Dancing the Night Away was a tactic employed by the occupiers of the Graduate Student Commons to promote their resistance against, amongst other things, university privatization and textbook prices. Photo by Morgan Grana.

Some say it was the beginning of a revolution. Others felt that it was merely a nuisance. Either way the occupation that kicked off the school year prompted countless responses to its impacts.

During their residence in the Graduate Student Commons (GSC), segments of protesters organized various smaller-scale demonstrations of resistance, including two dance parties and a protest of the high cost of textbooks.

The dance, held on Sept. 30, was orchestrated to bring attention to the issues of privatization and public space by invigorating the student population.

“We are trying to get bodies out here to get the word out by offering them a good time and a sense of empowerment,” said Allen Smith*, a third-year graduate student and occupant of the GSC. “That politicized charge is there.”

A crowd of participants, spanning from one end of Joe’s Pizza and Subs to the other, converged beneath the GSC patio which was lined with declarative posters reading “Raise Hell” and “We’re the Crisis.”

During the dance, demonstrators climbed on tabletops and cement walls and spoke out with megaphones, giving brief speeches addressing the reasons behind the gathering. The rallying became rhythmic, as the speaker instigated chanting with the crowd: “What do we want? Everything! Whose occupation? Our occupation!”

Though much of the crowd rallied, the message seemed to get lost in the fray when some yelled to turn the music back on instead of listening to the speakers. The demonstrators bantered back, responding “We are here for a reason!” Some girls on the balcony began to taking off their shirts, encouraging catcalls and yells from some in the crowd below.

“We need to do more than just a one day campaign, and this is a start. The time is now,” said Jane Sandoval*, a second-year graduate student at UC Santa Cruz and occupant of the GSC. “We hope for a multiplicity of actions.”

Their next action was a protest of textbook prices the following day. Quarry Plaza was on high alert Oct. 1, as employees of the Bay Tree Bookstore had reason to believe that the occupants of the GSC would next attempt to raid the bookstore.

“Last Thursday it seemed pretty clear that they were going to come in,” said Bob McCampbell, executive director of the Bay Tree Bookstore. “People were coming in and checking us out.”

The students looking to protest were not the only ones waiting for something to happen; police officers stood on both sides of the bookstore observing the gathering.

“It looked like they were ready to come into the store,” McCampbell said. “We were more aware and took security measures. The presence of the police prevented anything like that from happening.”

For around an hour, 25 students sat in front of the bookstore anticipating a commotion as they smoked cigarettes and discussed the politics of textbook prices. However, it became nothing more than a philosophical conversation.

“We came to this unprepared and that, combined with classes going on, may have contributed to the small turnout,” said Brian Glasscock, a first-year undergraduate student. “Also, there wasn’t as much advertisment with this as there was with the dance party.”

The occupation has not been met with unequivocal fervor like that displayed by the demonstrators.

One graduate student agreed that having the space unavailable was unfortunate, but asserted that she sympathized with the act.

“It was an inconvenience for the space to be closed,” said Nishita Trisal, a first-year graduate student. “But it is a small sacrifice for what I think is a bigger, more important cause.”

For Max Shrieve-Don, a second-year undergraduate student who was tabling for the Bike Co-op in Quarry Plaza, the location of the occupation was not ideal.

“Occupation is effective if you occupy the correct space,” Shrieve-Don said, “but it’s not an administrative space and it didn’t bring the university to its knees.”

Christine Juarez, president of the Graduate Student Commons Governace Board (GSCGB) and seventh-year graduate student, echoes this sentiment. She felt that the occupation would have been better suited in an administrative building, rather than a student-operated and funded space. Those who occupied the GSC view the selection as well calculated.

“A common move for an occupation is in administrative buildings, but I think this might be a better move in terms of its visibility and its centrality,” Sandoval said. “I think that is a victory; we created a center [for] UC Santa Cruz.”

