Police Arrests at UC-Berkeley Anti-Tuition Demonstration

When Tolman Hall at UC-Berkeley was dedicated in 1963 (see picture at right), things were quite peaceful. Not so yesterday when a student anti-tuition demonstration got out of hand:

From the Daily Californian (UC-Berkeley student newspaper) today:

Tensions between police officers and demonstrators fluctuated throughout the course of a campus protest Thursday, culminating in a violent scuffle when one man was carried from Tolman Hall by his arms and legs. At about 9 p.m., after over seven hours of protest inside the building, protesters were chanting in the lobby of Tolman and police officers began to move towards the doors to prevent a small crowd of demonstrators outside from entering the building. Protesters then began running toward the west doors and an altercation with officers ensued. One man was carried away and arrested after being forced to the ground by police officers. During the altercation, protesters became riled and threw objects at police, resulting in a cracked window…

Campus spokesperson Janet Gilmore said the campus agreed withtui the motivations behind the demonstration. “We share the students’ frustrations over the state’s disinvestment in higher education, and we support their right to protest,” she said…

Full story at http://www.dailycal.org/2011/09/22/uc-berkeley-day-of-action-ends-in-arrests/

Note: Warren Olney's "Which Way LA?" program on KCRW had a feature on UC tuition with UCLA student interviews. Go to minute 19 for that segment of the program: