UC Berkeley Anthropology Library Occupation 2012
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On January 17, 2012, a proposal was brought to the Occupy Cal General Assembly to occupy UC Berkeley's George and Mary Foster Anthropology Library[1] due to a recent decision by administration to reduce the library's hours and services.[2] Part of the overall trend of privatization and divestment in public resources,[3] the university has reduced spending on its libraries by 12 percent since 2012.[4][5] With mass approval by the General Assembly, members of Occupy Cal decided to lead a study-in of the anthropology library on January 19 to demand the reinstatement of the library's hours and resources.[6]
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On January 19, 2012, following a noon-time rally by the larger Occupy Cal community, a group of roughly 100 students, faculty, and staff occupied the anthropology library and sent their demands[7] to the administration.[8] The non-violent study-in lasted 3 days and 2 nights, and involved several email exchanges between administration, and students and faculty.[9]
On January 21, 2012, the occupiers were notified by the administration that their demands would be met: library hours would be reinstated, and a replacement job would be created to achieve regular access to the library.[10] While many non-tangible successes were achieved by Occupy Cal, the reinstatement of the anthropology library's hours represents a concrete, observable step to protect the accessibility and quality of education at the University of California, Berkeley.[11]
References
- ↑ "Anthropology Library | UC Berkeley Library". web.archive.org. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
- ↑ Staff, Afsana Afzal |. "Occupy Cal to hold demonstration in Anthropology Library". The Daily Californian. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
- ↑ Mic. "California's UC System Shows Why Privatizing Public Higher Education Is Not The Solution - Mic". mic.com. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
- ↑ "UC Berkeley's libraries next chapter may be cuts - SFGate". sfgate.com. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
- ↑ "UC Berkeley's world-renown library system on the chopping block". www.cafwd.org. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
- ↑ *. "Cal Anthro Library Study-in". occupy california. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
- ↑ "Cal Anthro Library Study-in | occupy california". occupyca.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
- ↑ Affairs, Public; 20, UC Berkeley | January; 9, 2012July; 2015. "Occupy Cal stages 'study-in' at Kroeber Hall". Berkeley News. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
- ↑ "Occupy The Library". The New Inquiry. 2012-01-21. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
- ↑ Affairs, Public; 22, UC Berkeley | January; 9, 2012July; 2015. "Occupy Cal library protest ends". Berkeley News. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
- ↑ D (2012-01-23). "reclaim UC: "We Won!": Reflections on Two Occupations of the Same Library". reclaim UC. Retrieved 2016-03-10.