A long struggle is ahead of us to actually see solid changes being made, but the dialogue that has begun is an excellent start. Before the tree-sit went up, few students understood what the LRDP was, and there was almost no ongoing discussion about it. The tree-sit has reopened that conversation and given space for people to imagine different possibilities for UCSC's future, and will continue to do that for as long as it is needed..

Winter break has just begun, and we will be celebrating this time by taking a break from the space under the trees. There will continue to be people in the trees and they will still need ongoing support, but we will not keep the 24/7 occupation going. The point of occupying that space was to be able to reach out and educate people about UCSC's plans to add 4,500 students and to destroy 120 acres of forest. We have definitely been able to do that over the past month, but with no one on campus over break, we realize that there are a lot of other things for us to do.

Please feel free to continue to come visit the tree-sitters, and to share some holiday cheer with them. Be on the look out for fliers announcing upcoming events both below the trees and around town related to these issues. I know many people are planning to spend the Solstice on the night of Dec.21 under the trees.

Many exciting plans are in the works for next quarter! There is already a World Cafe planned for Jan. 10 at Kresge Town Hall. The World Cafe is a conversational process where everyone who attends gets to brainstorm ideas for creative action to accomplish common goals related to the future of UCSC.

Again, thank you for the support you have already shown. Please continue to support the tree-sitters in whatever ways possible as we head into winter.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Charles
(831) 430-6791
LRDPaction.media [at] gmail.com