Eight people were in custody Saturday after a crowd of angry protesters broke windows and threw burning torches at UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau’s campus residence in protest of fee hikes and budget cuts, authorities said.Rico says it smacks of his youth, when rioting at UC Berkeley seemed part of the curriculum...
As many as 75 people, some of them carrying torches, surrounded the mansion, known as University House, on the north side of campus off Hearst Avenue at about 11:15 p.m. on Friday, police said.
The crowd, including a man taken into custody in a university protest a day earlier, chanted, “No justice, no peace,” and began smashing planters, windows, and lights. Several hurled their torches at the building, according to campus spokesman Dan Mogulof. Birgeneau was sleeping at the time and was awakened by his wife, Mary Catherine, Mogulof said. They were frightened, but unharmed, he said.
“These are criminals, not activists,” Birgeneau said in a statement issued Saturday morning. “The attack at our home was extraordinarily frightening and violent. My wife and I genuinely feared for our lives.”
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement that the attack was an act of terrorism: “California will not tolerate any type of terrorism against any leaders including educators. The attack on Chancellor Birgeneau’s home is a criminal act, and those who participated will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Debate is the foundation of democracy and I encourage protestors to find peaceful and productive ways to express their opinions,” he said.
15 December 2009
Ah, the old days
Courtesy of Michelle Malkin's blog, this about protesters at UC Berkeley:
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