Feature Archives

On Wednesday, Feb. 13th, attorneys will present oral arguments in the infamous Fajitagate case before the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a special hearing at UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall. In a motion for recusal filed last week, plaintiff's attorney Dennis Cunningham asserted that Judge Bybee, one of three judges on the panel, cannot be fair because of his involvement in authorizing the Bush Administration's torture policies.

From February 4th through the 8th, Students for Justice in Palestine held a series of protests and teach-in as part of Israeli Apartheid Week at UC Berkeley. On February 6th there was a rally on Sproul Plaza with Barbara Lubin from Middle East Children's Alliance and other community leaders.

On February 2nd, a number of animal rights/liberation activists demonstrated for about three hours outside of J.Malnick Clothing at 1901 Broadway St. in Downtown Oakland. J.Malnick is Oakland's only major fur retailer, which sells both full length fur coats and fur-trimmed items as part of their inventory. Activists turned many customers away (who vowed to never shop there again) much to the dismay of the store's employees.

Direct Action to Stop the War (DASW) organized protests for Tuesday, February 5th, the day California voters went to the polls for the 2008 presidential primary, to demand that Democratic presidential candidates take stronger anti-war positions. DASW called into question the "anti-war" credentials of candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Protesters gathered at 5pm in San Francisco's U.N. Plaza and in Oakland's Frank Ogawa Plaza for marches to Clinton's and Obama's campaign headquarters in SF and Oakland.

On January 29th, the Berkeley City Council voted 6 to 3 that the U.S. Marine Recruiting Station on Shattuck Avenue "is not welcome in the city, and if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome intruders." Protests have been taking place in front of the recruitment station for the past few months. On January 30th, Code Pink staged a mock debate against the recruitment station. Conservative radio talk show host Melanie Morgan was originally scheduled to participate, but she backed out at the last minute.

On February 11th, more than two hundred participants of the Longest Walk 2 embarked on a five-month journey on foot from San Francisco. They plan on arriving in Washington, D.C. on July 11, 2008. Native American tribal leaders, religious groups, environmentalists, teachers, students, and people from throughout the world are joining the walk with its "peaceful and spiritual call to action to protect Mother Earth and defend human rights."

On Friday, February 1st, UC Berkeley's "Activism Right There" festival will culminate with an event that aims to catalyze a student community dedicated to cross-cultural organizing, political engagement and service. The festival will involve over thirty different student organizations and communities, as well as youth and community organizations from throughout the Bay Area.