SFSU Occupation Ends, Students Take Street

During the evening the Occupation began to take on a nature of its own. While the day protests to support the occupation saw hundreds of students come in waves to stand guard at the entrances and chant loudly, the evening began to reflect the relationships that are formed during an occupation and the supporting bodies. The General Assembly took place around 5:45 PM in separate different entrances which held their own meetings and general assembly break-out sessions. After the General Assembly students played music, sang songs, did homework, ate, and chanted to keep the support going strong.

A little later a sound speaker system was connected and a dance party was launched which brought in a lot of students from the residents halls. The occupiers communicated later that they would not negotiate with the administration until they turned on the heating system once again. As it grew later into the night the support solidified even stronger than before and autonomous workshops were being held ranging from know your rights trainings to legal support workshops. Students decorated the building with chalk while sharing food.

Around 3 AM, riot police came ready to evacuate the building. They could not enter through the entrances and decided to break a window. As they entered the began to clear the barricades while police made arrests at the North Entrance to protesters whose simultaneous chants indicated they were willing to guard the entrance until the end. The police threw some people while a roving march began to run around campus. Protesters exchanged words with police and the face off began to support the occupiers that would be place inside the police vans. Attempts were made to block the police and then engage in a blockade of the street. It is estimated that around 5 students were arrested at this point in time from blocking the police vehicles from leaving.

Some confrontations began to march towards the police while they busted their batons to break linked-arms preventing their vehicles from leaving. Protesters crossed onto the other side of 19th ave, blocked traffic, then circled back around police to prevent the car from leaving in the other direction. More police were brought in and after facing off, students decided to continue to block 19th ave. while other students took the streets to march towards the Taraval Police station to see if the protestors were to be released at the station. Arrested individuals were cited and released in the stonestown parking lot to a group of students that welcomed them with open arms, hugs, and support.

Though the occupation ended this marks only the beginning of a series of actions meant to send a strong message that resistance will be escalated leading up to the March 4th Strike and day of action that will take place in California and all sectors of Public Education.

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