Students rally in support of pro-Palestinian demonstrators
By The Associated Press
10.17.02
BERKELEY, Calif. — About 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators at the University of California-Berkeley called for "Free Speech, Free Palestine," as they voiced their support for 32 students facing possible suspension for an April sit-in.
Speakers at yesterday's rally said the case calls up memories of the Free Speech Movement, which began 38 years ago this month at Berkeley.
"This is our university. It's our freedom of speech," said Chris Cantor, a Berkeley graduate student and member of the campus group Students for Justice in Palestine.
The Free Speech Movement was about students' rights to conduct political activity on campus. The current debate is over how far students can go in their activities.
The students facing disciplinary hearings were among 79 people arrested April 9 for taking over Berkeley's Wheeler Hall in a demonstration demanding that UC divest from companies doing business with Israel.
Alameda County prosecutors later dropped trespassing and other charges against the anti-Israel protesters and a judge issued a factual finding of innocence. But Berkeley administrators are going ahead with the school disciplinary hearings, saying students broke school rules when they disrupted classes.
Most of the students face sanctions up to and including suspension.
The students have sued, saying Berkeley should not be using police records as evidence because of the judge's ruling. The disciplinary hearings have been put off until an Oct. 28 court hearing.
While the disciplinary hearings are pending, Berkeley is withholding the degrees of seniors involved. Student protester Roberto Hernandez says that has left him with no money because he is unable to enroll in a doctoral program in Berkeley's ethnic studies department and accept a three-year fellowship.
Protesters say they've been singled out for harsh treatment. They say administrators are under pressure from alumni and others who disagree with the pro-Palestinian demonstrators' politics.
Berkeley administrators say they're not trying to suppress student speech. They say the issue is that protesters can't speak out in a way that takes away other students' right to learn.
Yesterday's rally ended quietly after about two hours. UC officials took steps to discourage another sit-in, locking the doors to the main administration building on Sproul Plaza.
Standing to the side of the plaza, the Israel Action Committee maintained a presence with tables displaying the Israeli flag and promoting their Project Invest campaign encouraging people to buy Israeli bonds as a show of support.
Senior political science major Oren Lazar, an IAC member, disagreed with the demonstrators' claims that they were being treated unfairly.
"I think students who break university and city law need to be held accountable," he said.
But student Enrique Zapeta, a senior who was among those watching the rally, said he thought the disciplinary hearings were "very unfair. It's as if we don't have a voice here."