Berkeley Students Occupy Building in Protest Over Fee Increases

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Students occupied a building Friday on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, in an escalation of protests over large fee increases at UC campuses statewide that echoed the unrest here during the 1960s.

The takeover by as many as 50 students and their sympathizers took place before dawn Friday, a day after the UC Board of Regents approved a 32% increase in student fees to cope with California's long-running fiscal crisis.

Campus police made three arrests in the occupied Wheeler Hall classroom building after discovering furniture and other items propped up against doors at about 5:30 a.m. Friday, a school spokeswoman said. There were unofficial reports of at least one person arrested outside for allegedly crossing a police line marked by yellow tape.

By Friday afternoon, the standoff continued, as an estimated 500 other students and supporters assembled around the building, despite a driving rain. They banged drums, chanted and cheered as some of the occupants of the building used megaphones from a second-floor window to shout encouragement.

Struggles of Blue America.