Cal students blocked at Sather Gate in 'safe space' protest

Students trying to get to class were barred from walking through UC Berkeley's Sather Gate by a wall of activist students protesting for "safe spaces."

More than 100 protesters shouted "Go around!" at approaching students but opened up to allow students who wanted to join the protest to pass during Friday's demonstration, the latest spasm of activism on campus.

Many students detoured around the bridge at Sather Gate and crossed Strawberry Creek without much hardship.

A video posted on YouTube by Diego Reyes claimed that white students were prevented from passing through the gate but students of color were allowed through.

But UC Berkeley Assistant Vice Chancellor Dan Mogulof said that race and ethnicity played no role in who was allowed to cross the line.

"Simply put, no one, of any ethnicity, was allowed to pass except for one or two individuals who asked to join the protest itself," Mogulof wrote in an email.

The activist students carried banners urging students to "Fight 4 Spaces of Color" at the university — which they already have. But according to the Daily Californian, they don't like their current space at Eshelman Hall and are demanding relocation. Unfortunately, the three alternatives proposed by the university were deemed unsatisfactory by the students.

The protesters are also seeking "safe spaces" for transgender students. They say student-run sanctuaries to recruit and retain students of color and provide support for the LGBTQIA+ student community are "invaluable and must be affirmed by the university."

LGBTQIA+ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex and Asexuality. The "+" symbol encompasses all other sexualities, sexes and genders not previously mentioned.

The blockade at Sather Gate lasted for about two hours before students moved the protest to the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union, which they says infringes upon their safe spaces.

The students posted "a notice of eviction" on the building declaring: "You are hereby notified by the students of the University of California, Berkeley to vacate the premises immediately. University administration wrongly allocated this two-story facility to a third-party corporations, keeping in line with its intensifying legacy of prioritizing financial profit over student needs."

"The notice continued, "This space expansion is one step in an ongoing process to remedy the historical devaluation of students of color and LGBTQIA+ students."

Earlier last week students rallied at the Dean of Students office and occupied the Student Store.