UC Berkeley Protest, Wheeler Hall, Fall 2009

[2204Alpha]

Typical liberals who think because they get into a big mob they are somehow excused from following state laws.

Rather than protesting the issue they always attack some cop making 37k a year who is just keeping the peace.

[Arangutang]

This is ridiculous. For the first time, I'm disgusted at my own school. I don't see evidence of police brutality here at all. No, I only see a mob that's out of its little, entitled hippie mind and hellbent on not only disrupting other students' right to learn, but also trying to brand our hardworking police as "pigs." As if they had something to be ashamed about for doing their jobs, feeding their families, and keeping civil peace while at constant risk of life and limb.

[tnguyen318]

She deserves to be pepper sprayed and tased. Those who protest and break the rules of protesting deserves to be shot with less than lethal weapons. The police are doing their job.

[mr15w17h]

@tnguyen318 i hope your being sarcastic.

[mr15w17h]

@tnguyen318 i hope you're being sarcastic. the job of the police is the serve the citizens of the nation that employ them, to protect them from harm, not buildings, or the money invested in them that only a select few benefit from at the expense of the rest.

[tnguyen318]

The Job of our Police Officers is to arrest those who cause disrupt in society.

[mr15w17h]

@tnguyen318 Disrupt what exactly? Because you and the police are disrupting my idea of society. Therefore following your logic, you and and the police deserve to be shot with lethal weapons.

[Wehategod]

You people need a Lesson in protesting from the Bolsheviks!!!!

[robinhoodintn1]

not to long a go black people were out in force screaming about police beatings its ashame to see black cops doing the same thing today mistreating people beating people up and in some cases killing them ,how easely they forget but maybe someday the same police they slave for could turn aganist them.

[Punkdownthestreet]

why dont students actually show up prepared with shields...i'm sure if they had planned this

they could have their own police force if they contracted one...or made one

imagine..you tell Homeland Security to allow you to make a Private Security company for the aid of students and this security gained immunity from some laws and helped the students and avoid being hit by cops oohhh sounds interesting huh?

[831camera]

@Punkdownthestreet

very interesting thought. something must be devised to protect protestors.

[RandallFlaggNY]

The students should protest for the repeal of Newton's laws.

[Flankitto04]

Privilege white lefties...I hope they each gets a bullet in the head.

[jmundstuk]

I hope you're vicious wish does not rebound on you.

[SuperBrilliance]

Are protesters stupid?

What is the only thing that is separating the police and the people? Obviously the police are greatly outnumbered.

If I were there I would be there with a fucking shield.

[atsuto2010]

the police are the ones who should be arrested!

[BrownDogProductions1]

@atsuto2010 Yeah, let's arrest all the hardworking police officers risking their lives to prevent a bunch of entitled hippies from wreaking havoc.

[celieable]

Have you seen the video that shows the police actually breaking a students hand? It's gruesome! How is that ok?????

[celieable]

Most of those people on the front lines were simply standing their ground, not pushing through the barricades. This is America! They were exercising their constitutional rights. It's sad to read comments from people who'd rather "give up" than attempt to change wrongs. Remember how our country was founded? The students weren't attacking the police, but some of you sound as if you think it's ok that the police repeatedly attacked the students with their batons without being provoked.

[mr15w17h]

@celieable yes yes yes and YES

[comandantezh]

oh man and that's the land of the brave and the free? it looks more like china or iran.

[ohyahers]

this video is kinda over-dramatic lol

[onewholearth]

No Truth, No peace, Weed is not evil and we know who stole our money

[willoughbywingsfan]

Yeah, the officers just decided they were going to beat up some protesters that day.. this is ignorant. and so are you.

