Open Letter To UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ and Berkeley City Council

To UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ, and Berkeley City Council

[In preface, this author was not present at the raid of People's Park, nor has this author been at the ongoing protest scene. This author is writing as a concerned Californian, unaffiliated with any protest group in Berkeley. All facts have been gleaned from news reporting, as well as video and photography found online.]

Chancellor and Council, simply put: What did you think was going to happen?

Seriously, how did none of you think that perhaps the closure of People's Park might illicit feelings of frustration and anger? Hundreds of law enforcement agents surrounded the park, pointed guns at people, ceased and destroyed people's property, locked down an entire neighborhood, violated the 4th amendment by towing cars in the area, and violated the 4th amendment by demanding the IDs of any and all persons within blocks of the park. All while the UC's contractors tore down trees, including trees that weren't even on the planned footprint of the proposed buildings, and erected a dystopian (and frankly fascist-looking) metal wall out 100 shipping containers. None of you thought, that maybe, just maybe, this would illicit strong reactions from people?

The history of tension over People's Park for over 50 years didn't seem to even be a consideration. There was no consideration that such a move on People's Park might create turmoil, and further deepen divisions in the Berkeley community. The heavy emotions that were already brewing on both sides of the debate over the past few years wasn't considered. The reaction that was already seen when the chain link fence was placed by the UC during the pandemic, then immediately torn down, wasn't considered.

Carol Christ had to cancel two speaking engagements this week, because people might show up to speak their mind over what happened. What did you think was going to happen? Did you think that after the shipping container wall went up, that people were just going to go "aw shucks, oh well" and let bygones be bygones? It was totally foreseeable that people were going to seek public venues to voice their opinion. What's the Chancellor's plan now? To cancel all future engagements and hide for the rest of the school year?

Council member Rigel Robinson, who ran on a platform of crushing People's Park, got what he wanted. Now he has announced that he is stepping down from council because people are angry at him. He complains that people are being uncivil. Well Rigel, what about the incivility of law enforcement pointing guns at people? Yes, Rigel, people were mean to you. However, the agents of the state threatened to shoot people. The only way Rigel could have gotten what he wanted was through the violence of the state, and implicit threats of harm (and the threat of potential loss of life) towards citizens expressing their right to protest.

The aftermath of what happened last week was reasonably foreseeable, yet those in Berkeley's and the UC's highest positions of authority seem completely surprised and unprepared.

The thing is, none of this was necessary. The University had a list of several alternative sites, and more sites were proposed by the public. The millions of dollars spent on law enforcement and the shipping container wall could have been invested in social services. The funds allotted to a project that is still held up in court proceedings could have been used for project on another parcel. The attempt to place a chain link fence around People's Park happened in 2022. It's now 2024. If the UC had focused on another site, new housing would be well underway.

In 2022, the UC and the city had a chance to step back and deescalate. They had a chance to imagine other possibilities. They had a chance to reflect on if moving forward was an act stubbornness and ego, rather than necessity. There was time to look at the emotional and social costs associated with tearing up People's Park. Trust in government (and in public institutions) is at nearly the lowest it's ever been recorded by pollsters nationwide. The UC and the city had a chance to do something that would build trust in local government. Instead the UC continues to lie, through it's propagandist Dan Mogulof, about People's Park.

The truth is that the former Vice Chancellor of Real Estate at UC Berkeley had recommended that People's Park not be a site for development. There was a plan, in fact, to make improvements at People's Park, reinvesting in the park as a community hub. There was thoughtful plan to increase housing around campus, and to revitalize People's Park. These recommendations were ignored by Chancellor Carol Christ. Everything that has happened over the past week, and is happening now, is a direct result of Carol Christ's decision to toss out a well considered plan, without asking herself: What did you think was going to happen?

Build housing elsewhere, including housing with integrated social services for those who need it, and make People's Park an outdoor venue for ecology, recreation and arts. The plan was already drafted under the prior UC administration. All you have to do is follow it. You have a chance to calm the tensions in Berkeley. It takes strong leadership to admit a mistake. It's clear that a mistake was made by the UC by choosing People's Park as a development site, and a mistake was made by the city of Berkeley by going along with it. Please put your guns away, and build housing somewhere other than the park.