Members of the “Hungry For Justice Coalition” will meet with campus officials at U. California-Berkeley a day after Chancellor Robert Birgeneau issued a letter responding to the strikers’ demands.
Four students and one union worker will have an informal discussion with Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost George Breslauer and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Harry Le Grande Thursday at 4 p.m.
In the statement, Birgeneau addressed each of the demonstrators’ six demands, stating he is “personally prepared” to speak out against the recently passed Arizona immigration law and will join with others in urging President Barack Obama to find a way to repeal the law, “repairing a clearly broke federal immigration law system.”
Members of the Hungry for Justice Coalition met at 2 p.m. to discuss Birgeneau’s response but will not comment until after the meeting, according to senior Horacio Corona, currently in his 75th hour without food. A meeting was attempted Wednesday between student strikers and Breslauer, but the talk was called off when campus officials refused to let Tanya Smith, president of the University Professional and Technical Employees Local 1, join the students.
In the letter Birgeneau said the campus has already hired eight out of 33 laid-off custodians and will try to rehire more laid-off employees as new positions open up.
Birgeneau said he will not acquiesce to the strikers’ demand to have UC Berkeley declared a sanctuary campus for undocumented students because there may be the “unintended consequence of putting undocumented students and other community members at risk for heightened scrutiny.” He also said undocumented students would not be put at risk if they contacted UCPD to report crimes or threats.
The chancellor also declined to drop conduct charges against all student activists, as the strikers requested, saying the campus has already dropped cases against those involved in the Dec. 11 “Open University” demonstration and that the circumstances surrounding the Nov. 20 Wheeler Hall occupation disrupted the campus community.
“On November 20th, 3800 students were prevented from attending classes by the actions of the protesters who occupied Wheeler Hall and a number of our buildings were disrupted by falsely pulled fire alarms,” he said in the statement. “We have an obligation to all members of our community to ensure that our (normal) campus activities are not disrupted and our Time, Place and Manner rules are upheld.”
The campus will not suspend conduct procedures, but a task force of students, faculty and staff will be created to reexamine the conduct process.
In response to the strikers’ demand that the campus accept “responsibility for the violence and escalation of the confrontation surrounding Wheeler Hall on Nov. 20 and Dec. 11,” Birgeneau said he regrets the incidents that “brought physical and emotional injury” and that the campus is investigating the events led by the Police Review Board. A report from Wayne Brazil, professor of law and chair of the board, is expected by the end of the month.
“We are committed to fashioning policies and procedures that honor the University’s commitments to freedom of inquiry and expression, and to maintaining the kind of secure and safe environment without which free inquiry and expression would not be possible,” Birgeneau said in the letter.
Earlier this morning, two members of American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 announced they would join in the hunger strike.