Police Attack Students Protesting UCSC Development Plan

BREAKING NEWS
11/7/07, 1:00 pm

From a phone report:

Students protesting UC Santa Cruz's long-range development plan are under attack by police. A protest participant reported that at least a dozen students have been pepper-sprayed and that police can be seen with other "less than lethal" weapons, including tear gas canisters, tazers, and metal batons. Among the police officers are members of the UC Police Department, the Santa Cruz Police Department, the California Highway Patrol, and the Scotts Valley Police Department. More police are reportedly on their way, and the situation on campus is being described as "tense."

Hundreds of students rallied at 11 am today at UCSC's Baytree Plaza before marching to a site slated for new development under the plan, on the campus' Science Hill. Two tree-sits have been established on the site. The tree-sits have been cordoned off by police, and at 4 am today, police arrested a supporter delivering supplies for the tree-sitters.

UCSC's long-range development plan is widely opposed by students, faculty, and Santa Cruz residents. Opponents of the plan argue that it will undermine the quality of undergraduate education, devastate the campus' forests, and open the way for the further privatization of the university. Opponents also criticize the university for failing to meaningfully involve students and community members in its decision-making processes and for going ahead with the plan in spite of financial difficulties facing the university.