6am-UCLA Fights Back organizers arrive as AFSCME office to set-up picket.
7am-Student leaders and unions meet to concertize plan.
7:30am-Picket. Public comment line forms.
8am-Public comment speakers and 75 speakers, white-liners, and Regents are let into Regents’ meeting room.
8-10am-Students speak at public comment about affordability, access, and diversity. Students’ speak about issues of underrepresented minority students, undocumented students, and low-income students. Workers speak in solidarity with students and on workers’ rights and contracts. Coalition disrupts meeting several time. Teresa and Alejandra are thrown out by Berky Nelson and several cops at the request of Regents. Updates are given outside.
10am-(Inside Covel) After police clear the room, 6 students (from Student Worker Front) and 2 organizers (from AFSCME 3299) stay in the room and sing "we shall overcome"; they are arrested and go peacefully.
10:30am-Students outside see opportunity to occupy but are prevented by self-appointed student police. "Student police" assists police in holding protesters back from entering building.
11am - Regents quickly move to finance committee discussion after re-convening, they illegally begin discussions without letting public in; after negotiations with the police, 60 students are let back into Regents' meeting.
11:30am - 5 students (from Student Worker Front) stand up inside Covel, during the regents' meeting, and disrupt their discussion of the fee hikes by singing "we shall overcome". 50 students in public area raise their fists silently, in solidarity with the students who are singing. the singing students are escorted out by the police and arrested peacefully.
11:30am-Skirmishes begin with the police outside of Covel Commons where the Regents are holding their meeting. One student has been tasered and kicked back by cops. One student in the rush has injured his leg and National Lawyers Guild is on the scene to help. Police target black men due to racism.
11:40am-Students protest. Inside Regents’ Meeting several students are arrested and released. Swat team and police give students 10 minutes to evacuate, at least 10 arrests.
11:40am - 12:30pm-Police demand protesters disperse for no valid legal reason. Students maintain their ground. Police aim and threaten with riot gear and semi-lethal weapons. After a 30+ minute stand off police move crowd away from front entrance of Covel.
12:55-1:10pm-Reports that at least 3 members of UCLA's Afrikan Student Union have been tasered by police, more beaten with batons.
2-4pm-Teach-outs held at Covel Commons. Bob Samuels’ class and Chicana Feminism class.
5:00pm-Crisis Fest and Tent city set-up begins.
6:00pm-About 75-100 people at Crisis Fest/Tent City. Hip hop fills the campus as we wait for buses from Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, San Diego, Santa Cruz, and more.
7-9pm Bands, live performances at Crisis Fest. Unions and USAC provide free dinners and warm drinks to students and workers setting up tents.
9: 00pm-Buses from Berkeley come in, wild dancing begins.
10:00pm-University shuts down sound at Crisis Fest, students form a general assembly to talk about the effects of racism, the wars abroad, capitalism and the future of the student movement.
10:30pm-People invited on stage to share their own ideas and opinions about the student movement. Rousing speeches.
11:45pm Bus from San Diego arrives.
8-10am-Students speak at public comment about affordability, access, and diversity. Students’ speak about issues of underrepresented minority students, undocumented students, and low-income students. Workers speak in solidarity with students and on workers’ rights and contracts. Coalition disrupts meeting several time. Teresa and Alejandra are thrown out by Berky Nelson and several cops at the request of Regents. Updates are given outside.
10am-(Inside Covel) After police clear the room, 6 students (from Student Worker Front) and 2 organizers (from AFSCME 3299) stay in the room and sing "we shall overcome"; they are arrested and go peacefully.
10:30am-Students outside see opportunity to occupy but are prevented by self-appointed student police. "Student police" assists police in holding protesters back from entering building.
11am - Regents quickly move to finance committee discussion after re-convening, they illegally begin discussions without letting public in; after negotiations with the police, 60 students are let back into Regents' meeting.
11:30am - 5 students (from Student Worker Front) stand up inside Covel, during the regents' meeting, and disrupt their discussion of the fee hikes by singing "we shall overcome". 50 students in public area raise their fists silently, in solidarity with the students who are singing. the singing students are escorted out by the police and arrested peacefully.
11:30am-Skirmishes begin with the police outside of Covel Commons where the Regents are holding their meeting. One student has been tasered and kicked back by cops. One student in the rush has injured his leg and National Lawyers Guild is on the scene to help. Police target black men due to racism.
11:40am-Students protest. Inside Regents’ Meeting several students are arrested and released. Swat team and police give students 10 minutes to evacuate, at least 10 arrests.
11:40am - 12:30pm-Police demand protesters disperse for no valid legal reason. Students maintain their ground. Police aim and threaten with riot gear and semi-lethal weapons. After a 30+ minute stand off police move crowd away from front entrance of Covel.
12:55-1:10pm-Reports that at least 3 members of UCLA's Afrikan Student Union have been tasered by police, more beaten with batons.
2-4pm-Teach-outs held at Covel Commons. Bob Samuels’ class and Chicana Feminism class.
5:00pm-Crisis Fest and Tent city set-up begins.
6:00pm-About 75-100 people at Crisis Fest/Tent City. Hip hop fills the campus as we wait for buses from Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, San Diego, Santa Cruz, and more.
7-9pm Bands, live performances at Crisis Fest. Unions and USAC provide free dinners and warm drinks to students and workers setting up tents.
9: 00pm-Buses from Berkeley come in, wild dancing begins.
10:00pm-University shuts down sound at Crisis Fest, students form a general assembly to talk about the effects of racism, the wars abroad, capitalism and the future of the student movement.
10:30pm-People invited on stage to share their own ideas and opinions about the student movement. Rousing speeches.
