If news aggregates tried tracking down the word of the year for 2011, “Occupy” would be near the front of the pack. Perhaps in that spirit, a group of UC–Santa Cruz protesters decided to occupy a university building on Monday, Nov. 28 at about 5am. The group wants to raise awareness about rising tuition—with the most recent increase of 8 percent approved earlier this month—and a controversial pepper spraying incident at UC Davis.
If news aggregates tried tracking down the word of the year for 2011, “Occupy” would be near the front of the pack. Perhaps in that spirit, a group of UC–Santa Cruz protesters decided to occupy Hahn Student Services on Monday, Nov. 28 at about 5am. The group wants to raise awareness about rising tuition—with the most recent increase of 8 percent approved earlier this month—and a controversial pepper-spraying incident at UC Davis.
A related protest also marched to the Hahn building at 2pm and voted to enter it through a cracked window, unlock the building’s doors and hold a general assembly on the balcony. Protestors hung a large white banner with “Occupy” written in red lettering for a decorative touch. The building is home to a variety of resources including the Disability Resource Center, the Financial Aid office and the school’s billing office.
“It's symbolic because this is where students pay for school,” lecturer Aaron Benanav, a demonstrator outside the building, told the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
Jim Burns, UCSC’s main spokesperson, says the occupation will impact students who need to access the building for services.
This isn’t the first occupation to happen at UC–Santa Cruz. There have been occupations at the school's libraries, including a 24-hour “study session” occuption of the Science and Engineering Library protesting reduced hours in 2010. The gold standard for long UCSC occupations might have been the occupation of Kerr Hall, the campus’s administrative building, which lasted 66 hours and started on the Friday following the a 32 percent fee increase in 2009.
The Santa Cruz Sentinel reported yesterday afternoon that there have been no arrests.
Read more at the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
Updated: It looks like occupiers have left the premises. The Associated Press is reporting there have been no arrests. We'll put this one at about 28 hours. Read more at the San Jose Mercury News.
