random tree sit mid-campus - Email went out this morning to notify the oaks supporters, who would presumably be sympathetic to this cause, that they'd had an arrest yesterday and they'd be meeting today at 10:30 for a resupply. But I think they were mostly fishing for attention because it was also...
A big prospective student day - There were big groups of prospective students being toured around, often with their parents. As a result there were lots of clubs showing off, free music, lots of excited people (multiple groups asked me to take pictures of them with their cameras next to Cal Berkeley signs).
The Marine Recruitment Center - It being a Friday, I expected World Can't Wait to be out in force, but in typical Berkeley fashion things weren't as expected.
Berkeley Being Berkeley - I'm including a lot of "slice of life" shots in this report because it's as good a time as any. I recommend you imagine yourself as a prospective student.
On campus in the morning. It's around 10:00. That's the big bell tower (Campanile). Not a whole lot of folks around who aren't actually in a class.
Heading through Sproul Plaza. Good luck with that, guys. They were set up very early - there will be a few more groups after the tree sit, but most of the really oddball ones are later in the day. Those guys sleep in.
Through the gate, the tree sit should be just beyond.
Oh, yes, there it is. Note the police tape around the tree. The student arrest the day prior was probably for crossing the police line, not for anything specific to resupplying the tree sitter. There's a half dozen organizer-types sitting under the tree - I have more shots of them later and it's still a bit before things are supposed to start, so let's just continue back to the plaza.
It's also a major political movement, banned in China, that focuses on Chinese human rights issues. Not room for that on the sign?
They had people write things on little cards and clip them to the wires. Not sure what their deal was, really.
He was pretty good.
OK, it's officially after 10:30, let's see where we are with the tree sit. Cops? Check.
Tree sitter? Check.
Organizers? Check. Ignore the gal with the frog. From left to right that's the guy from the tree sit pictures I took the other day (John?), Marcella from the other day, some gal I don't know, and from this angle I'm not sure about that last guy. What you don't see is actual turnout. Well, let's give them time.
There's frog gal again. The guy is a leftie citizen journalist type.
It's really a lovely bell tower.
Prospectives with a tour group. He's saying "Why, yes, there are always a lot of protesters, but they never disturb classes." The kids were really excited by the tree sit - they took pictures and stuff. The actual Cal students just ignored the whole thing; they're too jaded by now.
Personally I think the tree sit served a great purpose - it gave the future students and their parents fair warning that Berkeley's still Berkeley.
One thing that puzzled me is that they said in their email to bring bedsheets, because they were going to cut them up to make their own anti-police line around the police line. These guys were across the plaza, which explains why there weren't any under the tree. They're clearly not really ready to go, so let's check out other stuff for a bit.
Fu dog.
Egyptian Revival architecture.
OK, let's check out the Marines. Here's the city police. Those are the smiles of cops earning overtime (and apparently, too busy to shave. Classy and professional.).
Want to see the anti-Marines protest? Check out part two.
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