About this project

Before dawn on November 20th, 2009 forty-three activists at the University of California at Berkeley occupied Wheeler Hall, a large central lecture hall and theater on campus. A thirteen-hour standoff with police ensued, as well as a massive show of support from thousands of protesters who demonstrated outside the occupied building. The action was part of a three-day statewide strike against a 32 percent tuition hike, furloughing, and two thousand layoffs across the U.C. system. The occupation at Wheeler Hall was also timed to coincide with protests and occupations at UCLA, UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis, UC Fresno, San Francisco State, and other campuses, all acting together to turn up the pressure across the state.

The situation in the UC school system has come during a period of financial meltdown for the state of California. The state is ground zero of the US real estate crisis (over 50% of “toxic mortgages” were in California) and the fee increases across the state's university system have amounted to more than 40% after two years of hikes, making a public education in California cost more than $10,000 at some campuses.

The protests on UC campuses are continuing and gaining intensity. A week after the first occupation of Wheeler Hall a second, "open" occupation was made, in which organizers kept the building open twenty-four hours a day for studying and presentations. On December 11th, after several days and nights of the open occupation, the UC Berkeley administration sent in police arresting sixty-six people. The following night, after a hip-hop concert, over seventy students marched to UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau’s home carrying torches. Outdoor lights and cement planters were smashed and eight more arrests ensued.

The stage at UC campuses is being set for a social explosion. In January, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a new proposed 2010-2011 budget that will decrease funding for public education by a further $2.43 billion, as part of an effort to address a $20 billion treasury shortfall. A day of action for public education is scheduled for March 4, 2010 and all UC campuses are planning actions across the state.

About the Project
Brandon Jourdan and David Martinez are working on a new documentary covering this growing student movement in California and the issues behind the protests. The film begins with the first actions in early Fall 2009, moving through the walkouts and first (failed) occupations of October and illustrating the successful occupations in November, both in Berkeley and other campuses including San Francisco State students taking over the business school in December 2009 and the second Wheeler occupation.

The film will continue with events in the coming year, such as the statewide day of action planned for March 4th, 2010. It will include both an overview of the situation and close connections with demonstrators in the actions, UC administration officials, California politicians, experts, and analysts that will help to contextualize the situation. Jourdan and Martinez’s previous work covering the November 2009 student strike for the national, award-winning news program Democracy Now and their tireless research on the issues surrounding the budget crisis and access that they have acquired, promise to make the piece a dynamic and provocative slice of journalism.