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Six Arrested for Planting Oak Seedling
Today six people were arrested at a Memorial Oak Grove protest for planting a seedling on the Chancellor's lawn.
Every week we meet at 2:00 pm on Sundays to support the Memorial oak Grove tree sit. We tried to get the tree sitters food in past weeks but the police have made it so difficult to succeed. For instance this Sunday, and last, they stationed a cherry picker to block the tree sitters from being able to get to the trees near the sidewalk. This week we decided to have a different kind of action. We all gathered and then marched to the Chancellor's mansion. Police got there before us and kept us away from the building. We gathered on a lawn outside of the hedge around the yard proper. We held a prayer for Rosebud Denovo, killed in this building in 1992 and for Donna Spring, recently deceased Berkeley City Council member who supported the Oaks.
We gathered in a circle. A small oak seedling that was grown from an acorn from Memorial oak grove was placed in the middle. Several people went to it and began to dig a hole in the ground. The police came closer and filmed. The soil was hard and they scraped it away with sticks and bits of metal. Finally they had a nice hole ad planted the young tree. We relaxed around it and tried to imagine it in 200 years. Some people split off and headed up to the Oak Grove. In a bit we got a call. The police were arresting some of the people for damage to the lawn. More people rushed up there. Others headed off to get away but two cops cars sped after us and the cops arrested two more people for the supposed crime of planting a tree. Eventually five people were arrested for planting a small tree and one for objecting to the arrests.
Please come next Sunday at 2:00.
check out saveoaks.com for more info.
We gathered in a circle. A small oak seedling that was grown from an acorn from Memorial oak grove was placed in the middle. Several people went to it and began to dig a hole in the ground. The police came closer and filmed. The soil was hard and they scraped it away with sticks and bits of metal. Finally they had a nice hole ad planted the young tree. We relaxed around it and tried to imagine it in 200 years. Some people split off and headed up to the Oak Grove. In a bit we got a call. The police were arresting some of the people for damage to the lawn. More people rushed up there. Others headed off to get away but two cops cars sped after us and the cops arrested two more people for the supposed crime of planting a tree. Eventually five people were arrested for planting a small tree and one for objecting to the arrests.
Please come next Sunday at 2:00.
check out saveoaks.com for more info.
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From a Native Perspective
I as a Native American leader/elder and current mayoral candidate for the City of Berkeley (endorsed by Cindy Sheehan). I was witness to this pathetic incident where six people were arrested for planting a Oak tree sapling from the grove in memory of Councilwoman Donna Spring. The six charged with vandalism while the University of California at Berkeley(UCB) makes and designs all the Nuclear bombs in Western hemisphere. In final desperate move they gathered ten officers to push and intimidate vigilant supporters off the grounds (UCB) to eventually have a female officer yank the sapling out of it's new home. We communicated with Bobby B. (Chancellor Robert Birgenau who claims Mohawk ancestry) that the Mohawk Warrior Society supports the Oak Grove and the RunningWolf campaign but also new life as the sapling in the Late Donna Spring honor.
The UCPD continues to abuse peoples civil rights; converting Cal into a private school, kicking students and California taxpayers off public property.
Who is the vandal? We uprooted invasive grass from Europe to plant a native coastal live oak and the UCPD destroyed the sapling.
We call on the community to continue to support the treesit and help create the change we so desperately need in this world.
Respectfully,
Zachary RunninWofl
I as a Native American leader/elder and current mayoral candidate for the City of Berkeley (endorsed by Cindy Sheehan). I was witness to this pathetic incident where six people were arrested for planting a Oak tree sapling from the grove in memory of Councilwoman Donna Spring. The six charged with vandalism while the University of California at Berkeley(UCB) makes and designs all the Nuclear bombs in Western hemisphere. In final desperate move they gathered ten officers to push and intimidate vigilant supporters off the grounds (UCB) to eventually have a female officer yank the sapling out of it's new home. We communicated with Bobby B. (Chancellor Robert Birgenau who claims Mohawk ancestry) that the Mohawk Warrior Society supports the Oak Grove and the RunningWolf campaign but also new life as the sapling in the Late Donna Spring honor.
The UCPD continues to abuse peoples civil rights; converting Cal into a private school, kicking students and California taxpayers off public property.
Who is the vandal? We uprooted invasive grass from Europe to plant a native coastal live oak and the UCPD destroyed the sapling.
We call on the community to continue to support the treesit and help create the change we so desperately need in this world.
Respectfully,
Zachary RunninWofl
When cops arrest people for properly disposing of human waste, the consequences are quite predictable. Don't blame us for the police siege and it's natural results. I personally handled countless piss-jugs at that grove. The fact that people go to the bathroom in the grove doesn't make it any less sacred.
Looks like a beautiful action happened. Typical UCPD throwing people in cages for no good reason. They need to start serving the public like their mission statement says, instead of mindlessly carrying out oppressive often illegal orders from UC beuracrats.
Looks like a beautiful action happened. Typical UCPD throwing people in cages for no good reason. They need to start serving the public like their mission statement says, instead of mindlessly carrying out oppressive often illegal orders from UC beuracrats.
If you like to plant oak seeds, perhaps you should volunteer to help plan the three seedlings that will be planted for every tree removed in the coming months once the building starts in earnest.
Donna Spring and the other politicos on the Berkeley city council do not represent the students or campus community, they represent a vocal activist community that wants to impose its values on the campus community.
The campus layout and tree park is quite beauiful as it is, lawns and all. You don't need to go around and plant seeds where they don't belong. There are hundreds of tree species on campus, most of which are non native. the campus flora is used as a beautiful display to the trees around the world, from norwegian maples at the top of Bancroft to the north african atlas cedars west of Doe. You guys crack me up with your flora purity mindset, it comes across like a republican anti-immigrant rant. There are 100,000 acres of native oak habitat in Alameda County alone, and over one billion native oak trees in California, so it's not like that small landscaping strip is invaluable.
Move on to a legitimate cause.
Donna Spring and the other politicos on the Berkeley city council do not represent the students or campus community, they represent a vocal activist community that wants to impose its values on the campus community.
The campus layout and tree park is quite beauiful as it is, lawns and all. You don't need to go around and plant seeds where they don't belong. There are hundreds of tree species on campus, most of which are non native. the campus flora is used as a beautiful display to the trees around the world, from norwegian maples at the top of Bancroft to the north african atlas cedars west of Doe. You guys crack me up with your flora purity mindset, it comes across like a republican anti-immigrant rant. There are 100,000 acres of native oak habitat in Alameda County alone, and over one billion native oak trees in California, so it's not like that small landscaping strip is invaluable.
Move on to a legitimate cause.
Really, if the police hadn't removed the plant then those guys would start to congregate around the Chancellor's house, possibly even "moving" base there.
The real question is, if this Zach Wolf guy didn't have the foresight to see that (as witnessed in the post above), what makes him think he would be a good mayor for the city? What makes him think people can be above the law and trespass and alter the property of another person's 'home'? I'd really like to know, honestly.
The real question is, if this Zach Wolf guy didn't have the foresight to see that (as witnessed in the post above), what makes him think he would be a good mayor for the city? What makes him think people can be above the law and trespass and alter the property of another person's 'home'? I'd really like to know, honestly.
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