Also factoring into the selection of the location is the logistics of the legal ramifications. If the occupants had occupied an administrative building, police intervention very likely would have occurred sooner.

Proponents of the demonstrations say they have left the students and administration with a message to grapple with.

“The occupation is being dissolved so it can be generalized. We stayed for a week and showed that when students are behind something, the university can’t do anything,” Smith said. “Our presence as galvanizing has a limit.”

Some, however, argue that the occupation was not as effectual as claimed. Juarez disputes the occupants’ claims that the demonstration was catalytic.

“It really makes me mad,” Juarez said. “I don’t think it did anything for the students of UCSC.”

* Names have been changed to protect the identity of some sources.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at A Recap on a Week of Action

Students mounted table tops during the occupation’s height. $10,000 is reportedly needed to repair damages left by the occupiers. Photo by Morgan Grana.

The innervating signs that once loomed over Joe’s Pizza and Subs in Quarry Plaza conveying a message of revolution are gone, no longer attracting the attention and curiosity of passersby. The area, once a site advocating resistance, now has the palpable air of normalcy.

The unprecedented weeklong occupation of the Graduate Student Commons (GSC) came to a close on the morning of Oct. 1 after approximately 25 individuals retreated from the building voluntarily. The demonstration began along with the walkout by University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE) union on Sept. 24.

The end of the occupation was met with mixed responses. Jim Burns, spokesperson for UC Santa Cruz, described the university’s relief when the participants vacated the space.

“We were pleased when they left,” Burns said. “We understand the concerns about these issues, but we don’t support occupation of space used by students or other members of the university.”

Although the occupation has ended, another disagreement continues. Chelsey Jaurez, president of the Graduate Student Commons Governace Board (GSCGB) that manages the facility, claims that the occupants left $10,000 in damages, which has been refuted by the collective.

Before the occupation ended, a meeting with members of the occupation and the GSCGB was held to discuss the date and terms of their departure. The GCSGB agreed that they would not call the police, nor would they condone a counter protest of graduate students who wanted to organize a resistance. According to Juarez, the occupants agreed to leave the facility as they found it, partially cover damages and depart on Oct. 1 by 12:00 p.m.

And so they left. The occupants peacefully vacated the premises before noon on the agreed upon date without any intervention from police or graduate students.

Allen Smith*, a third-year graduate student and occupant of the GSC, stated that the decision to leave was not a direct result of a previously arranged deal, but instead was influenced by the possibility of law enforcement being brought in.

“We received information that [the GSCGB] would be unlikely to bring police in until [Oct. 1] and it would be likely to after the date,” Smith said. “We were talking with them, and they were going to be sending in the authorities, so obviously that was a factor, but it wasn’t a deal.”

Juarez said that occupants promised to provide funding and time to help clean and repair the space upon their departure, though Smith says no such agreement was ever made.

“When they came in and talked to us, we told them we would like to help them clean up the space,” Smith said. “That was the extent of the conversation.”

Smith said when an occupier group came back to clean the space, cleaning crews were already at the facility.

After the occupants’ departure, Juarez reported that the GSC smelled of cigarettes and alcohol and rotting food was left in the kitchen. Cleaning crews spent 72 hours cleaning the facility where door handles had been tagged, some tables scratched and spray paint markings left on the balcony.

“I trusted them. We made a deal and they didn’t honor it,” Juarez said. “I felt like they lied to me and now we have to spend all this money to clean up.”

Juarez stated that $10,000 is a rough estimate for the damage. A couple thousand of that amount has already been spent on rekeying the facility, as there was concern that the occupants had acquired keys to the building. Smith claims that this was an unnecessary expense and asserts that none of the occupants had keys to the GSC since it was already open.

The takeover could not have come at a worse time for the GSCGB, which had just spent $40,000 on improvements to the facility.

However, Smith is skeptical of this $10,000 estimate and believes there is an ulterior motive for publicizing the number.