11:45pm Bus from San Diego arrives.
November 19, 2009
12:30am: Students occupy Campbell Hall and rename it Carter-Huggins, after two Black Panthers shot at UCLA in 1969.
2am: Campbell Hall still occupied.
5am-Unions and students awake for live media feed from Tent City.
5:10am-Organizers wake-up Tent City with KTLA media coverage. 200 march to Covel.
6 am-Picket begins at Covel. Organizers see an opening for occupation. Crowd takes side entrance; they are met by police at a secondary door. They chant, share spoken word, are energized and retreat to return to picket.
7am-Students issue communique: http://uclaresists.blogspot.com/2009/11/communique-from-ucla-occupation.html
10am-"Student police" consistently do job of police. They form a barricade; students hesitate and are more vulnerable to police brutality. Organizers urge "student police" to back-off in the interest of the movement. "Student police" refuse claiming that they are protecting AB540 students. Reports from AB540 students confirm that they were able to decide for themselves which actions to participate in given vulnerable legal status.
10:30am -Students take opportunity to include campus in protest. Students leave Regents meeting protest for campus-wide march. 150 students begin class disruptions and calls for solidarity. Many students walkout of class to join march. Students rush through Powell, Haines, Royce and other buildings screaming "walkout."
10:45am-Die-In mourning death of public education. Student quickly rise and continue protesting.
11am- 500 students march from Covel to Campbell hall to support the occupation.
11am-Student march has taken over intersection of Westwood and Le Conte. About 700 and growing.
11:05am-Second group of marchers join march at Westwood and Le Conte. Happy re-union. Students then move on to take Wilshire and Westwood one of LA’s busiest intersections.
12:30pm-Students arrive in Westwood, blocking of Wilshire, marching down Wilshire to Veteran and back to Covel.
1pm-Return to Covel, several speakers address issues of racism and privatization. Approximately three speakers express support for the occupation.
1pm-Vote for 32% tuition hikes confirmed. The UC Board of Regents voted, as threatened, for a two-year phased 32% increase in student fees despite system-wide protests yesterday and throughout the quarter. In response, thousands of students, faculty and workers have blocked the exits to the meeting space. The regents are locked-in.
2:20pm-Students and workers surround exits and vehicles escorting Regents out. Students chase all Regents’ and chant ‘Shame On You’, etc. Police presence is stepped up. Pepper spray, tear gas, tasers, batons, and excessive force is used on a small number of students in several locations. One van is blocked from exiting in front of Sproul containing 2 Regents and Ward Connerly. Police eventually escort all Regents off campus, many are forced to leave cars in parking lot.
2:30pm-Chicana Feminism class is held outside, on the steps of Campbell Hall, explaining the history of the Black Panthers assassinated there and some reasons behind the occupation
6pm-Last stand off between police and protestors ends in a dance-in. Students serve the cops with b-boy moves, poplockin’, Afro-Brazilian, and swing dancing. Students beat drums and chant to the beat, ‘Who are you serving and protecting?’ Cops realize they are losers and leave.
6:30-7pm-Small group head to Campbell to support occupation. Students are invited in and discussion takes place. A small group of students come in, are let in, and start chastising occupiers and allies. They start screaming, attempting to break locks, and rip down Carter-Huggins banner. They claim to represent underrepresented minority students, although occupiers and allies are majority students of color, and eventually push for occupation to end. Students do not want to end occupation, many leave disappointed. Students (excluding "meeting hijackers" who left after "hostile intervention") agree to continue discussion and move forward together.
edits:
ReplyDelete10am - (inside covel where regents are meeting) after police clear the room, 6 students (from student worker front) and 2 organizers (from AFSCME 3299) stay in the room and sing "we shall overcome"; they are arrested peacefully
11am - regents quickly move to finance committee discussion after re-convening, they illegally begin discussions without letting public in; after negociations with the police, 60 students are let back into the public section of where the regents' are meeting and discussing the fee hikes
11:30am - 5 students (from student worker front) stand up inside Covel, during the regents' meeting, and disrupt their discussion of the fee hikes by singing "we shall overcome". 50 students in public area raise their fists silently, in solidarity with the students who are singing. the singing students are escorted out by the police and arrested peacefully.
another edit:
ReplyDeleteoccupation does not end peaceflly. some students that were invited in start screaming at the occupiers and start to attempt to destroy the door locks occupiers had set up. so occupiers are forced to escape as a result of this!
Why is the occupier voice not being heard?
ReplyDeleteThis must be edited to reflect the facts of the final hour. See the official occupation statement on the matter at http://bit.ly/4CaCHK
"Student police" (aka the small group of domestic students determined to root out immigrant students from the protest, supposedly in immigrants' own interest) literally raided the occupation and brought it to its knees just in time for the fire department and the cops to declare it unsafe and wave everyone out with a smile. Hidden intentions are still intentions!
Liberated Carter-Huggins Hall fell to antidemocratic invasion. That is what this small group of students chose to do to the free space: destroy it so students couldn't have it. This was how they responded when they were invited to participate in the occupation. They chose to kill it by themselves and the actual occupiers made the decision to abandon a space that was being physically and emotionally broken down from inside by the hostile takeover.
This particular group of student police were not the first to try shutting down the liberated student space at Carter-Huggins Hall, but they were the most authentically students, so if the student body was to end things this way, it was at least a student way, if a fascist one, but let the record reflect THE FACTS, not the hijackers' unilateral story. At the very least, present both! YOU MUST EDIT!
I tried to reflect occupiers' reports. Feedback is welcome.
ReplyDeleteSomeone did a video about student police.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHOnIJ2W1R4