[MinuteOrMinute]

Uhh..being a former English major at UCB and knowing the layout of Wheeler by heart, if the protestors locked themselves on the second floor, this probably meant they could only have occupied one room, OR a small section of ONE hall containing access to around 4 offices (not even class rooms)....why the need to seal off the building? people still could've gone to class and the first floor (which holds the auditorium) could still have had lectures going on...

anyway video is over-dramatic IMO

[banemaler]

This is what happens when a country overspends and doesn't have the money for the things that it actual needs. Students get hit first because otherwise they'll join the military. Totally dependent on the system. Hyperinflation is creeping in. Everything will begin to cost more because we've decided to bail out rich bankers, support entitlement programs, and believe in perpetual war. When will the young people throw down the shackles of their masters and "say enough is enough."

[teacherphysics]

ha ha been going on for thousands of years never change

[corcaighrebel]

@teacherphysics - many things have changed from student (civil society protests), to dismiss out of hand does not stack up historically, also beware of those who say the Peace Movement is dead or disorganised, they are simply spreading disinformation......

[teacherphysics]

Ok ,Good thought, But this one is to: The more thiings change the more they stay the same.

[corcaighrebel]

@teacherphysics - not sure what you mean, maybe you can elucidate. There have been major social advances and changes in the US especially since the Civil Rights movement, a tremendous open media has developed (excluding mainstream), global justice, anti-war movements, environmental awareness, human rights groups and a whole host of others, it is actually quite a progressive time, and they have had an impact on policy and societal development, despite the wars (Iraq etc) it is all v.interesting

[teacherphysics]

the more things change the more they stay the same, you cant handle that can you

[datrusnipsta]

Unfortunately humanity does not act on logic, they act on emotions. There our peaceful ways to doing things. Both the police and the protestors acted wrongly and believing that only the police are at fault is ignorant, and vice versa. We need to be more formal about these types of things, yelling and starting riots is not the way to get things done. The police did not need to use violence either though. What they should of done was sit down and discuss these issues at hand in a peaceful manner.

[corcaighrebel]

@datrusnipsta what about using peaceful means as oppose to pointing what look like machine guns at protestors, what a horrific expression on violence on a US campus, a sacred place of learning and expression, made me want to vomit, where are the high paid university administrators and negotiators, let the students withdraw on mass and then see how the place survives, these acts amount a violation and would never be tolerated in Greece or France for example, depressing and disgraceful scenes!

[banemaler]

Ha! Really? Did you see the protests just this year after a student was shot and killed by these riot thugs? This is happening worldwide, its just barely becoming an issue in the States.

[datrusnipsta]

They would have never of been shot if they had not protested in such a way, and they would have never of been shot if the police never committed violence.

[KingWillko]

bballlkid you're an idiot.

[ghosttownjenny]

to the Berkeley alumni (shendykurnia) who thinks the police were 'just doing their job' : were you there during this afternoon? If you actually had been, you would have seen that the cops used much more force than was necessary, and most of it was directed at people who were doing nothing but standing there. Aside from that, this is an issue worth fighting for, and people have every right to be pushing closer to a building on THEIR CAMPUS, without getting their hands or faces broken...

[Gloudas]

Yes, this is an issue worth fighting for. It's an issue that will affect thousands of students, and potentially jeopardize their ability to get an education.

But let me get this straight: you think the best way to fight for students' educations... is to take over a school building? That's like if someone chose to cut down trees as a way to protest deforestation.

[shendykurnia]

it'd be funny if the cops just did 'please bro, don't cross the line.' see if that works. nothing is wrong with their crowd control technique. also, even if the cops pushed first, why didn't the students just comply? a couple feet away from the building would not have worth the beating

[shendykurnia]

am berkeley alumni here, but i think the cops just did their job. the students tried to pass the line, the cops prevented that from happening. had the students just stood there and yelled, or cursed, the cops wouldn't have gone violent.

[noahwhitfield2001]

I missed this part on Friday, I came by after the barricades were put up. I don't really think civil disobedience includes trying to push through a bunch of cops in riot gear, and I don't quite understand what the protestors were trying to accomplish by doing that short of looking like victims on youtube. Honestly, you can't pull that shit and expect to not get rocked. Nice music though, the unresolved German augmented 6 chord really adds to the disturbing footage, Micheal Moore would be proud.

