Sometimes, people are so serious about their cause, that they decide to stage a sit-in. Sometimes that, in itself, can become extreme. Such was the case when four students at the University of California, Berkeley, decided to occupy the treetops of an oak grove on campus on December 2, 2006. They were there to show their opposition to the university’s intention to clear more than an acre of forest for a new athletic center, sparking an epic 21-month standoff. This event marked one of the longest tree sit-ins in historical record. When I read that they were there that long, I was stunned. To give up almost 2 years of one’s life for a protest…unbelievable.
I understand the desire to save trees, but I guess, I can’t understand fighting such a losing battle. Tree sit-ins are “a method of civil disobedience” where protesters physically inhabit a tree to protect it from being felled, sometimes remaining there for extended durations. During the height of the Berkeley protest, more than twelve individuals resided among the branches of the grove’s oak and redwood trees, with volunteers and supporters providing them with food, water, and other necessities. This was not just civil disobedience, but it 
was assisted by more than a dozen people, to make sure that no one could cut down those trees, and they were the property of the university.
Of course, it wasn’t just the students either. They also had the backing of the Sierra Club and the California Native Plant Society, as well as facing lawsuits from three entities, including the Berkeley City Council, due to the project’s closeness to the hazardous Hayward Fault. A conservation analyst noted that the grove served as a habitat for over 300 animal species, such as deer, squirrels, woodpeckers, and moths. There were a number of “logical” reasons why the grove should be spared, but the fact remains that the animals would find another place to live, and they weren’t taking all the trees. I don’t mean to sound cold, and I’m as willing as the next guy to fight for things I believe in, but this made no sense…not to me anyway.
Nevertheless, the students held their ground until 2007, when an Alameda County judge issued an injunction that halted the plans to cut down a grove. It was a temporary “stay of execution” for the trees, but by July 2008, the court decided in favor of the university. Once the decision was made, campus police arrested protesters and dismantled their redwood encampments. There was an appeal, of course, to a state appeals court in September 2008, but they declined to halt construction, permitting the university to remove the entire grove within the next three days. A week later, the last four tree-sitters descended from one of the final two redwoods near the stadium and were arrested. The students had wasted 649 days of their lives, on a battle they couldn’t win. I guess hope springs eternal.
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