Injured Tree-Sitter Served With Stay-Away Order

UC police served injured tree-sitter Nathaniel Hill with a seven-day stay-away order Tuesday aimed at keeping him from the oaks near Memorial Stadium.

A former professional lacrosse player, Hill suffered a broken right wrist and right leg after falling about 30 feet while traversing a supply line between two trees Sunday night.

According to Hill’s father Karel Hill, his wrist was reset manually, but he underwent surgery yesterday to reset his leg, which needed a pin.

There are also plans to serve Hill, 24, with an injunction threatening a $1000 fine, jail time or both if he returns to the grove, according to Dan Mogulof, executive director of public affairs for the campus.

Hill also received a copy of Alameda County Superior Court Judge Richard Keller’s Oct. 29 order saying that all protesters must leave the trees.

Karel Hill believes the October ruling is designed to allow the university to take legal action against more protesters, including those that occupied the grove in the past but are not there right now.

“The way they’ve written the order is to list two people (Hill and fellow tree-sitter David Galloway) ... and that gives them the opportunity to lay civil charges and incorporate anyone who has ever known these two people,” he said.

Mogulof said the university currently plans to take action only against active tree-sitters.

Although Hill may not return to the grove anytime soon, his father believes he will continue to support the protest.

“He doesn’t need to make himself a martyr by returning to the grove and being arrested,” Karel Hill said. “His spirits are by no means dampened by this.”

Nathaniel Hill also sees his injury as a chance to increase awareness of the risks tree-sitters take daily.

“It’s just an opportunity for people to understand that the tree-sitters are risking their own safety because they care so compassionately about the issues,” he said.

Protesters have lived in the grove since Dec. 2, attempting to prevent the university from constructing an athletic center on the site and removing 26 live coastal oaks. The university constructed one fence around the grove in August and a second fence last week.

A tree-sitter who goes by the name Ayr blames the fences for Hill’s injury.

“If there were no fence, he could have climbed down to see his dad and everything is happy ever after, but he had to traverse out,” he said. “They caged us. Fences are not the solution no matter where you are.”

Mogulof said the university is acting within its rights but wants to continue dealing with the protesters peacefully.

“We want to resolve this peacefully and at the moment there are no plans for forcible removal,” he said. “If someone comes down on purpose or accidentally, we are going to take the bare minimum legal action. Judge Keller ruled that this is ... an illegal and dangerous occupation of university property and it is not protected as free speech.”

According to his father, Hill became involved with the tree-sit when a friend began sitting on Dec. 2. Since January, Hill has lived intermittently in the trees, staying there “almost exclusively” since August.

“The trees are beautiful and are such a powerful presence,” Nathaniel Hill said. “Their ability to almost want to be climbed, they almost call out to you if you listen hard enough.”

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