UCPD planning crackdown on civil obedience
Following announcements from Berkeley's Antifa-affiliated organizations of a protest on December 11 of Lecturer Peyrin Kao's suspension, University of California Police have announced plans to aggressively crack down on civil obedience on campus.
Police cited Wednesday's Study-in in Sproul as raising hackles within the department.
"I mean, what we saw there was just really disturbing," said Kyle Garcias, UCPD intern. "When these groups refuse to even give us a reason to use force, we are going to have to take things into our own hands."
UCPD spokespeople told The Campanile Times that they had prepared the department's tanks, stored in the subbasement of Sproul Hall, as well as riot gear and less-lethal munitions in anticipation of Thursday's mass obedience.
Members of Students Organizing for Liberation at UC Berkeley said they had prepared keffiyehs and aggressive cardboard signage.
"I baked bread for everyone," said member Jess Ericson.
The protest and accompanying crackdown were spurred on by the controversial suspension of computer science lecturer Peyrin Kao for using class time to promote pro-Palestinian political points. Kao has repeatedly referred to the war in Gaza as a genocide, as well as been spotted buying watermelon flavored drinks around campus, which the US Department of Justice has classified as an anti-semitic hate crime.
The Campanile Times spoke to a freshman-year student who verified that Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza.
UCPD spokespeople said the department felt deeply disheartened by the remarkable civility of the "studier combatants" at the bold Wednesday study-in, which occurred during Berkeley's regularly scheduled week of study before finals. Because UCPD has a strict quota for deployment of live munitions, they said they will have to take a more aggressive approach to such displays of adherence to campus regulations and the law.
"These are really bad people," said a source within UCPD, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of self-judgement. "We plan to treat this ridiculous obedience like an insurrection. Sproul will look like January 6th here at Cal."