Students Occupy the Farm
Nine students were arrested by University of California police on Monday 14th May 2012 after occupying a piece of farmland. Their crime? Wanting to grow food for local communities.
Over-reaction was the order of the day for the police who turned up with 100 officers armed with shield and batons. Presumably incase the nine protesters got a bit feisty with a turnip.
The land which is used for research by UC Berkeley’s College of Natural Resources was cleared of protesters who were taken down to the local jail and charged with unlawful assembly and trespassing.
Protester Anya Kamenskaya was quoted in the College Times saying that she took direct action after being denied permission to use the land by University authorities for over six months. Not that the land was being used anyway. The University was concerned about liability after Kamenskaya explained her plans to teach school children how to produce food sustainably in urban areas. The plan would have produced food to feed 250 families.
“The kids were really excited, but the university was mostly worried about liability issues,” Kamenskaya said.
The University has said that they are interested in using the land for an urban gardening project but on their own terms. Indeed they claim to be taking action to grow food there next week. However, it does not look like any school children will be taught the skills to farm their own food on the land.
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