BERKELEY IN 2010? THE YOUTH IS STARTING TO CHANGE

BERKELEY IN 2010? THE YOUTH IS STARTING TO CHANGE 

Courtesy of Richard Metzger at Dangerous Minds 

What’s gotten into the water at UC Berkeley? I personally think this is a positive development and hope to see more of it in the future. The young people in this country are too fucking passive. They need to wake up and flex their collective political muscle or risk ceding their futures to the dum-dum Tea party types… which would be a huge tactical error.

“The youth is starting to change. Are you starting to change? Are you? Together”—MGMT, The Youth

What began as a dance party on Upper Sproul Plaza led to an occupation of Durant Hall at around 11:15 p.m. Thursday to raise support for the March 4 statewide protest in support of public education.

According to a statement distributed by the occupiers, the building was selected because of its symbolic nature. Durant Hall formerly housed the campus East Asian Library and the campus Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures. It is now being renovated to become office space for the College of Letters and Science, which spurred activists to “reclaim” the space for students.

UCPD Captain Margo Bennett said the occupiers “cut a lock to get into the construction area and then cut a lock to get into the building” before vandalizing the area.

“There were windows broken, there was spray painting and graffiti on the interior, there was construction equipment that was tossed around,” she said.

The occupation evolved into a riot as it moved onto streets south of campus, where a protester broke several windows of the Subway at Bancroft Way and Telegraph Avenue at about 1:41 a.m.