Celebrating 200 Days of Tree-Sitting Resistance to UCSC Expansion

Raging Grannies sing an original song written for the tree-sitters

Bio-Tech Go Home!

"For most of the demonstrators, this was their first confrontation with power. Behind the bright colored bandanas that hid their lower faces, screened under signs and banners, refusing interviews, leaderless; ninety young people had come to proclaim their liberation from the organized madness of altering the natural environment for profit.

It was June 19th, 2008, the usual would-be “masters of the universe” were in town. Twenty-two thousand conspirators, Corporate CEO’s of polluting companies, chemists dedicated to turning pure foods into unnatural concoctions, various snake oil salespersons – all dedicated to owning, hoarding and selling the total processes of life – were enshrined in San Diego’s finest hotels for the annual convention of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, or BIO."

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/06/22/18510062.php

A tree-sitter hangs out on a cable between the trees

"Their voices ... carried a vibrancy, a tone of commitment to stretch body and vision, reaching out, extending their liberation from a corporate-owned world."

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/06/22/18510062.php

not biotech destruction!

Nov. 7, 2007: Standoff with Police as Activists Occupy Redwoods to Oppose UCSC Expansion
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/11/08/18458938.php

June 18, 2008: With Students Gone, UCSC Tree-Sit on Alert
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/06/18/18508566.php

"Our spunky youth ... marched right up to the glass doors of the Convention Center. “Fuck you, don’t mess with our future” and “You assholes, messing with peoples' lives,” they spat at startled bio-tech CEOs and lackeys. Chanting “Bio-tech, go home,” they stood, eye-to eye, with corporate executives wearing Rolex Watches and designer clothes. Wealthy Sheiks and bought politicians from foreign lands trembled as they realized that there is, indeed, opposition to their ownership of the world."

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/06/22/18510062.php

He thought it was his inauguration, but that actually came several days later.

Workers and Students Demand a Fair Contract at George Blumenthal's UCSC Inaguration
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/06/07/18505046.php

"Youth in black are particularly threatening to the established order. Their vigil, their sorrow, mourns a humanity bought and sold, dreams defied, democracy subdued, community denied, compassion and sharing stunted."

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/06/22/18510062.php

"Soon, the world will tremble; these youth, like millions of their brothers and sisters across the globe, in the Lacandon jungle or the slums of Caracas, will overthrow a corporate-owned humanity. They will not just tinker with their world, but will effectively and dramatically change it."

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/06/22/18510062.php

Some of the photos above have captions taken from another article, about a different event, which took place in San Diego. A critique of the BIO protest, and the article I linked to, has been published by Scar Media Collective. Check it out.

BIO Protest Summary

"It is also important to note that romanticizing or just straight lying about what happened at any event is not helpful to any movement, which is trying to make concrete and sustainable change."

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/06/26/18511207.php