[theirresistableE]

the objective was to keep them from bringing the occupiers out in cuffs. No pushing occurred until they pushed, hit, and shot us. At which point there was the back-and-forth you see here.

[andrewberkeley]

The protesters are just ordinary students looking out for fellow students and strangers. Nothing to gain personally, except for bruises, and ridicule, and complaints from the establishment. I'm glad so many people were documenting the event...it keeps both sides a bit more honest. I'm still on the fence about the German augmented 6th chord...I was hoping more for an Italian diminshed D minor in the Dorian scale, but alas, it wasn't to be!

[theguyi26]

I hear a German augmented 6th at 3:57, but as for "Italian diminished D minor in Dorian Scale" ... Now I think you're just making stuff up to sound smart, or something.

[hardbridge888]

wtf they point those rubber propel guns at students???????????

[Gloudas]

This is pathetic. Just because you support a good cause doesn't mean you can go around, taping videos of students yelling idiotically at cops, and then slap dramatic music on the top and be a hero.

NO SHIT the cops used force. They were told to form a protective barrier around the building, and you can see students fighting to push past them. You can see the protesters actually resisting the cops, doing everything they can to prevent being moved. The cops reaction is not "showing some muscle".

[theirresistableE]

actually they pushed us first. they also shot and beat people who were cowering in fear, far from pushing. I'm proud students didn't take that lying down, but pushed back.

The cops had no right to be on our campus. They are and always have been an occupying force. And of course we refused to be moved. It's our campus. Fuck the police.

[andrewberkeley]

Its not a crime to yell "idiotically at cops"

The students were not willing to be shoved by cops and that makes them...uh...bad?

The cops were showing some muscle...have you seen the other videos...the were getting all worked up and then they start banging away...watch all the others...and then make up your mind.

don't get me wrong. police do a great job at some stuff, but their crowd control technique in this case and their ability to defuse a situation, were PISS POOR, you have to admit.

[pureblood57]

I totally agree with what you say. The police have many riot shields that could have been used instead of the beatings. But, i am not on the polices side on this one. Although my father is a cop this is not necessary and those students have every right to protest

[andrewberkeley]

I think the only heroes were the ordinary nameless people inside and outside the building willing to take a stand on something.

Two questions:

When is the last time you took a stand, outside and on the streets, and put your body on the line for a cause, any cause?

When is the last time you supported the minority view and were willing to be abused for it?

That's why I'm proud of these students. Acts like that make democracy stronger. I'm all for the underdog, the story of America!

[datrusnipsta]

Your statement is false "Im all for the underdog, the story of America!" How is that the story of the United States. When we colonized America the Native Americans were the underdogs, we tricked the Native Americans and took their land from them. We were founded on the opposite of that statement.

[Trimbler00]

@andrewberkeley Don't fight for the underdog just because they're the underdog. And if you really want to support a good cause, how about you start fighting for the truly oppressed, like the Palestinians who have been evicted from their homes by Israeli occupation?

[tmskatap]

ok this video was to inform, what was the protest about? put it in the video description

[andrewberkeley]

Students in this video were there supporting other students who had locked themselves in a building to protest recent events on campus. Faculty and students are protesting broken promises, the lack of funding for the UC public school system, the forced layoffs of the LEAST paid workers on campus, the mismanagement,lack of transparency and democratic process by the UC Board of Regents, and the excessive fee increases that will make college unaffordable to thousands of excellent but poor students.

[20kary09]

jeez people can be such JERKS over the internet.

[drealm]

Three word consecutive chants, product of a liberal education that values buzz words over deep critical thought. These stupid kiddos want a miracle.

[andrewberkeley]

Thanks for your comment. Something about your post made me wonder...when did a liberal education become such a bad thing. (wouldn't a conservative education be much, much, worse...or no education at all). And the wanting a miracle. Well that's the best part...idealism, passion, principles, even in the face of tremendous odds...that is a miracle. I'm all for miracles.

[MsJaneDoe650]

The real issue; Multiculturalism (which has been used to justify the mass 3-world immigration) does NOT work.

