Sep 15, 2007 9:18 pm US/Pacific
21 Arrested After Aiding Berkeley Tree Sitters
BERKELEY (AP) ―
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U C Berkeley tree sitters
CBS 5
Police arrested 21 students for trespassing after dozens of them climbed a fence to deliver supplies to protesters sitting in oak trees that are threatened by the planned construction of a campus athletic center.
The tree sitters have been firmly planted in the old oaks since December, after the University of California, Berkeley announced plans for a $125 million athletic training center on the site. The university contends the grove is the only place on campus where the new center can be placed.
The more than 30 students who scaled the fence -- erected last month in preparation for the school's first football game -- were members of the Free Speech/Free Tree Student Coalition. They demanded the fence be taken down, saying it has made delivering supplies to the protesters more difficult.
"For us, it is a sacred place," said undergraduate student Matthew Taylor, 33. "We're willing to be arrested for what we believe in."
Other students said the school's fence has blocking their right to enjoy the grove. "It's shameful and it's criminal," said student Hillary Lehr.
The university has asked a judge to order the sitters out of the trees, arguing that they pose a danger to themselves and the neighborhood. A hearing is scheduled Oct. 1.
A university spokesman said it would rather have found another site for the new complex, but that doing so was not possible.
"But at the end of the day, it came down to balancing the well-being of a 1923 landscaping project and the medical and training needs of 350 student athletes," said spokesman Dan Mogulof.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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