“They told us those numbers previously. They were ready to spin that story in advance,” Smith said. “I think the $10,000 estimate is a move for the GSC to play up their role as the victim.”

The GSCGB will hold a meeting next week to address issues about building security and hours of operation. Prior to the occupation, the GSC was open 24 hours, but since then the GSCGB has limited the hours to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and has added security to the entrance.

Juarez hopes that the facility will eventually be able to return to its normal hours, but she states that it is a decision to be made by the GSC board.

“We have to decide whether it is safe to leave open,” Juarez said. “We have to have this discussion and I don’t want to have it. Hopefully we can continue on the way that it was.”

* Names have been changed to protect the identity of some sources.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Traces of an Occupation

Students linger in the back of the Graduate Student Commons just moments after Occupy California, a UC student political activist group, takes over on the building on the evening of Sept. 24. Photo by Alex Zamora.

A fluctuating number of students affiliated with Occupy California, a UC student political activist group, remain barricaded in the Graduate Student Commons (GSC) located above Joe’s Café in Quarry Plaza, as this goes to print. Occupy California aims to resist the budget crisis by using occupation as a strategy tactic.

The UC Santa Cruz occupation of the GSC building comes in response specifically to furloughs, lay-offs, rising tuition costs and other actions taken by the University of California administration.

“The goal…is [to use] this space as a place for organizing towards more actions in the future to address the budget cuts that have taken place,” said an anonymous source affiliated with the Occupy California movement.

Those close to the matter are calling the occupation a “demandless protest” with the overarching purpose of bringing students together to critique how the UC administration runs itself.

“There are no concrete demands that speak to the administration. But there is a message — a communiqué — with students, workers and faculty at this campus that the time is now to escalate, because demands have not been met in the past … the administration has outright ignored us.”

The occupation began the night of Sept. 24 following the statewide rally against budget cuts. The rally was carried out in various ways at all UC campuses and attended by faculty, students and union members.

At UC Santa Cruz, a day-long strike resulted in a march that started after the general assembly. The march went from the base of campus to Quarry Plaza where Occupy California took over the GSC and have remained since. Although occupants of the building said their act is separate from the strike, those leading the march at the general assembly were seen inside the GSC building on Sept. 28, the fourth day of the occupation.

“Santa Cruz has allowed [the occupation] to happen,” said a man inside the building who wished to remain anonymous. “We have now broken a record for longest student occupation of a building to take place in America post-1960s.”

In the past year students across the nation have taken similar action in response to budgetary issues facing higher education. At New York University, a student activist group called Taking Back NYU (TBNYU) organized similar actions in February.

TBNYU and collectives of radical students have been in support of the Occupy California movement. A group of radical students at Columbia University released a statement addressing the UCSC occupation, saying: “As you are showing, students refuse to be controlled. We refuse to be complacent consumers and victims of a ‘market’ pitted perpetually against us. We refuse to have a line drawn before us — of gender, class, race, sexuality, or any other form of privilege, of unpayable tuition hikes, of asphyxiating budget cuts.”

UCSC’s Graduate Student Association (GSA), the group in charge of the student building, has the ability to evict occupants. The GSA did not return City on a Hill Press requests for comment but an anonymous source involved with the occupation said that, “GSA is very angry at us for taking over their space, quote-unquote. They never directly asked us if they were welcome into this space — which they would have been, had they asked.”

Other occupants said that GSA members were seen at Occupy California meetings in support of the movement.

Occupants have placed a notice on the doorway that lists the risks of illegal action of entering the building. The notice includes a lawyer’s number to call if thrown into jail. The same number can be found scrawled on the forearms of many occupants.

Occupants said their action has been successful largely due to their affiliates on the outside.

“We’ve had many people associated with this. There is no central group,” one occupier said.

Inside, blankets and pillows line the building’s biggest room. For the past week the organization has held several meetings of up to 60 people to decide on their next plan of action.

