3 months ago
BERKELEY, CA -- UC Berkeley students protesting a 32 percent increase in student fees have barricaded themselves in part of a campus building.
The demonstrators on Friday occupied Wheeler Hall and hung a sign out of a window that read "32 Percent Hike, 900 layoffs."
A campus police officer says they've arrested three of the demonstrators inside.
UC Davis Protest
Angry UC Davis students protesting a vote to raise UC tuition fees by more than 30 percent refused to leave the school's main administration building late Thursday, prompting campus police to arrest more than 50 students.
The incident grew large enough that late Thursday evening campus police had to ask for assistance from other agencies, including the Sacramento Police Department.
Several police officers, including those from the Davis Police Department, returned to their patrol units to find that their tires had been slashed though it wasn't clear who was responsible.
The protest began around 10 a.m. in UC Davis' Mrak Hall, more than two hours before the UC Board of Regents approved a 32 percent increase in undergraduate student fees.
By next fall, undergraduate fees will be boosted by $2,500, sending the average annual education cost at a UC campus to more than $10,000, triple the amount from a decade ago.
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Throughout the afternoon, about 100 students held their ground, chanting and carrying banners protesting the increase. Protesters said many UC Davis students will no longer be able to afford the UC system once the fee hike goes into effect.
"It's going to be difficult for me to come back next year, let alone finish this quarter," said UC Davis student Raul Navarro.
Navarro said despite working, student loans and money from his parents, he was already barely making UC tuition fees before the increase.
"It's going to be hard for my little brother to receive an education like this," Navarro said.
Among the banners, one protester carried a sign saying, "Don't Deprive Me of My Education."
By 6 p.m., dozens of students remained in the school building and shortly after the arrests began.
A UC Davis police official said that while no one wanted to take students into custody, they would be subject to arrest for trespassing if the protest didn't disperse.
News10/KXTV
