Sunday Update | I have rewritten this post to reflect new information received this evening.
Ten days ago, fifty-one UC Davis students and one professor were arrested in the course of an occupation of Mrak Hall, the Davis administration building. Five days ago, students took over Mrak Hall again, demanding that criminal prosecution of those 52 be abandoned. On Friday afternoon, it looked like they had almost gotten their wish.
The UC Davis administration negotiated an end to the second takeover on Tuesday, agreeing — among other things — to urge the Yolo County DA to set aside all charges against those demonstrators. On Friday it was widely reported that the DA had agreed not to bring charges against 51 of them.
But that’s not quite what happened.
The charges against the “Mrak 51” haven’t been dropped, they’ve just been set aside, and they can be brought forward again at any time during the coming year. As the DA said in a news release, he hopes “that future student demonstrations will comply with the law and eliminate the need for the district attorney’s involvement.” If students act up again, in other words, last week’s threats of prosecution can be revived.
Meanwhile, charges are going forward against Bree Holmes, a student who was accused of assaulting a police officer during the demonstration. Holmes is said to have been slammed up against a police cruiser while being arrested, and the Davis administration has agreed to conduct a review of the circumstances of her arrest.
Supporters of the Mrak Hall activists will be holding a rally on the UC Davis quad on Monday, November 30 at 2 pm.
studentactivism.net 
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December 1, 2009 at 6:09 am
Kevin A. McLemore
Indeed, Yolo County DA Jeff Riesing stated to the Sacramento Bee that criminal charges could be filed against the Mrak 52 within one year of their arrest. Thus, Janet Gong, as a representative of UCD administration, did not quite follow through with one of her signed agreements (or she was less than honest in her “advocate on the behalf of those arrested” statement) made with us during the second Mrak occupation. However, we can be certain that we UCD students will face arrest again for not “respecting hours of operation” of university buildings. This is a clear and frightening possibility that demonstrates the power that the UCD administration holds in contrast to the UCD students, faculty, and staff. In addition, I believe this new information runs counter to a previous statement made on this site that alluded to the implicit “safety” of the those students involved in the second Mrak and future occupations of not facing further arrest and academic punishment. Bring on the UCD police with their ability to inflict harm on unarmed individuals!