A Series of Tubes

Well I haven’t had a chance to talk to the tree sitters but things sure have changed. The encampment that was below the tree sitters has been cleared out and the parking lot that the tree sitters are above is now in full use. Over the break the University hired a tree cutting company to clean out the encampment. Someone then slashed the tires and vandalized the company that cleaned the site. The official response from the University has been an escalation of violence. There have been more pepper spraying. The University has hired a private security force to stand by the site of the tree sit. Previously the security personnel were stationed inside the physical sciences building.

So are the two sides talking? Well Blumenthal stated in an email that went out on the 8th that “Student Affairs staff have continued to visit the site on a regular basis to check on the health and welfare of any students there, and CSC police have continued to issue daily warnings about violations of law and campus regulations.” Having people stop by and talk to the protestors is good, having the police stop by and harass people won’t put the protesters in a negotiating mood. It is hard to take the University’s attempts at negotiation seriously when they send people to talk to the protesters and then just a little bit later they send in police to harrass, arrest, pepper spray, etc.

The same email from blumenthal states that:

“We are seeking a court order that would expressly prohibit named defendants and all other individuals from engaging in the types of activities that have occurred at the site. A hearing is scheduled for January 9 in Santa Cruz County Superior Court.”

Awesome. The University is going to sue its own students. If you want to stir up a big pot of animosity and hatred, then that’s the way to do it. Can’t the university go and hire someone that is good at conflict resolution? Wouldn’t that be a more fiscally sound policy? Come on University. Stop wasting my money on lawyers and police raids. Do they honestly think that it will get rid of any underlying problems here?

Also in Blumenthal’s email: “Several citations have been issued at the site in connection with activities there.” – I really don’t think that handing out citations will work.

So here we are. Months into a protest where the University has tried the stick repeatedly. Where is the carrot? The carrot is less expensive. The carrot fosters a better learning environment.

I forget the name of the lady in pink in the picture, but she came and talked with the grad students before the break about the LRDP and the tree sit. She was very nice, kind and warm. She is definitely someone that can be reasoned to, unless she is a completely different person than the one I talked to. So does that mean that the protesters cannot be talked to? Well I got an email from one of them who said basically “hey I read your blog. I liked some, I disliked other parts. I would like to talk to you”. I’m stuck here. Talking in a peaceful, calm, constructive, non threatening way that results in a safer and better campus should be possible. I’m pretty sure that it is the goal of everyone involved.

The most hilarious thing about this whole debacle has got to be the signs that got posted all around the site. I think if you were to stand in the center of the parking lot you could probably count at least 10 signs without moving. The University just went sign crazy. And what is the major hazard that might occur? They might drop something. Yes the tree sitters are slightly less dangerous than this hill:

I think that if the University was really serious about this falling objects thing they should start handing out hard hats for people to wear for 30 feet as they pass by the site. If signs won’t get the tree sitters down then surely mandatory hard hats on a small stretch of sidewalk will. Someone should do that just to show how dumb and childish the University is responding to the tree sit. Is it too much to ask that people talk to each other like adults?