THE main problem of the California university system is the influx of foreigners and first-generation people into the colleges who have not paid enough taxes to support the system. This is social engineering gone haywire.

Those students would rather act like fools than address an uncomfortable issue that is ripping this state (and country) to shreds.

[elabta]

Are you kidding? You don't think it has anything to do with the fact that the price of housing has fallen drastically and cut the amount of money from property taxes? Or the fact that the bad economy is resulting in lost jobs and decreases in income tax? The general downturn of the economy is the problem. Oh, and get your terms right. What you're referring to is excessive immigration, not multiculturalism... unless you were just trying to be racist.

[MsJaneDoe650]

No I'm not kidding. The problems with lack of funding and fee hikes have been taking place for a long time due to the overburden.

I saw it and experienced it when I was in the CSU system about 10-12 years ago. I experienced overenrollment, crowded classrooms, and many American students being turned away because there was no more room. In the majority of the classrooms I was far outnumbered by foreigners and first-born people rather than multi-generational Americans.

[MsJaneDoe650]

"The general downturn of the economy is the problem."

The economic downturn is an afterthought...this public university system crash was inevitable regardless. The system simply cannot sustain such an influx of people who have not paid into the system.

[MsJaneDoe650]

"Unless you were just trying to be racist."

Aw, thanks. I know I'm winning an argument when a hypocritical California libtard calls me a racist. LOL

How original!!!

[MsJaneDoe650]

"What you're referring to is excessive immigration, not multiculturalism."

No I have my terms right. Multiculturalism is a Marxist and Zionist social engineering project being used by special interests to justify third-world immigration in order to supplant the American population. This is happening in European majority countries across the planet. The Labour Party in the UK just got busted for it. Research The Frankfurt School and the Soviets.

[aGhOsToFtHeFoRmEr]

i like the shitty background music. makes me appreciate the CSU systems for not being full of overprivileged retards on scholarships

[swraman]

so your saying the addition of background music in this video makes all UC students retards?

nice assumption buddy.

[bucifer]

This is quite sad. Stop acting like victims, and stop it with the "I was there" arguments. We can see the video, and it only shows a bunch of instigators trying to forcefully break through the barriers and the police line. Of course they got shoved back; can you even imagine what would have happened if the police DIDN'T keep them in line? I think it's called... chaos. Masturbatory is a great choice of words for describing your attitude btw.

[andrewberkeley]

You're missing the point. The important question is what are YOU willing to protest....on the street...when its not so convenient. Are YOU willing to stand up and say somethings wrong with tossing the janitors out of work while the admin makes $200K+. I think you and the other guy mentioning masturbation have a lot in common and should meet. (wink, wink) Seriously. You both sound a little...tense. But thats cool. Just kidding.

[johnnybravo6889]

Following tactical procedures (like establishing a security line or permineter a certain distance away from a building) are normal. Pushing people back to establish that same perimeter is part of that process, unfortunately. However, the police here were not using un-due escalation of force. When a mob begins pushing and shoving members of the police, law-enforecement personnel can escalate force. I saw students act physically before I saw the officer start using his baton. I see no problem

[andrewberkeley]

yep...they were clumsily following tactical procedures, because the students were such a threat with thei backpacks and books. Watch out, one has a sharpened #2 and a temper! Everyone should just go to class, keep your mouth shut, and watch the university sink into the ground. Too much politeness is immoral. What are you willing to protest? And I don't mean from your computer...I mean on the street, when its not so convenient. Seriously? What matters to you enough to take a stand like them.

[mcm735]

There was no barricade only yellow tape. The cops were trying to install one & to push students further back at simultaneouly. They could have set it up 6" in front of students without any issues. Instead they started shoving people back, making them trample one another, breaking people's hands with batons, dragging people to the ground & lifting woman's shirts over their heads! THEY crossed the line. Students more than respected them, but the physical abuse got the student angry, reasonably.

