Prop. 209 Protesters Arrested in Berkeley

Police arrested 23 students Thursday to end the occupation of the UC Berkeley bell tower in a protest against Proposition 209, the referendum that would end affirmative action based on race and gender in state and local government.

The ballot measure was approved by voters in Tuesday’s election.

The students, at least four of whom chained themselves to the structure, took over the Campanile Tower on Wednesday as part of a demonstration that drew about 1,000 to the campus. They were cited for trespassing and released, campus Police Capt. Bill Cooper said.

Vice Chancellor Horace Mitchell met with the protesters. He described them as angry but said he told them that the school must obey the law.

Protesters spent the night in the tower, some in sleeping bags. A banner hanging from the tower beneath the large clock read, “No Time for 209.”

About 1,000 people attended a Wednesday rally at Sproul Plaza on campus, then marched through the streets of Berkeley, stopping traffic at every intersection.

The crowd outside the Campanile on Thursday chanted and listened to a tape of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

University regents voted last year to end affirmative action in the UC system, but Proposition 209 would end such programs earlier than anticipated under the regents’ vote.

In San Diego, one juvenile was arrested Thursday when high school students marched downtown to protest 209.

Fighting broke out as the students marched from San Diego High School toward San Diego City College, San Diego police spokesman Dave Cohen said.

At one point, 400 to 500 mostly Latino students gathered at a trolley station near 12th Avenue and C Street. Police dispersed the crowd after about an hour.

It was unclear if the juvenile was arrested for fighting or for another infraction.

The march was the second day of demonstrations in San Diego over Proposition 209. On Wednesday, more than 200 students at San Diego State University protested the new law. Several marchers burned American flags, provoking an angry response from some bystanders.

Several scuffles broke out and a TV cameraman was hit by a pole. No arrests were made.