Berkeley protests erupt as community unites to preserve People’s Park

Advocates demand preservation amidst UC housing development plans

Staff Writer

On January 4th, UC Berkeley initiated its plan to construct housing for unhoused undergraduate students in the city’s renowned People’s Park. Though the proposal was unveiled in 2018, after repeated back-and-forth conflict between the university and the city’s community, the school closed off streets surrounding the park to seize control of it and began construction in early January.

Since the early 60s, when UC Berkeley’s students united to combat political activity on campus in the city’s Free Speech Movement, and when the city’s residents came together to lay sod, plant trees, and build the park, People’s Park has served as a cornerstone of counterculture, primarily bringing refuge to unhoused people.

“The people in the Free Speech Movement took the fight to People’s Park. This pushed people to fight for open space so people could expand their focus, be able to communicate with each other, and be able to think in a greater environment,” said Aidan Hill, a former student of the university, former Vice-Chair of Berkeley’s Homeless Commission, and one of the city’s electoral candidates. “People have made so many memories over the last 54 years that the city and UC are trying to demolish.”

Lin-Rachel Altman, a longtime city resident, shares this sentiment. “It’s a space to come together. It represents democracy,” she told The San Francisco Standard.

In an official statement, the school addressed those currently seeking shelter in the park by claiming the plan aims to service the needs of and provide supportive, permanent housing for more than 100 unhoused or low-income people. Dan Mogulof, Assistant Vice Chancellor of the school, told The San Francisco Chronicle, “The plans for People’s Park are a part of a broader housing initiative.” He continued, “We believe that the plans for the park not only align with the founding ideals of the park but represent a unique win-win-win-win in the community.”

Some community members, like Hill, believe there are faults in the university’s plan for simultaneous housing for students and the park’s homeless residents. They told the Chronicle, “The problem with those designs is that the people at the park won’t be housed in the housing development. It displaces the community.”

Many students have reasons to support the housing plan. “UC Berkeley houses the lowest percentage of students of any of the UC campuses,” Mogulof said. The university claims that the construction of the 17-story building would provide necessary housing and better amenities to over 1,100 undergraduate students.

The push for more and better student housing has inevitably captured student interest. A survey conducted by the school in May 2022 revealed that student support for the plan had reached a growing two-to-one margin.

Kashvi Bhatia, currently enrolled at UC Berkeley and an alum of American High (℅ 2023), said, “It’s true Berkeley has an extreme housing crisis. Obviously, students want better housing. At this point, many students, including myself, have two other roommates and are forced into a double with really old facilities.”

Bhatia added, “At the end of the day, people are living in the park. It’s not fair to remove people if they aren’t given some sort of alternative.”

Of various options for alternative construction sites, one particularly stands out to Hill. “The Chancellor’s mansion, called University House, is the site I believe is the most important one to advocate for building student housing on. Not only is it vacant, but the Chancellor told me herself that she only wants to use it for parties and events.” They added, “The idea of having a mansion sitting empty while you’re trying to destroy a park that’s beloved by thousands of people is the highlight of the contradiction we’re facing.”

Nevertheless, Hill emphasizes that the fight for preservation is overwhelmingly rooted in maintaining pride and resilience. “We’re here because we want to save the park. It’s not because we don’t have anywhere else to go. It’s because People’s Park is our home,” Hill told CBS News.

Caption: Students seen protesting the university’s student housing plan at People’s Park. (PC: Beth LaBerge/KQED)