UC Berkeley students and community members alike gathered in People’s Park on Friday to protest campus plans to build housing in the area, culminating in crowds of people tearing down fences and placing them on the steps of Sproul Hall.
The protest, which was planned by a loose network of organizers, was prompted by UC Berkeley’s decision to fence off certain areas of the park in order to retrieve soil samples for the planned construction.
Several people against this plan claim that People’s Park has invaluable environmental significance.
“People have the right to a free environment,” said former Berkeley mayoral candidate Aidan Hill, who helped organize the demonstration. “They have the right to clean air and space especially children. It’s the last open green space in the Southside neighborhood and close to the university.”
Protesters tear down fences at Berkeley rally to save People’s Park
With echoes of People’s Park’s legacy of resistance, protesters reacted Friday to UC Berkeley taking the first steps towards developing the land for student housing.
People’s Park co-founder Michael Delacour at a rally to stop UC Berkeley from building on People’s Park. Jan. 29, 2021. Photo: Pete Rosos
Fifty-two years after founding People’s Park, Michael Delacour stood in front of a crowd that had gathered Friday afternoon to protest UC Berkeley’s plan to develop housing on the park’s grounds.
Delacour, now 83 years old, told the crowd how he helped turn a vacant lot into a park during the heart of Berkeley’s anti-Vietnam war movement. Then, he eyed the fences erected by the university ten days earlier in preparation for the development of student housing on the site.
During the ASUC’s general meeting Wednesday, Senator Will Liu was sworn into office and UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ and Vice Chancellor for Administration Marc Fisher discussed campus updates.
Senator Liu was sworn in following the resignation of ASUC Senator Dhruv Krishnaswamy. As guest speakers of the meeting, Christ and Fisher provided information on People’s Park, the upcoming spring commencement, COVID-19 vaccinations and campus budget cuts.
“We’re, I think, approaching the end of the tunnel,” Christ said during the meeting. “But we’re still in the tunnel and I know it’s hard.”
ASUC Senator Rebecca Soo asked Christ and Fisher what information they could provide about the vaccine.