The UC’s $1 million mistake

UNIVERSITY ISSUES: An expensive settlement regarding last fall’s pepper-spraying incident at UC Davis could have been avoided by the university.

The University of California shouldn’t need to pay about $1 million to settle a lawsuit stemming from mismanagement of campus protests. If UC Davis set better policy prior to November 2011, when police pepper-sprayed a group of peaceful protesters, a lawsuit wouldn’t be necessary. But the university failed to avoid Read More…

Investigating injustice

CAMPUS AFFAIRS: UC Berkeley must speed up its police accountability review process to match the timeliness of the legal system.

By its very nature, experiencing the due process of law is not a punishment. While the Occupy Cal protesters being charged with crimes for their actions on Nov. 9 surely endured grave wrongs under police baton, they should not be exempt from their day in court. However, when the mechanisms Read More…

City Council approves mutual aid agreements

Police use of force at last year’s Occupy protests led Berkeley officials to question the city’s mutual aid agreements with outside departments. However, at its meeting Tuesday night, Berkeley City Council approved three of five previously unapproved agreements, including one with UCPD. The city’s mutual aid pact is a set Read More…

BART adopts cellphone disruption policy

Following controversy over Bay Area Rapid Transit officials’ decision to cut all cellphone communication at multiple stations in August to prevent a protest, BART Board of Directors adopted a policy this week to only interrupt service under “extraordinary circumstances.” At its meeting Thursday, the board approved a policy that defined Read More…

David Herschorn/Staff

Encampments sticking point between protesters and administration

After the tumult of Wednesday’s demonstrations, Occupy Cal protesters and the UC Berkeley administration, though willing to negotiate with one another, are in a stalemate over campus policy. Shane Boyle, campus head steward of UAW Local 2865 and an organizer, said he and other demonstrators remained open to negotiation with Read More…