But not before they trashed the only student-owned building on campus, say graduate students.
A group of protesters who occupied the Graduate Student Commons building at UC Santa Cruz left the building yesterday after reaching an agreement with the students in charge of the facility. The group, which called itself Occupy California, took control of the building during the campus strike last week. Yet despite the agreement, the graduate students who use the building for social activities and study, were furious at the protesters. President of the Commons Board Chelsey Juarez claimed that they trashed the place, leaving piles of garbage behind. Apart from graffiti on the outside walls and the women’s restroom, they also destroyed $26,000 in new furniture and left major stains on the carpet which had recently been cleaned. Juarez pointed out that while the protesters opposed the university’s leadership, they took out their anger on the only student-owned building on campus, and that with all the damage, it will be impossible for her group to hire a graduate program manager. Representatives of Occupy California did not respond to requests for comment. Read More at the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
