Police barricade oak tree, won't allow supplies
By Kristin Bender
The 15-month Berkeley tree sit has branched out to another area on campus with a guy who calls himself Fresh sitting in a lone oak just north of Sather Gate to protest various university policies. This new tree sit is linked to the long-term tree sit to the west of California Memorial Stadium. But it likely won't last long. Police have put metal barricades around the lone oak and aren't allowing Fresh to receive food, water or other supplies in the tree. "We don't want him to get anything that is going to enable him to stay longer," said University of California, Berkeley, Assistant Police Chief Mitch Celaya. "We, for the most part, have the tree contained. Without any provisions being brought up to him, he will need to come down, or want to come down." Police are also stationed at the tree, Celaya said.
Since December 2006, a group of people have been living in trees near the football stadium to protest UC Berkeley's plan to raze trees to build a $125 million sports training center at the grove. Eight to 10 people continue to live and sleep in those trees, a tree-sit spokesman said Thursday. A court injunction is preventing any construction on the grove site. Plans are tied up by lawsuits, which will continue to be heard in a Hayward court today. On Thursday, Fresh said he wants to save the oaks but is also protesting the university's deals with BP and Dow Chemical, the housing of Indian remains on campus and Cal's involvement with nuclear weapons.
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