Protesters on ledge at UC Berkeley come down

The nine students from UC Berkeley who chained themselves together and to Wheeler Hall talk to firefighters and UC Police through the window, Thursday, March 3, 2011, in Berkeley, Calif. The group was protesting tuition rate hikes. less The nine students from UC Berkeley who chained themselves together and to Wheeler Hall talk to firefighters and UC Police through the window, Thursday, March 3, 2011, in Berkeley, Calif. The group was ... more Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Protesters on ledge at UC Berkeley come down 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

Eight protesters who spent more than seven hours on a fourth-floor ledge at UC Berkeley's Wheeler Hall returned to terra firm at 9:20 p.m., greeted by the enthusiastic cheers of a band of fervent supporters on the academic building's steps.

As part of the agreement for the activists to depart peacefully, university officials apparently have agreed to drop charges against several protesters for this and other demonstrations in the past year.

The resolution follows an often tense stand-off, with police in riot gear at one point clearing demonstrators away from a portion of Wheeler Hall's steps.

Earlier in the afternoon, police arrested a ninth ledge-sitter. Police said the protester left the ledge and entered a classroom, but protesters claim police pulled him down.

From then until several hours past nightfall, the remaining eight protesters remained linked amid ornamental vases as supporters below shouted the now-familiar mantra, "No cuts, no fees, education must be free!"

UC Berkeley police ran to the roof of the building to try and extract the protesters. They also cleared students and instructors from the top floor, but allowed classes to continue in other areas of the four-story building, which houses the English Department.

"These cuts that they're asking us to face, and the way they run this university, will not stand," said Ricardo Gomez, a vice president with the Associated Students of the University of California, said from the steps of Wheeler.

The protest comes one day after a weak showing by UC Berkeley students in what was billed as a National Day of Action to Defend Higher Education. Only about 100 students protested the budget cuts Wednesday, with a handful of protesters cited by police Wednesday night for failing to leave Wheeler Hall by a 10 p.m. deadline.

Today, those who walked out on the ledge may have been trying to echo a dramatic protest tactic from Nov. 20, 2009, when 40 students barricaded themselves inside Wheeler. That protest drew more than 1,000 supporters, and the "Wheeler 40" live on as the symbol of student anger about steep tuition increases and university budget cuts.

Some of the Wheeler 40 still face possible suspension by UC Berkeley.

Meanwhile, campus officials said they were worried about the students on the ledge.

"We've got to be concerned for the students up there and their safety," said spokeswoman Janet Gilmore.

Chronicle staff writer Nanette Asimov contributed to this report.