15. Repression in the Neoliberal University Charles Thorpe
On November 9, 2011, when students attempted to set up an Occupy encampment in the main plaza of the University of California (UC) Berkeley campus, in order to protest rising tuition fees and the de facto privatization of the University, they were met with heavily-armed police in riot-gear. The police jabbed protesting students and staff with batons and pulled protesters by the hair. A little over a week later, on November 18, police officer Lieutenant John Pike pepper-sprayed seated student demonstrators at UC Davis campus, causing outcry across the US. The University administration responded to the uproar by quickly disowning and distancing itself from the violence. UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi expressed her “sadness.” Chair of the University’s Board of Regents Sherry Lansing said she was “shocked and appalled” by footage of the police actions.1 President Yudof declared himself “appalled by [the] images” and said, “We cannot let this happen again.”2 Despite these disavowals and statements of regret, it has become clear that the University administration played a key role in the move toward a violent crackdown on protest. The repression stemmed directly from the University’s determination not to have Occupy-style protests on campus. Two days before the Berkeley occupation, Chancellor Robert Birgenau sent a letter to the campus community stating that “destructive” or “disrupt[ive]” activities, including “occupying buildings [or] setting up encampments... will not be tolerated.” He would not allow any activities that might “disrupt with anyone’s ability to conduct regular activities - go to class, study, carry out their research, etc.”3 Even in the face of widespread outrage following the violence against protesters, Birgenau defended his “no encampments” policy on the grounds of the “hygiene, safety, space, and conflict issues that emerge when an