With a few notable exceptions, last year was the year of the almost-titles for UC Berkeley.

The Cal football team was poised for athletic glory in the NCAA last season, but it began a losing streak from which they never recovered. Recently graduated UC Berkeley senior and heavily favored Alysia Johnson tried out to run the 800-meter dash in the Beijing Olympics, but she didn't make the team.

But not everyone's attempts at making history were dashed.

As a ragtag coalition of tree-sitters roosted in the oak grove near Memorial Stadium this summer, UC Berkeley became the home of the longest urban tree-sit in history.

On Big Game Day in early December 2006, unofficial protest leader Zachary RunningWolf and two of his cohorts ascended into the grove with hammocks in tow, aiming to prevent the university from going forward with plans to build an athletic training center on the site. The city of Berkeley and two neighborhood groups filed separate lawsuits with the same ultimate goal.

In January 2007, a judge issued an injunction halting the university from cutting down the trees or physically altering the site. The injunction still stands as the lawsuit process continues.

While the number of tree-sitters has fluctuated during the past year and a half, some tree-sit supporters estimate that at least 150 different people from all across the country have nested in the grove for at least one night since the protest began.

Tree-sitters and supporters are quick to liken their protest to other social movements, such as the Free Speech Movement, and to call their housing situation-a grove of trees behind two fences-"Guantanamo Berkeley."

At about 6:30 a.m. on June 17 of this year, 40 UCPD officers wearing hard hats stood just outside the grove area, securing the sidewalk adjacent to the grove so university-hired arborists could begin removing the tree-sitters' supplies. The tree-sitters soon began throwing urine and feces on the arborists, UCPD and workers below as a means of defense.

The following day, the judge presiding over the case ruled that the injunction still stood, but UCPD continued its blockade of the grove, leading protest supporters to accuse the university of violating a "basic human right" by denying the protesters access to food. The university eventually began providing the protesters with energy bars and water when they determined that supplies were running low.

The force of protesters, which numbered from eight to 12 when the barricade started, began to dwindle as some, like the outspoken Dumpster Muffin, succumbed to exhaustion and while others, like Jeff Musgrave, left the grove for personal reasons.

About three protesters remain in the grove, but a contingent of supporters and former tree-sitters have camped in the median of the adjacent street, saying they want to keep an eye on the police officers.

Ground supporters of the sit have advocated to everyone who they thought would listen. Some supporters even went as far as planting a tree in front of Chancellor Robert Birgeneau's residence on July 20, 2008. RunningWolf said the acorn sapling was meant to be an olive branch for the chancellor.

"We went down … and planted a tree on his lawn, basically giving him a gift of kindness and an offering from the grove," he said. "If I was a public servant … I would welcome that, and say, 'Thank you for giving us a new life,' especially during global warming."

Appeals in the case may take anywhere from days to years, but until then, the record for longest urban tree-sit appears as though it will become increasingly difficult to beat.

Tags: STUDENT-ATHLETE HIGHER PERFORMANCE ATHLETIC CENTER, TREE-SIT, MEMORIAL STADIUM