Elsewhere: Students block doorways at SFSU business building ABC7, Student Protesters Take Over SFSU Building CBS5
10:38 PM: Most classes were canceled today at San Francisco State University’s Business Building due to a student occupation that continued late tonight, a university spokeswoman said.
About 20 or 30 students entered the building sometime before 5 a.m. and have refused to leave. They remained there at about 10 p.m. and more than a dozen protesters were outside the building, university spokeswoman Ellen Griffin said.
The university canceled classes in the building today and Griffin said tonight it is not clear how the occupation will affect university operations Thursday. The university is advising students to check its Web site for updates.
Today, professors who are normally in the Business Building were available to meet with students at the Towers Conference Center from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. today. More than 3,200 students and 49 faculty members were affected by the occupation, Griffin said.
Griffin said university officials haven’t been able to speak directly with any demonstrators inside the building. Protesters have remained peaceful and Griffin said there was no immediate plan to force demonstrators out of the building.
“We’re monitoring on a regular basis and we’ll make decisions as circumstances dictate,” she said.
Students at University of California at Berkeley have been holding their own gathering at Wheeler Hall this week.
UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof said earlier today about 40 or 50 students on Monday declared Wheeler Hall the site of an “open university” and have been holding study groups and music and dance performances there since then.
The gatherings have generally been in the evenings when classes are not in session, and some students have slept in the building overnight.
Wheeler Hall, which houses various humanities departments, is usually closed overnight, but Mogulof said “a decision was made to give them a room or two.”
No arrests have been made and no citations have been issued, Mogulof said.
The “open university” will be allowed to continue until Friday, since finals start on Saturday, Mogulof said.
Wheeler Hall was the site of a Nov. 25 protest in which more than 40 people were arrested after occupying the building and barricading themselves inside. The demonstrators were cited for misdemeanor trespassing and then released.
Kim Geron, vice president of the California Faculty Association, said in a statement today that the actions of the students at SFSU and UC Berkeley are a reaction to budget cuts and fee hikes in the state’s public university system.
The actions of the students “are symptomatic of a whole generation of college students in California who feel betrayed by their leaders,” Geron said.
“These students no doubt feel a sense of desperation as their educations and their futures are slipping away. The persistent budget cuts, fee hikes and elimination of courses have made graduating from college harder than ever,” she said.
2:09 PM: Classes were canceled this afternoon at San Francisco State University’s Business Building, which has been occupied by a group of protesters since this morning, a university spokeswoman said.
About 20 or 30 students entered the building sometime before 5 a.m. and have refused to leave. They remained there early this afternoon, university spokeswoman Ellen Griffin said.
The university has canceled classes in the building today.
University officials “haven’t heard from them directly about what their issues and concerns are,” but hope to open a dialogue with the students at some point today to address their concerns, Griffin said. That conversation still had not occurred as of early afternoon, she said.
Faculty who are normally in the Business Building will be available to meet with students at the Towers Conference Center from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. today. Final exams are scheduled for next week.
Students at University of California at Berkeley have been holding their own gathering at Wheeler Hall this week.
UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof said about 40 or 50 students on Monday declared Wheeler Hall the site of an “open university” and have been holding study groups and music and dance performances there since then.
The gatherings have generally been in the evenings when classes are not in session, and some students have slept in the building overnight.
Wheeler Hall, which houses various humanities departments, is usually closed overnight, but Mogulof said “a decision was made to give them a room or two.”
No arrests have been made and no citations have been issued, Mogulof said.
“We’re just watching them at this point,” he said.
The “open university” will be allowed to continue until Friday, since finals start on Saturday, Mogulof said.
Wheeler Hall was the site of a Nov. 25 protest in which more than 40 people were arrested after occupying the building and barricading themselves inside. The demonstrators were cited for misdemeanor trespassing and then released.
Kim Geron, vice president of the California Faculty Association, said in a statement today that the actions of the students at SFSU and UC Berkeley are a reaction to budget cuts and fee hikes in the state’s public university system.
The actions of the students “are symptomatic of a whole generation of college students in California who feel betrayed by their leaders,” Geron said.
“These students no doubt feel a sense of desperation as their educations and their futures are slipping away. The persistent budget cuts, fee hikes and elimination of courses have made graduating from college harder than ever,” she said.
8:50 AM: Dozens of San Francisco State University students have occupied a building on campus this morning, a university spokeswoman said.
About 20 or 30 students entered the Business Building sometime before 5 a.m. today and are refusing to leave, university spokeswoman Ellen Griffin said.
University officials “haven’t heard from them directly about what their issues and concerns are,” but will open a dialogue with the students at some point today to address their concerns, Griffin said.
The university is finding alternative locations for any classes that may be affected by the protest, although “it’s a somewhat light week prior to exams,” which are scheduled for next week, Griffin said.
