I’m writing in reference to your editorial from Oct. 16. In it, you petition Occupy the Farm to “collaborate” with the University of California. Besides this general sentiment, your story is ahistorical. The UC Capital Projects department planned to develop the Gill Tract — precluding any sort of agricultural use of the site — and only abandoned this plan when confronted with the occupation and after a failed lawsuit against the occupiers. This contradicts your assertion that Occupy the Farm acts “only in the interest of a small group of protesters” when, in fact, it is only due to their self-endangering actions that anyone from the university community, including the oft-mentioned researchers, may continue to access the space.
Second, the idea that Occupy the Farm lacks the ideological strength of Occupy is belied by years of the university’s privatization agenda. Our regents are composed of multiple members of the 1 percent, whose values drive efforts to sell off our public assets like the Gill Tract. Again, no matter your personal view on trespass, Occupy the Farm brought this situation into stark relief.
In the end, actions speak louder than words. Words from College of Natural Resources Dean Keith Gilless do not constitute a democratic process, while Occupy the Farm’s action to host a series of community meetings on our campus shows their commitment to collaboration and authentic intent to reach out and listen to others. I’d hope you could see the obvious truth that the university acted maliciously at worst or was misguided at best and quit blaming the situation on the occupiers.
We will be having our second community forum on Thursday, Nov. 8 from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at A PLACE for Sustainable Living, 1121 64th Street, Oakland, CA 94608.
— Antonio Roman-Alcala,
UC Berkeley student, founder of the San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance
Contact the opinion desk at [email protected]
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Unilateral law breaking by people like you doesn’t constitute “democratic action” either. And by “self endangering” does that include the human shield kids you encouraged to join in the action even as you proclaimed to the world that you were afraid that the police would turn violent? What a bunch of self-agrandizing ideologues. I do hope that when the locals vote down your puppet candidates and your bullshit referendum is defeated that you will go away, but I doubt it.
There will come a time where you will realize these individuals may have been right all along. A time where you have your own epiphany/paradigm shift and realize that the way we go about our daily lives just isn’t sustainable. I predict that in years to come, more and more individuals will start to contemplate why the world is in crisis. Unfortunately, for widespread change to take place, humans need to be directly effected by turmoil. When this time comes, and I predict it will, the people of the world will take unprecedented action. Think of it as a tipping point, one that we’re quickly approaching.
Yep, that’s pretty much the same that every single political activist has taken throughout history. You are the special people, and a special time, doing special things those only you can do because of your specialness. What an epiphany. I predict that you will be seen as a joke.
“UC Capital Projects department planned to develop the Gill Tract” – you only need to read that far to understand how dishonest the OtF people are. The development (which was approved by Albany, but abandoned due to OtF intransigence) wasn’t even in the _same_ _block_ as the “farm” they’ve “occupied”. Apparently, they were too wasted to notice they had the wrong location, and too dishonest to admit their mistake.
The Gill Track is not simply the land the occupiers planted on obviously, in fact its actually hundreds of acres that have been sold off by the UC for profit (when the original purpose of the land under the Morril Act was “agricultural and mechanical arts”… OTF wants to common, and maintain research, on the land as a whole and help resuscitate the destroyed land and soil left behind by the form military barracks on southside the site, not just plant food. If you would have come to the community forum you would know that we have an interest in the land as a whole, not just the arable soil. The Daily Cal fails to report this cause they only want the most sensationalist news that will keep their poorly written rag relevant.
You don’t want to maintain research, you want to dictate what research is done and by who.
This is simply not true.
Bullshit. That is exactly what you want to do. At least own your political bullying instead of lying about it.
Earth to Occupy the Farm: GO AWAY. Nobody with half a mind supports your stupid cause, or the faulty premises behind your silly crusade. You have NO right to dictate to UC how research land is used. Your little mob is nothing more than a gaggle of dimwits led by the nose by a cadre of self-important attention whores who know NOTHING about farming. Get a life.
Stan, Occupy the Farm and its other Occupy affiliates demonstrate time an again that they have nothing of any value going on in their lives. So like Stupids for Just Us in Foul-Asstine, they impose themselves upon the university community with their infantile actions. Really, Stan, for these dolts this is therapy which, unfortunately, the university pays the price.
Stan de San Diego speaks for himself: a self-important attention whore who lives by his computer, never missing an attempt to throw some vile, meaningless, group of words at everybody, person, and idea he loathes that is not his own.
just wonder what kind of life San Diego has: what’s Stan Diego doing now, besides drowning in his hate of every person who has a life and a purpose. Read his 1000′s of comments expressing such here on Daily Cal. His hatred=His Life. Here’s some attention SDSD=sad, sad.
> just wonder what kind of life San Diego has what’s
> Stan Diego doing now, besides drowning in his
> hate of every person who has a life and a purpose
I have real purpose in my life as unlike you, I have a real job – in fact two of them (full time day job and part time consulting). I produce goods and services that others willingly pay for, and receive a paycheck in the process. That paycheck represents about 2/3 of my gross earnings, as a considerable chunk is taken out for federal, state and local taxes, so I’m clearly contributing far more to society than some Occupy imbecile. I don’t have time to play wannabe farmer and pretend I’m solving some concocted “food insecurity” issue by breaking into restricted UC property and f!@#ing up some researchers experiments, as the real “haters” do.
Stan — as long as you troll here with nothing but negative put downs, no one will respect you or even believe you. You are perceived to be a lonely troll with lots of time on his hands which means no life. True or not, that’s how the campus sees you. Enjoy.
Using the logic of Stan, it’s already true because there is nothing to prove it wrong. Multiple “real” jobs doesnt mean anything in pressent day america, getting paid a lot for something (and being taxed on it) doesnt mean its a “real” job. I have 2 “real” jobs, go to school, volunteer at the local radio station, tutor kids in public speaking and research, plus participate in Occupy The Farm. Yer are exactly who people characterize you as: lazy, attached to the computer (but doesnt know how to use it beyond complaining; cant even do research to back up statements), completely out of touch with reality of Berkeley and the campus community, and you LOVE making up “facts” and making sweeping generalizations that are complete fabrications of yer own opinion.
Please show me how there arent food security problems for the poor in the east bay. Please show me some studies, personal conversations, blog posts, Patch posts, anything that suggests all communities of the bay area, and around the UC, have an overabundance of food, specifically cheap and healthy food.
^ I’m with them.
Stan, it really bothers me that you are so quick to post such hateful remarks towards others. You may not agree with their stance and that’s fine but try and show your opposition with tact, respect and some maturity and others may take your more seriously.
How would you know if no one supports its, you dont live up here nor know the community surrounding the Gill Tract that has been advocating for it for decades. In fact during the 90s the UC almost came to an agreement with BACUA to use the land for urban agriculture and then pulled out at the last minute, to the shock of everyone who had been involved in the multi-year process. Get your facts right and try to produce a little research to back up yer empty assumptions. Here is the background on BACUA, which included many folks who had been advocating for the land for DECADES, before you even know how to go on the internet and waste your life talking about a university you no longer go to.
http://nature.berkeley.edu/srr/BACUA/bacua_proposal.htm
Gee, Do…, there are Conservative wing nuts who have been trying to purge U.C. of Marxist professors for DECADES, and yet nothing has been done. Perhaps if they occupied the offices of and lecture halls used by those professors (those, like Gill are, of course “public space”) they could start a meaningful dialogue about the dangers of Leftist extremism? Certainly, it would be technically illegal, but Marxists have killed millions, so I guess it could be justified. Or maybe not?