The Student Advocate’s Office, an independent office within the UC Berkeley student government, has prepared a blistering report on last Friday’s Wheeler Hall arrests, accusing the university of “egregious” misbehavior in its response to the Wheeler Hall occupation.

The report contends that the mass arrests at Wheeler Hall were planned from the start of the occupation, and that those plans were kept secret from the occupiers and the university community. It accuses the Berkeley administration of “misleading” the public, of negotiating in “bad faith” with the students at Wheeler, and of ignoring the “potentially dire consequences” of their actions.

I spoke on the phone with a representative of the SAO who confirmed the authenticity of the report, which was posted this afternoon at liveweek.net, the website of the Wheeler occupation. A short while ago I published a lengthy analysis of the report on the basis of that confirmation. A new note appended to the transcript at liveweek.net, however, now describes the report as a “leaked draft” and says that “the language in this document does not represent the views of the SAO.”

In light of this information I have pulled the long version of this post. I will repost with any necessary revisions when the final report becomes available.

Tuesday update: I’ve spoken with a second representative of the SAO, who confirms that the final report has not been completed. I’ll bring it to you as soon as it’s released.

Wednesday update: The report has been released, and I’ve posted a copy of it here. Full analysis soon.

Thursday update: Here are my thoughts on the implications of the SAO report.