Committee on Finance approves 32 percent fee increase, 14 protesters arrested

The Committee on Finance of the UC Board of Regents approved two undergraduate student fee increases that would raise current fees by a total of 32 percent for fall 2010.

If passed by the full board tomorrow, a mid-year increase will go into effect for winter quarter, and the remaining hike will be instituted fall 2010.

Fourteen protesters have been arrested so far.

Twice this morning, groups of protesters were taken away in handcuffs after singing “we shall overcome” and linking arms during the public comment and Committee on Finance periods of the meeting.

Just before noon, the general public section of the meeting room was closed after nearly every person in it stood up to protest.

One woman interrupted the meeting to make a personal appeal to the regents, but she was denied the chance to comment.

The woman, in tears, began screaming, and nearly everyone in the public section raised their fists into the air and joined in.

“Who’s listening to us?” one person said.

“How do you sleep at night?” another said.

The regents filed out of the room as more than 20 police officers lined up in front of the public section.

Student Regent Jesse Bernal and student regent designate Jesse Cheng then approached the protesters and attempted to calm them down. The protesters listened but continued to cause a disruption.

“Come to this side and stand with us,” they said.

A police sergeant declared the situation an unlawful disturbance, and all in the public section were ordered to leave the room or face arrest.

There have been no injuries to protesters inside or outside of the meeting, said Lynn Tierney, the director of communications for the UC Office of the President.

Police have not used tear gas, Tasers or rubber bullets, Tierney said. A police line was formed around Covel Commons but has since dropped back.

Earlier in the meeting, an initial group of eight individuals was arrested just after the public comment section at the beginning of the Committee on Educational Policy, at approximately 10:10 a.m. Chairman Russell Gould first tried to begin the Committee on Educational policy at 9:20 a.m., but the next 50 minutes were punctuated by outbursts from the audience.

Audience members shouted “Whose university? Our university” and “si se puede.” The chanting and shouts from the audience did not stop when Gould and President Mark Yudof tried to begin the Committee on Educational Policy. Because of the delay, the regents decided to move on to the Committee on Finance when the meeting resumed.

“You have to be quiet so we can conduct our meeting, or I’m going to have to ask you to be removed,” Gould said.

However, the audience did not stay quiet, and they were asked to leave.

A group of approximately 15 police officers stood in front of the audience area. Several protesters were specifically asked to leave, while Berky Nelson, director for student programming, knelt next to union organizer Teresa Avendano in an attempt to get her to leave. Both Avendano and UCLA law student Alejandra Cruz left the meeting.

Afterward, six more individuals began to sing the words, “We shall overcome.” They were handcuffed and led out of the room one by one, each one accompanied by an officer.

The individuals declined to state whether they represented any particular student groups.