Northbay Uprising - Information for the liberated zones of the San Pablo Bay

2011-09-14 “WHEELER 14” STANDING TRIAL THIS WEEK FOR PRO-EDUCATION DEMONSTRATIONS AT UC BERKELEY by Graham Archer [graham@garcher.com] from National Lawyer’s Guild
OAKLAND — A group of 14 students and pro-education activists are beginning trial today at 9 a.m. for charges relating to their involvement in pro-education demonstrations last March 2nd at Wheeler Hall on the UC-Berkeley campus.
The demonstrators – who nonviolently protested escalating tuition hikes that are making a UC education unaffordable for countless Californians – are pleading not guilty to charges of trespassing for staging a sit-in within a campus building. The trial is being held in Alameda County Superior Court at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse, 661 Washington St.
On March 2, a coalition of campus and community organizations staged a demonstration against budget cuts to the UC and CSU system that would drastically raise the cost of higher education in California and impact ethnic studies. Near the end of the night-time demonstration, 17 students were arrested when they staged a sit-in in the lobby of Wheeler Hall. Of those, 14 face charges of charged with trespassing, and three others are additionally charged with peacefully delaying an officer, otherwise known as peacefully resisting arrest.
These demonstrations are part of an ongoing movement among the students of UC Berkeley and around the world in the fight for affordable education. As politicians race feverishly to cut social programs from already strained state and national budgets, tuitions at public universities have reached a record high, leaving many low income students unable to attend. Despite the firings, the furloughs, and the fee increases, administrators continue to receive regular wage increases and bonuses while those who use the university clamor for justice. As demonstration after demonstration, op-ed articles, and a growing chorus of bloggers have warned of the long-term consequences of neglecting higher education, UC students have received nothing but another 9.6% fee hike. And those students who raised a peaceful but insistent call for quality affordable education are being prosecuted in an attempt to silence their walk to the debt-guillotine.
The defendants—representing Laney Community College, UC Berkeley, San Jose State University, San Jose Community College, Diablo Valley College, San Francisco State, and local high schools—have asked for anyone who stands in solidarity with affordable education, free speech and against the repression of peaceful protest to attend the trial and spread the word!
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The Blind Willies have put together a video of their performance at the Wheeler Hall demonstration that includes a lot of footage from the actual demonstration/police action.
Blind Willies – Soon My Work Will Be Over [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGzkdDqa1Cc]


2011-09-12 "Wheeler 21 to stand trial for pro-education demonstrations"
[http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20110912014140831]
21 students and pro-education activists are set to stand trial trial beginning Monday, September 12 for charges related to the pro-education demonstrations that occurred on March 2 and March 3, 2011 at Wheeler Hall, University of California Berkeley.
Trial will take place the week of September 12 beginning at 9 am in the Wiley Courthouse, Oakland. We will be pleading not guilty and ask for anyone who stands for freedom and education and against the persecution of peaceful activists to stand with us in solidarity by filling the courtroom during our trial and spreading the word.
On March 2, a coalition of campus and community organizations staged a demonstration against the recently announced budget cuts to the UC and CSU system that would drastically raise the cost of higher education in California and impact Ethnic Studies. Near the end of the demonstration 17 students were arrested during a sit-in staged in the lobby of Wheeler Hall, 14 of whom have since been charged with trespassing with three facing additional charges of peacefully delaying an officer, aka resisting arrest.
On March 3, a second demonstration was staged atop the 4th story ledge of the same building demanding that leniency be given to the peaceful protestors arrested during the two-day demonstration and to the protestors facing charges relating to a November 2009 pro-education demonstration. The university agreed to these demands and the brief, yet powerful occupation ended peacefully. The University subsequently reneged on what has become a symbolic good faith agreement between students and a well-paid administration.
This move on the part of UC Berkeley is unique in that student activists are usually processed internally, through the Office of Student Conduct, or not at all. In addition, the culmination of the second demonstration on March 3rd was contingent upon the University’s agreement to grant leniency to the activists present on both days. Other questions arise given the selectiveness on which the students were charged. Based on unknown factors, some students have been delivered heavier sentences than others with no correlation to any other criteria.
We are represented by a team of attorneys from the National Lawyer's Guild, please contact Graham Archer, graham@garcher.com, for comment and details on the time of the trial. The case will be dismissed if it is not heard by September 19th per our Sixth Amendment rights. What is really at stake is our public education system and our First Amendment right to defend it.
These demonstrations are part of an ongoing movement among the students of UC Berkeley and around the world in the fight for affordable education. With the cost of attending institutions of higher education on the rise, tuition hikes, state funding decreases, and a misallocation of funds within the university, the students of March 2nd and 3rd resorted to peaceful demonstrations, yet again, to express their grievances with the university. However, the actions have fallen on deaf ears.
As demonstration after demonstration, continuous op-ed articles, an endless stream of blogging, and world-wide demonstrations of a similar kind have bombarded the ears and eyes of the Regents of the University, the students have been given nil in return except another 9.6% fee hike. An increase such as this coupled with such blatant disregard for the cries of students demonstrates the void of compassion within the UC’s administration. Students have not only been locked behind bars but have been silenced along their walk to the debt-guillotine, in return for their calls for affordable, equal education.