It's useful to read "anonymous poster"'s clarification. S/he writes taht Students Against War members (though not as SAW reps) encouraged administration people to call off the cops and that released Tent U organizers then made the decision to make the "Success" agreement that involved abandoning the consensus decision to maintain the community space at the base of campus.

It would be more reassuring if we knew who these people were and if they could speak for themselves.

It would also be helpful to know if this "agreement" happened before the police left or after.

Even if the "agreementg" was agreed to in the panic of the moment while police were torturing parcipants, why not put "evacuation" decision to the victorious community for a consensus response after the police had left? And since that wasn't done, why not acknowldge that this was an error?

It's obviously impossible to arrive at a consensus decision in the middle of a beating or a tear-gassing, but once the police were forced to leave (through the courage and commitment of the resisters and their supporters and the sheer number of new protesters arriving), wasn't there ample time to sit down and consider what to do?

I hope the community continues to pressure the UCPD, the City Police, the Administration, and other responsible bodies for (a) restitution for the torture (we're talking money for medical expenses and pain and suffering) (b) a thorough overhaul of the bogus "free speech" rules, (c) clear discipline and/or dismissal of those responsible, and (d) [obviously] amnesty and apologies for the students re: any UCSC sanctions.

One good way to do this is to make a Public Records Act request for the transcript of all police radio dispatches on the night of the 18th--something customarily done in criminal and civil cases.

I've put in a public records act request for e-mails and university records considering UC admin/police discussions around "camping" and have received a pro forma reply that they're "working on it". I will post any info that I get when it arrives, but encourage folks to make their own requests.

Thanks again to the community for standing up to this kind of frightening violence. And that includes the organizers, whose decisions I disagreed with.