[sarahcuellar]

what the fuck is wrong with this school? I go to cal and i'm tired of all of damn protests. Police brutality? yeah right. Don't run the barricades and you won't get your ass kicked. When will these students learn? My classes were cancelled b/c these dumbasses decided to protest and lock themselves in. Thanks a lot...i have finals in 2 weeks. Oh, and what the fuck is up with this music?? t

[andrewberkeley]

I think there is a bigger principle here that might be getting lost in the noise. Its a public university that is slowly becoming private and ruling out talented students that don't have enough money to attend. Then add to that California's mishandling of the budget, refusing to give money that is already allocated to public education, and some pretty fat cats sitting at the top of the university who want to give YOU the bill, while they build some new vanity building.

[mcm735]

You are pissed off because you missed one day of class, now imagine what you would do if you had to miss a year maybe two because you can't afford it anymore. I'm sure a smart and prepared person like you won't fail because of one day of class, but what would happen if you couldn't get a degree or a job because the prices when up too high. Heaven's forbids one of your parents is fired from their jobs and you can't finish school anymore. Then what? You'd be pissed too.

[mcm735]

They made a stand for something they believed in, and Sarah you don't have to agree, but there is something admirable in making a stance and not giving up even by threats of violence. I hope you are able to afford school but if you can't maybe you'll look back and find value in what these students did.

[MinuteOrMinute]

If you think about it, police showing brutality is good for publicity of this cause. if police hadn't swung a baton at someone they barely knew, this story probably would not be as discussed as it is right now. Anyway, both police and students acted stupidly in different ways. I'm assuming those guys weren't part of UCPD, because UCPD is pretty good with handling themselves (i.e. Save the Oaks, Fresh putting himself in a tree, etc.). the asian cop looks so uncomfortable there...lol

[teacherphysics]

true people will do things crazy so it will be put in the news. it gets there problem out in the public

[KingWillko]

You missed one day of class, but think about the thousands of others who will have to miss the entire four years because of the 32% fee increase.

[BurtonKelly0]

It's that or cut back in the quality and staff.

[Colith1]

This is only the beginning in my opinion. Its not just colleges its all over the US. The government has strayed far from the ideals written in the constitution and creates laws that benefit those in office and less for the people who put them their. I firmly believe this country is headed towards a second Civil War. It not a matter of IF its a matter of WHEN. People are tired of being lied to and mislead. I dont belive violence solves problems but thats what it will inevitably come to.

[KeenFob]

Misleading, no one was beat up. If you want a beatdown, watch rodney king.

[andrewberkeley]

Did you object to the King beating at the time, or say he somehow deserved it...be honest.

[phatcow27]

those kids should grow the hell up. there are plenty of us at UCs right now organizing meetings and coming up with ways to overcome this financial dilemma.

Ya we're all pissed. but this is no way to act. this is goddamn shameful.

[andrewberkeley]

I would be very interested to hear about your plans if you can share, and am glad you and others are organizing in other ways.

[phatcow27]

I'm in the engineering program at UCSD, about 10(soon more) of us are organizing a petition for Jerry Sanders(mayor) to make time for a representative of our small group to discuss what can be done by the city to help aid the school.

in the mean time however we have been doing on the side research about California's expenses and financial plans, we hope that after talking to Sanders we may slowly but surely work our way to Arnie(a frequent visitor of SD)

[phatcow27]

we also are rallying support by donations in the mean time from alumni and anyone that is willing to help. We HOPE that this will show a very strong effort to make a difference in (atleast UCSD's) decision about tuition.

[andrewberkeley]

Thanks for the comment. The stuff you and your colleagues are doing sounds fantastic.

[andrewberkeley]

RIght on!

[raidergunz]

the shame on you chant really gets to them. it made the police overreact over at ucla.

[H1mynameisLarry]

Cops get overtime.

[dragade101]

i hope they release that our generation cant be suppressed. damn i wish i was there.

[dandelionpaws]

Making higher education inaccessible compromises our society's future and security. Young people have to choose between paying rent and buying their school books back in the mid-west. This is an attack against a major pillar of our civilazation. California is at the frontline of a very sinister threat that endagers all of us. California students could become a beacon of hope for young people all over America. Shine the light brightly enough and we will all support you.

