Do You Care About Occupy Cal?
The student version of the Occupy movement continues to draw a crowd on the UC Berkeley campus. Are you paying attention?
Being a university city, Berkeley is doubly occupied right now.
Occupy Berkeley is fighting the banks downtown. A few miles away and across the Bay, our neighbors are occupied too. Then, Occupy Cal started demonstrating on campus — and all hell broke loose.
Since Occupy Cal began, the movement has made national headlines and sparked serious debate about fundamental rights like freedom of speech and the right to peacably protest. Protesters continue to gather in Sproul Plaza each night at 6 p.m., sleeping on campus as part of their tentless occupation.
But the message behind the movement is slightly different from the other occupations — Occupy Cal is about the rising cost and diminishing value of a college education, while Occupy Berkeley, Oakland and San Francisco are struggling against corporate greed on a broader scale.
The question is: for non-students living in Berkeley, does Occupy Cal mean anything? Is it purely a struggle for students, or perhaps the college educated? Or does its message still resonate with Berkeley residents? How have police actions during the protests drawn Berkeley residents into the fray?
Are you following Occupy Cal? Do you care about the message behind the movement? Let us know in the comments and take the poll.
Feel free to share your thoughts on whether Occupy Cal has overshadowed Occupy Berkeley, or created a stronger hyrbid. Also, how have the protests affected everyday life in Berkeley?
Catch up on the news or refresh your memory by visiting the Occupy Berkeley and Cal page on Berkeley Patch.
Sky Black
6:51 am on Tuesday, November 22, 2011
I am a Cal grad (1964). Not only do I support Occupy Cal I joined them for a day. If I were younger and stronger I would stay there with them.
Wendy Hanson
7:08 am on Tuesday, November 22, 2011
I think it is great to have it on the Berkeley Campus. I think Occupy Oakland has been destructive for small business in Oakland and has a small percentage of very bad players. I still want the movement to have clearer goals so I know what I can get behind!
Nancy Schimmel
7:18 am on Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Occupy Oakland is promoting "Oakland in the Black," a campaign to get people to shop locally on Black Friday, particularly in downtown Oakland. I've been eating at the cafes on the Plaza when I visit Occupy Oakland, and I know many of us do. Rising Loafer in particular remains very supportive of Occupy Oakland.
Nancy Schimmel
7:11 am on Tuesday, November 22, 2011
I am a Cal grad (1957) and was a grad student during FSM, so their fight is my fight. When I entered in 1952, the student fee was $37 a semester; it is now $7,230.25. Yes, there's been inflation since 1952, but not that much, and they plan to raise it again. As the students were chanting on their march last Tuesday, "Education should be free, not just for the bourgeoisie." As part of Occu-pella, I've sung on campus twice. We also sing at Occupy Oakland and Occupy Berkeley. Catch us at 4:30-5:30 Monday evenings in front of the Oaks Theater at the top of Solano for the weekly "tax the rich" rally.
Wendy Hanson
7:19 am on Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Thanks! I am totally behind that! I will march for education!
Kelly King
10:00 am on Tuesday, November 22, 2011
When I was at Cal, there were protests about something every single day. I am unconvinced that anyone, anywhere is making any kind of progress. Pharoahs spin the message, a thousand years in chains. Who says it's different now? Look it's just the same.
I support the message and the cause. I don't know that anyone is capable of taking on the real problem with these sorts of tactics. Occupy will have to get much larger and much more sophisticated and, in the end, you cannot cut out the greed from the hearts of men.
You can, however, press for transparency in government like Obama originally promised. You can work to implement the ideas in the Constitution that were based on checks and balances so that government corruption wasn't totally rampant.
Start addressing the corruption head on. Start with freeing the information. Crowd source keeping a watchful eye on everything the government does and making it known. The large media outlets cannot be trusted to pass on the right message.
pkt
10:18 am on Tuesday, November 22, 2011
There was no doubt on Nov 15 that the City of Berkeley loves their students! I am not from the area originally, but I was so impressed by the city.
Milan Moravec
5:26 pm on Tuesday, November 22, 2011
UC Berkeley police report to and receive direction from Chancellor Birgeneau and his senior management. Deeds not words count. Fire Cal Chancellor Birgeneau and his senior management team.