Students protesting fee hikes and budget cuts inside Wheeler Hall at the University of California-Berkeley were shocked when their protest was shortened due to a police raid in the early hours of Dec. 11.

The protesters—who had occupied the building since Dec. 7—were planning on holding a free hip hop concert Friday evening to end the protest, then cleaning and leaving Wheeler Hall Saturday morning.

Protesters claim they had University permission to be in the building peacefully.

At around 4:40 a.m. Dec. 11, with the support of the UC Berkeley administration, police entered Wheeler Hall to wake up sleeping occupants, order them to vacate the premises, and transport some to jail.

The UC Berkeley News reported 66 students and other protesters were arrested; some were held until they could post bail.

"People were not given a final warning—police burst in while people were sleeping and immediately started locking doors and arresting people," said Political Science major Elias Martinez. "Many students have papers due today, and finals to take starting tomorrow."

School spokesman Dan Mogulof said the concert was a primary reason the administration sent police.

"Once the group refused to reconsider plans to hold an unauthorized all-night concert in an academic building, we had to take steps to ensure that finals could go forward," he said.

But an unofficial letter from the Student Advocate’s Office, leaked on Dec. 15, said that the University had planned the arrests even before the students announced the concert.

Some review sessions and tests scheduled for Wheeler Hall were moved because campus police and security personnel restricted access to the building.

The tension on campus heightened that evening, as a group of between 40 to 70 protesters attacked UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau's house, smashing planters, windows, and lights. UC Police said that some of the protesters had torches.

Eight people were arrested for the vandalism. One of them was a local photojournalist. None of them are being charged with any crimes.

Birgeneau said he felt his life was in danger.

"I urge the community and protesters to find more productive ways to express their points of view," he said. "The resort to life-endangering violence is never acceptable on our campus. I call upon the majority of the group who have been expressing their point of view in nonviolent ways to condemn the actions of these few individuals."


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