"We call for the UC Berkeley administration to drop all charges and disciplinary actions against the students involved in the Architects and Engineering building sit-in on November 18, 2009, the November 20, 2009 Wheeler protest, those arrested in Wheeler Hall on the morning of December 11, 2009, and the students facing sanctions for flyering on campus.
 
DEFEND STUDENT ACTIVISM
 
We the undersigned are opposed to the university's disciplinary position regarding the students involved in the Architects and Engineering building sit-in on November 18, 2009, the Wheeler Hall protest November 20, 2009 , the arrests in Wheeler Hall on the morning of December 11, 2009, and the students that are facing sanctions for flyering. Over 100 student activists are facing a variety of charges related to recent protests. UC Berkeley is an institution that widely advertises its activist past and prides itself on its commitment to the principles of the Free Speech Movement, but the university is using the recently revised student code of conduct in a manner that is arbitrary in order to intimidate and punish student activists who continue to challenge the increasing privatization of California public education in the UC, CSU, and community college systems.We reject the accusations that the students involved in the Wheeler Hall protest put the safety of other students and community members into question. The November 20, 2009 protest was supported by students and community members; it was a call to the university to change the way that it engages with those upon whom its continued operation depends. The administration not only ignored this call, but is now attempting to silence student dissent on the campus by physically removing students from the campus. The December 11, 2009 arrests of over 60 students in Wheeler Hall were made in bad faith and without a dispersal order. The administration has defended its decision to threaten two students with sanctions for flyering by saying that there are clear rules about posting flyers. This use of the student code of conduct is a tactic of intimidation to silence opposition to the university administration's position on its direction. We find this unacceptable and demand that all sanctions against these students be dropped immediately."
 
http://www.ucstrike.com/