Feature Archives

On 4/23/2003, Secret Service agents visited Oakland High and interrogated two 16 year-old male students in connection with comments they had allegedly made during a classroom discussion concerning President Bush and the U.S. Government's role in Iraq. When one of the students asked if he had to talk to the agents now, could he talk to them later with a lawyer present, the student said one of the agents told him, "We own you, if you don't talk to us now, and we find out you haven't told us everything, we'll put you MF's in federal prison. This is the beginning of the end for you." The Oakland Education Association issued a statement condemning the interrogation. Read more | SF Bayview story | Secret Service & 2600

9/9/2002:Clerical workers at UC Berkeley and at the UC Office of the President to went on strike from Aug 26-28th 2002 in order to protest the University's Unfair Labor Practices. About 2000 clerical workers -- including phone operators, child care workers, librarians, and secretaries -- started a three-day strike to protest the lack of progress in labor negotiations. photos: 1   2  3 | CUEunion.org

Katie Sierra, the West Virginian High School sophomore suspended for having flyers for a proposed anarchy club in her possession and wearing a shirt, which read: "When I saw the dead and dying Afghani children on TV, I felt a newly recovered sense of national security. God Bless America.", is fighting back. Local School Board members have deemed her a "traitor." She is suing the School Board for the right to wear her shirts and to start the club, and requesting to have the suspension stricken from her record. Indymedia Interviews Katie

March 7: In solidarity with one of the world's largest refugee populations, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) constructed a Palestinian refugee camp on the UC Berkeley campus, rallying in support of Palestinian rights and demanding that UC divest from Israel.

5/7/2003: At an annual fundraising dinner on 5/7, about thirty students protested the presence of executives from ChevronTexaco and the I-House's acceptance of funding from Bechtel -- corporations that stand to benefit immensely from the rebuilding (read: pillaging) of Iraq. Report/Photos | Press release | Call to protest

A student fistfight escalated into a violent confrontation with police at Thurgood Marshall Academic High School in the Bayview district Friday, 10/11. Over 60 police officers came into the school wielding batons, and hitting students. Channing Hale said the police hit her with a baton as she was standing in the hallway, trying to get around the fight on her way to class. "I was told to move by an officer, and then I was hit in the face," said Hale. She said she fell to the ground after being struck. Full story | Eyewitness accounts | Mini riot | Bayview newspaper

5/9/2002: UC-Berkeley has reinstated Students for Justice in Palestine as a campus organization, but criminal charges against them are still being pursued after intensified actions in solidarity with Palestinian resistance took place on campus, including a non-violent takeover of Wheeler Hall. SJP is asking for all concerned individuals to show solidarity and take action. Rallies were held on 5/2 and 5/6 and more protests are planned in coming weeks. Read More 1 | 2 | 3 | Photos of 5/6 Demo | Photo from 5/9 rally at Foothill College.

4/30 press conference audio | Labor Committee for Peace & Justice's Resolution defending SJP