Cal plans new de-fence for Vols game -- Police want to isolate tree-hugging protesters

AP via KnoxNews ^ | 8/31/7

[SmithL]

BERKELEY, Calif. — Authorities erected an 8-foot chain-link fence to separate tree-sitting protesters occupying a University of California oak grove from more than 72,000 football fans expected to descend on campus Saturday.

University officials said the barrier was necessary to keep both the fans and tree sitters safe as No. 12 Cal faces No. 15 Tennessee in the Bears’ home opener at Memorial Stadium.

“We’re putting up the fence to try to prevent any altercation either before or after the game,” UC Berkeley police Assistant Chief Mitch Celaya said.

An Alameda County judge denied a motion Thursday by protesters, who claimed the fence violated a court order earlier this year banning any development at the site.

Activists strummed guitars, sang “We Shall Overcome” and scuffled with police officers as workers erected the fence a day earlier. Two people were arrested, including one trying to deliver supplies to people in the trees, police said.

A small group has been roosting in the grove since December to protest the planned removal of dozens of trees to make way for a $125 million athletic center. The university has sent e-mails to fans asking them to be tolerant of the tree sitters even as some Cal backers complain that delaying the new facility is hurting the success of the school’s football program.

Three groups, including the city of Berkeley, sued the university last year to halt the project, which a judge has ordered put on hiatus until the conflict is resolved.

[SmithL]

Yeah, the rest of the Country does laugh at Berkeley.