[ibuylow09]

You guys should act like university students and treat the police with respect. You can still get you message across without challenging the barricades. The strike is good you dont have to be right on top of the police to conduct your strike.

[andrewberkeley]

I agree with some of what you say. I think students should respect the police when the police have not crossed the boundary into abuse of power. The police over reacted...whats up with the riot gear, the night sticks, and all the yelling. Let student's yell if they want...what's the big deal?

[ryanjulian]

Umm, there's nothing wrong with what the police did in this video.

The police get to decide where the protesters can and cannot be. Several protesters crossed the police line and resisted as the police tried to move barriers. In the face of thousands of people who may become an angry mob, they have every necessity to use a little man handling and a few whacks with a night stick to keep things in control.

Putting emotional flute music in the background of a Youtube video wont change that.

[andrewberkeley]

Were you there? I was. The police were acting like bullies and thugs. Sure, the police have the power to do lots of things, move barriers, hit people, shove them to the ground, restrict people's CONSTITUTIONAL right to gather peacefully, etc. It doesn't make them right. The police caused the violence, don't blame the students.

YOU should be worried about a country that starts to control HOW and WHERE you protest.

Take a look at IRAN if you want to see where this kind of govt control leads.

[ryanjulian]

My CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT is only a right when it does not endanger the health, safety, and law and order that the rest of society has an equal right to.

Claiming police pushing barriers back even 20 feet is an attempt to "control HOW and WHERE you protest" is a ridiculous hyperbole.

If you can't handle a night stick to the arm, you don't have the commitment it takes to make a meaningful protest.

And as for where I was? I was IN CLASS, LEARNING, and not perpetuating a masturbatory media circus.

[andrewberkeley]

Your constitutional right is the right to gather peaceably. It doesn't say, "only when and where the police tell you to".

No ones health or safety was in danger until the police started clubbing people. The "law and order" types have gotten out of hand. Look at Germany in WW II and Iran now for clues to the "law and order" approach.

To question their committment and say it requires violence is creepy. When's the last time you fought for someone else's rights?

Look up from your books!

[RadicallyDreaming]

Well, it's great that you're rich enough and pampered enough that you can just go to class without worrying about this affecting you.

The hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of people whose lives are being ruined by the issues at hand are probably envious of your fortune.

[ryanjulian]

I resent the fact you assume I'm "rich" and "pampered". For your information, I'm neither of those things. In fact, it would be impossible for me to attend this university without a serious financial aid package. Financial aid which is under assault because of this budget crisis.

I, however, view my place in this university as a PRIVILEGE, not a RIGHT. I do not see how skipping class to whine and wave at TV helicopters will do anything to repeal Prop 13 or rewrite the California constitution.

[RadicallyDreaming]

You certainly behaved as though you're pampered.

Truthfully I do not see how much of what has happened will achieve anything either.

But what I do see is the fact that there are real issues here that are impacting certain people more than they are impacting you. Attending this university is a privilege that will be revoked entirely when students even less fortunate than you will be financially forced into withdrawal.

[andrewberkeley]

I LIKE the emotional flute music. It makes me feel so EMOTIONAL while it is playing in the background.

It is so subtle like a unicorn in a meadow at sunset, just before it gets a few whacks with a night stick to keep things in control

[homeand]

dude your video is opinionated and unclear about the whole picture

[andrewberkeley]

uh..if its unclear...than how is it opinionated? Its just a video, not a news channel. I think the cops are bullies and thugs. They take power through force. Look at em...they are ignorant and untrained, taking orders, and beating on people.

[MinuteOrMinute]

i think it's because of the first part of the clip, where it cuts directly to a move which makes it look like the cop pulled her down, when from other reports this was not the case (thus, bias). but the baton swinging is definitely a confirmable incident.

[avatarr8]

Thank you for filming and posting! Its so important that everyone see how the police acted.