…students from the University of California at Berkeley, peacefully protesting. They wanted to set up tents and do an Occupy Movement on camp to bring attention to the outrageous fee hikes hitting students over the past couple of years. Thus far fees have increased a whooping 53%… There are proposals before the board of regents to raise fees an addition 81%.. yes you read that correctly 81%.

Here’s how police treat peaceful protesters. They beat Cal students with batons, and arrest 37. The beatings were excessive and brutal.. The videos show it all..

Notice there are no bottles, rocks, bricks or paint being thrown.. Notice there are no windows being busted. Notice these students are not swarming, causing dangerous situation or goading the cops..

photo: the daily cal

Now let’s take a trip to the other side of the country to University Park, Pennsylvania where Penn State sits.. As many of y’all know Penn State has been embroiled in huge child abuse sports related scandal..

It’s hard to explain to young students today, why folks were flipping vans and rioting because of Joe Paterno being fired. Were they upset about the sexually abused kids? Why no arrests for the outrageous act of flipping a TV van?  Why were peaceful protestors at Cal beaten? I guess the message is clear.. Mess with our money get beat and carted off to jail. Support child molester protector and demonize their victims and its all good.

davey d, 10.11.11.

The difference is that at Berkeley, the Occupiers—a diverse assemblage of students, linking arms—pushed back and displayed true courage in the face of state violence. They would not be moved. These students are a credit to their school and represent the absolute best of a young generation who are refusing to accept the world as it is.

At Penn State, we saw the worst of this generation: the flotsam and the fools; the dregs and the Droogs; young men of entitlement who rage for the machine.

No matter how many police officers raised their sticks, the students of Berkeley stood their ground, empowered by a deeper set of commitments to economic and social justice.

the nation, 10.11.11.

uhm…wsup, penn state?

holy s— serious? 81% increase in UC tuition & fees?? 
glad I’m ‘bout to graduate sometime soon..? 

** obviously I’ve stopped reading my campus newspaper.
Student Protest Tuition. ucsdguardian, 31.10.11.