Police Vs UC Students

I had my very first nightmare about the police last night. Don't get me wrong, I don't enjoy cops and they typically evoke a feeling of fear/paranoia when I pass them on the I-5, but I would not say that I am afraid of them...until now.  The Occupy movement has moved onto college campuses and, along with it, police forces.  The accompanying violence has been completely overwhelming and I can't quite wrap my head around it.

I want to be clear.  I do not think that students (or citizens in general) should be allowed to set up encampments.  The public health hazard claims that local governments argue are legitimate.  The encampments set up by students do NOT come with plumbing nor do they come with a garbage service nor do they come with street cleaners, electricity or running water.  What truly bothers me about the encampments is that they accumulate a substantial amount of waste that government clean-up crews have to deal with.  These workers are part of the 99% that the movement claims to protect and yet the protestors carelessly impose a large and, honestly, gross and undignified workload upon their shoulders. Check out UC Berkeley's The Public Health Advocate Blog for an article on the public health implications of Occupy.  

The public health implications of encampments do not justify police brutality.  The issue of encampments is separate from the issue of the Occupy movement as a whole, in fact, it is a loitering issue!  Since when is it legitimate for police to use violence to deal with loitering? Check out this link to read about the limitations of the First Amendment. Let's look at this issue in a vacuum, separate from the overall Occupy movement: how would you feel if police beat and pepper sprayed teenagers hanging out (aka loitering) in a privately owned parking lot?  People would be outraged, horrified and would want to collect all of the acting officers' badges.  I think the reactions to the police actions taken on UC campuses have been far too mild. People are offended, sure, but I think that, because UC campuses have aligned with Occupy, many people feel polarized, as if taking a stand against UCPD is the same thing as aligning with Occupy.

Aggies

Bears

Occupy Protestors: loitering is not covered by the First Amendment, neither are tents. Furthermore, if you are upset about tuition hikes then DON'T PAY YOUR TUITION.  Easy and effectual, certainly more impactful than camping outside of Sproul Hall...  

Police: Brutality in response to nonviolent loitering and/or protesting (depending on your interpretation) is neither legal nor ethical.  We are already experiencing a severe budget crisis in the state of California so please stop drawing so much legal attention to yourselves! That state can't afford your legal fees!  Furthermore, your actions cost money to address AND incite more aggression from protestors,  inciting more aggression from you...it is a perpetuating cycle that needs to stop.

The videos posted above are chilling.  I actually feel nervous walking through campus because I worry that, in the crowds that gather on Sproul, I might be confused as a protestor and be beaten by police officers.  The environment on campus has been hostile!  College campuses should be a safe space for experimentation and expression, especially the Berkeley campus because of our history!  I do not know why the Chancellors of the Universities are allowing UCPD to physically beat their students. There has got to be another way. I am shocked that Universities have chosen violence as an answer when...isn't their purpose, as institutions of academia, to teach and exhibit that strength comes from the pen not the sword?