”
UC Berkeley-ites take to the trees, protest campus connections to British Petroleum – others are in the trees re saving the historic oak trees , still others have diffrent reasons. How come no one ever sits in trees over the border issue? This is the kind of thing that should appear on that “Stuff White People Like” that I linked to last month. Or is protesting in trees about “Things White People Dislike” ? I emailed this to some less ‘privileged’ at a state school, who have bigger, more awful things to protest about- they laughed.
UC Berkeley officials say the tree-sitters have cost the school $367,000 since the protest began one year ago:
$100,000
Police staffing
$125,000
Private security
$37,000
First fence around protest site
$80,000
Second fence around protest site
$25,000
Equipment, cleanup and other costs
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/02/BAONTM4SC.DTL
above, A balloon-totin (fake-fur, natch) “furry” shows up at the Berkeley protest-replete with de rigeur bad-ass face scarf. Color me impressed that he is so secure with his manly-man-ness he can go out like this, for a cause. Swoon.
Dude, you are friggin awesome.
http://www.zombietime.com/oak_grove_tree-sit_anniversary/
Site above says there is a court order “Don’t feed the protesters!”
See what happens when your mom is a doctor and the nanny has you watch “Raiders of the Lost Ark” video too many times? Whee! Be careful or
http://www.nbc11.com/news/14574327/detail.html Tree-sitter takes 40ft dive, breaks 2 of own limbs.
This site had pics from Dec 07, but the tree sitters are still there-amidst waste-buckets and take-out (not very sustaaaiinable, no?)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/11/BAMVVHDJ4.DTL
Police said they would not arrest the tree-sitter, a former Berkeley business student who calls himself Fresh, if he climbed down the tree voluntarily. But he remained steadfast, holding a bucket of human waste and shouting to a crowd of about 500 students who had gathered to watch the spectacle around noon near Wheeler Hall.
Fresh said he’s trying to draw attention to the university’s research deal with oil industry giant BP, efforts to democratize the Board of Regents and other campus issues.
more pics, links http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=Berkeley++tree&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
The Spoils of War 
Berkeley really is like another planet. I saw recently that they no longer celebrate Columbus Day in Berkeley; it’s now called “Indigenous Peoples Day”. Somehow I don’t think that’d go over very well with the paisans in NY or NJ…
Matt- yep, Beserkeley is the Mt. Everest of the Uber-Lefitist -White Self-Hating -Tofu-eating- White Dreadlocked-Kook crowd.
I think there are serious concerns that the protester is rightly highlighting and which have not otherwise received sufficient attention.
Gov Schwarzenegger’s recent appointment of controversial John Hotchkis as a Regent illustrates the need to democratize the process so everyday citizens are able to hold such important officials more accountable.
The BP deal also raised serious concerns about transparency, effects on world food prices, and shared faculty governance.
See: http://www.democratizetheregents.org
And: http://www.stopbp-berkeley.org
Another “Plano, Texas” IP. Hmm. Thanks for coming by- I realize there are many issues that prompt the tree-climbing/camping. I admire the radical spirit of it, though you have to admit, it is kind of wacky- people living in trees with poop buckets, guys dressed in furry costumes. Other groups riot and turn over cars and burn things-
Methods of protest are fascinating- I guess the “bottom line” is , does it work? If you can get your issue solved by this tree business, then right on.
There should be a protest about these longhairs violating the rights of these trees. Mother Gaia did not put our tree brothers and sisters on this land to be lived in. For the children, please stop!