SMITHEREENS: Reflections on Bits & Pieces: Tents,Tenets&Tensions
More Tents, Less Tension: The Sprawl at Sproul
With the news that a pro-Palestinian/anti-genocide occupation of the Sproul Steps was underway, I donned one of my tattered, decades-old Free Speech Movement T-shirts and trotted off to reconnoiter with some of my fellow FSM vets to show my support for the current generation of student protesters.
Recent days had been filled with apocalyptic scenes of police crackdowns as peacefully protesting students (and some faculty) were being falsely accused of supporting Hamas and promoting anti-Semitism, I was concerned that I might find Sproul Plaza playing host to a hoard of campus, city, and state cops, sheriffs, and troops.
Instead, the visit to the "tent-in" at Sproul Hall was a refreshing break from the plethora of video clashes that have been flashing on media screens from colleges and universities across the nation. Instead of another crackdown involving pepper-spray, batons, tasers and tie-downs, the tent city on the sanctified "free speech steps" of Sproul Hall was calm, quiet, and kempt.
Instead of hand-to-hand tussles with the fuzz, students were writing slogans on the Sproul Steps with an array of colored chalk. Instead of lines of chanting students, a single loudspeaker was placed on the steps, above the seated and passing students. Instead of a line-up of fiery orators, a series of calm, pre-recorded addresses streamed from the amplifier—somewhat garbled by a background noise that sounded like a weed-whacker. (Intentional electronic interference?)
Everyone was in good spirits, including a few homeless souls who visited the support tents to pick up some free fresh fruit. And, topping if off, the Cal Band's horn-and-drum team showed up to perform the Golden Bears' fight song and a stage-worthy rendition of ABBA's "Dancing Queen."
And there was much information available in handouts, flyers, and posters. One handbill advised hummus-lovers: "Don't dip into Israeli Apartheid." Instead, boycott Sabra and Tribe brand spreads. The pro-active pamphlet also contained a recipe for home-made hummus next to a photo of a picket sign reading "No Justice. No Chickpeas."
With all the violence at Columbus, Yale, Austin, USC and UCLA, it was a relief to see the authorities at UCB responding with non-confrontational acceptance. It looked like the lessons of the Free Speech Movement had left a lasting legacy here in Berkeley—an abiding respect for protest and debate limited only by the constraints of "time, place and manner." An exemplary model for other citadels of learning.
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