11:30 am | According to Twitter reports from @OccupyCA, there is a sit-in going on at the office of the chancellor of the University of California at Irvine at this hour. The feed reported two hours ago — around 9:30 in the morning, California time — that twenty students were sitting in.
A few minutes after 11 am it reported that arrests were imminent, but accorting to the most tweet, at 11:24 am, students outside the sit-in were barricading the building to prevent police from making arrests.
More as I get it.
11:40 am | A post at the Occupy CA blog says the sit-in at Aldrich Hall, the UCI administration building, began at 9:30. It reports that it’s a budget protest (not a response to the Irvine 11 arrests or today’s UCSD anti-racism day of action).
11:45 am | An update to the Occupy CA post links to a fifteen-point list of demands from the occupation. Most of the demands are budget-related, but the list also calls for an end to the outfitting of campus police with Tasers, the creation of gender-neutral bathrooms at UCI, and amnesty for the Irvine 11.
11:50 am | A new update at Occupy CA says that “police, administrators, and sit-in participants are barricaded inside” the administration building. A tweet from @kellyramsey says that at least two of the building’s entrances have been barricaded with dumpsters.
By the way, Irvine has seen a lot of action already this semester. In addition to the Irvine 11 arrests mentioned earlier, there was a library study-in on campus just last weekend.
1:10 pm | There are reports from two sources that between fifteen and seventeen people have been arrested inside the building, but as of about half an hour ago Occupy CA was saying that the presence of supporters outside had prevented the police from removing anyone from inside. The reports of arrests suggest that three or four of those arrested are service workers at the university — one of the protest’s demands is the rehiring of one hundred and fifty workers whose jobs were recently outsourced.
1:20 pm | Multiple reports indicate that protesters have blocked a street near the administration building with dumpsters. Latest tweet from Occupy CA says police have given order to disperse.
4:30 pm | Eighteen people cited and released at the scene. Given that protesters occupied and barricaded an administration building, forcing its evacuation, defying police attempts to remove barricades, and shutting down a nearby street, the fact that nobody was jailed is striking. Coming eight days before March 4, it seems quite significant. More on the implications later, but between this and the events at UCSD, this was a very interesting day at the University of California.
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February 24, 2010 at 3:57 pm
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it should be noted that it started as a sit-in and nothing more, but when outsiders began seeing hand cuffs, they acted in support of the people inside.
February 25, 2010 at 6:40 pm
deterritorialization
I am really glad about the outside support, and I’m glad that the charge is apparently fairly minor. But getting some of the most committed fighters arrested in the days leading up to March 4th just seems stupid to me. Why did they refuse to leave when ordered to? To those people who need the struggle most but can least afford the privilege of being arrested symbolically, what message are these arrests supposed to send?
February 25, 2010 at 10:09 pm
anteater
@Deterritorialization: I don’t want to get into all the specifics of our campus or expose all our fault-lines, but there are several groups working there. The ones who are gonna make M4 eventful walked away unscathed (or are ignoring their charges); the ones who were arrested for the most part wouldn’t be putting themselves in arrestable positions on M4 anyway. The arrests propelled the mobilization leading up to M4 more than hold it back.