On February 4th, lawyers representing Jennifer Charles requested that the University of California's lawsuit attempting to stifle her free speech be dismissed. Charles, a UC Santa Cruz alumnus, has been acting as the media contact for tree sitters at UCSC protesting the University's plan to destroy 120 acres of forest. The tree sitters have been protecting groves of redwoods since November 7th, when hundreds of people rallied in opposition to the increased University construction.

The UC Regent's lawsuit, filed on December 14th, requests that Charles and anyone else who might support the tree sit be banned from any trees on campus. Charles, who is not a tree sitter, apparently is named because of her work to publicize the issues raised by the tree sitters. "I trust that the courts are going to uphold my First Amendment rights to speak out against the University's planned destruction of unique ecosystems," said Charles.

The Santa Cruz campus is the richest and most ecologically diverse of all the schools in the UC system. Precious watershed regions, unique manzanita groves and hundred-year old redwood forests will be destroyed by the University's unfettered construction. The University's plan sacrifices the unique ecosystems, as well as the highly esteemed liberal arts education that attracts many people to Santa Cruz. Following the trend of privatizing public universities, current students are paying more for education and receiving less. Read More