Wheeler Occupation: Why they could not let it Continue

Yesterday they took back Wheeler Hall at UC Berkeley, with 66 arrested. On Wednesday I was at the occupied building.

I helped organize a conference in Quebec once, in a huge school building that was closed by the authorities and then occupied by the local community. It had a kitchen and eating area for the community, where cheap good food was served. Various community organizations had offices there and it was democratically-run. It had a high level of self-organization that is rare. It reminded me of what unions were before they began aping the corporations.

At my Christmas Carpenters' union meeting on Thursday probably 400 workers and their families crammed into our union hall to eat. The line to see the carpenter-Santa was long and every kid got a $25 gift certificate. Which is all our kids will get this Christmas. I tried to get several kids to pull on Santa's fake beard, but none would co-operate.

I guess my theme here is that we hold dear to us those moments when we run things ourselves, when we are free of the oppressive weight of consumerist-money-driven-capitalism.

One such moment was on Wednesday, stepping into Wheeler Hall, where Richard knew just about every student, where Zac sat behind the free speech table, where the door closed behind us and left the official UC outside.

Students had organized a discussion in the auditorium on the struggles at UC in 1968. Everyone put their 10 cents in. There was a great, relaxed atmosphere.

Sixty-one year old Harvey Dong spoke about the stuggle to establish studies relevent to students of color, and the importance of bottom-upism. They had demanded a Third World College, the University establishment came up with "Ethnic Studies" as the counter proposal that stuck. Harvey spoke about the National Guard occupation of the University and tanks on the streets, "and all we were asking for was a change to the curriculum!"

When I wondered Wheeler Hall on Wednesday it was not the in your face kind of occupation of an initial struggle, but the everyday occupation, with students sweeping the floors and students providing food. It felt relaxed. It was not a great confrontation with the establishment. But it was too much for the powers that be.

This week when students at the more working class San Francisco State college occupied their building the authorities came down hard. Several workers at my union were even talking about it. This is different. Workers are watching. And with the call for a strike of some sort on March 4th, the bosses are very nervous.

That's why the came down hard on the 66 students occupying Wheeler Hall at 5am. They do not want the spirit of resitance spreading. Bring the resistance on!