UCI ‘Shantytown’ Going Down but Protesters Aren’t Giving Up

Student activists at UC Irvine decided Wednesday to dismantle a “shantytown” constructed to protest the university’s housing policy, but vowed to issue new demands to Chancellor J.W. Peltason.

The cardboard shacks were erected last week to protest Peltason’s statement that the university’s policy prohibits gay and lesbian and other “non-traditional families” from residing in campus housing.

Judy Olson, vice president for internal affairs of Associated Graduate Students, said the shantytown will be removed during a “big bash” Friday at noon, after which protest leaders will issue a new set of demands to Peltason. If those demands are not met within “a couple of weeks,” Olson said, the shantytown will be rebuilt.

Randy Kerr, a member of the Campus Coalition for Human Rights, said the decision to dismantle the shantytown was reached because organizers, many of whom have manned the shanties for a week, wanted to “conserve their energy” for future demonstrations.

“We’re going to have a party (Friday) to declare a victory for us in unifying on this issue,” Kerr said. “We don’t feel in taking down the shantytown we’re admitting defeat.”

Olson said student leaders also decided to maintain an information booth detailing the students’ position, and will construct a “thermometer” showing the number of people who have signed petitions against the housing policy. Organizers will also work on soliciting support from sympathetic faculty members, she said.