A hallway attached to the common room leads to a smaller room where students sleep and study. Near the hallway’s exit sits a yellow legal pad that reads: “Emergency Text List (in the event of police action).”

While some students who pass by the occupation appear indifferent, others eye the balcony curiously. Lauren Abbott, a UCSC second-year, has spent many hours this week tabling just below the occupation for on-campus sorority Alpha Psi.

Abbott thought the signs posted around the occupation by those involved were “ambiguous.” “I don’t think [the occupation] is really making a difference right now because a lot of people see them but they really don’t know what they’re trying to do,” Abbott said.

Nathan Kimmel, a fourth-year engineering student, views the occupation in a positive light.

“I think it’s very important students are taking back their education and standing up for people that are hurt by this crisis,” Kimmel said.

An employee at Joe’s Café, who says he was advised to stay away from the occupation by unnamed local authorities, explained that business at Joe’s was negatively affected by the occupation in its first few days.

“We were hurting Friday and Saturday. But today we are doing fine,” the employee said.

He also noted that the Café needed to pull down the large window dividers between the interior of the restaurant and the outdoor patio in an effort to block out loud music being played by the occupiers.

The occupants love their music. When they’re not hosting dance parties, they’re passing the time listening to songs like Pat Kelly’s “Tracks of my Tears” and “How Long.”

Outside the occupation, in front of Joe’s patio, a UCSC alumnus participating in the occupation stepped outside of the GSC to dance freely while his friend passed out fliers about the occupation.

“[Dancing is] a way to pass the time while I smoke my cigarette — and before I go back inside.”

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Budget Cuts Met with Radical Action

by Alex Zamora

Twenty masked individuals blockaded themselves within the Graduate Student Commons earlier today, following a rally at the base of campus.

Over-turned dumpsters, potted plants and students secured entry ways as a sizable crowd gathered in front of Joe’s Subs and at the building’s rear entrance. Individuals could be seen hauling chain-linked fencing to further block off access to the building.

Those standing in solidarity with the protesters, who themselves could not be reached for comment, said the protest was directed towards the recent budget allocations of the University of California Board of Regents, which resulted in thousands of lay-offs, mandatory furloughs and cuts to courses at the UC’s ten campuses.

“It’s not just about budget allocations,” third-year Emily Andersen said. “This is an entire critique of the way the university has been run.”

She and second-year Jackie Reinagel were among the dozen or so students at the rear entrance who committed to “defending the people inside” by positioning themselves in front of access points and, should the need arise, linking arms to prevent police from entering the building.

“[Budget issues] affect us all and I’m glad people here are getting involved in protest,” Reinagel said.

“I’m getting classes taught by T.A.’s instead of professors,” Andersen interjected. “I’m having sections cut. I hope people walk away from this and get more involved in politics instead of sitting around and complaining and take action themselves.”

Jim Burns, public relations officer for UC Santa Cruz, was about 100 yards from the protest, watching the scene amongst a group of university officials. He could not comment on the acts of the Commons’ occupants as he didn’t know enough details about who they were or what they were doing.

He did address some of the primary concerns the protesters and spectators had regarding the actions of the regents, emphasizing the need to recognize where the source of financial strain stemmed.

“This campus has sustained more than $50 million in budget reductions from the state of California,” he said. “That’s the reason why fees are increasing, that’s the reason there are lay-offs, that’s the reason there are furloughs, and that’s why access is being denied to a great public university.”

A student standing close to Joe’s Subs, who wished to remain anonymous, didn’t know too much about the issues at hand but said she wasn’t bothered by the occupation and protest.

“I think [the protest] is ridiculously important,” she said. “Even if the issue is small, people need to take action if they’re passionate about something. Organizing and protesting is important no matter what the issue.”

Protesters Andersen and Reinagel said the twenty occupants had been planning the take-over for weeks and are prepared to remain in the building indefinitely.

---- (C) 2011 City on a Hill Press. All Rights Reserved. View online at Protesters’ Take Over at UCSC