Berkeley Will Have Major Closed Perimeter Because of Right Wing Speaker; Counseling Will Be Offered

Ben Shapiro

In a campus-wide email on Thursday, University of California-Berkeley's Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Paul Alivisatos detailed the steps the university has planned in advance for the September 14th speech on campus by the neocon Ben Shapiro.

In a letter Alivisatos wrote  (my Bold):

At 4 p.m. on September 14, UCPD will establish a closed perimeter around Zellerbach Hall and surrounding buildings. Buildings near Zellerbach Hall will be closed at 4 p.m., with no access permitted. The perimeter will be
assembled over the course of the day starting in the morning. Affected buildings include: César E. Chávez Student Center, Alumni House, Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union, Sproul Hall, and Eshleman Hall. There will be a limited number of access points along the perimeter; beginning at 5:30 p.m., a ticket to the event will be required to gain entry into the perimeter.

Parking will be closed ALL DAY on September 14 at Barrow Lane Parking Spaces, Peppertree Lane Parking Spaces, North Sproul Lot, and the ASUC Garage....

An increased and highly visible police presence will be on campus on September 14...

Some may wish to attend the event and hear the speaker to form their own views. Others may wish to stay away. Some may wish to protest. All activities can be done peacefully and with respect. If you choose to protest, please seek ways to protest peacefully and safely while observing rules related to the student code of conduct and our Principles of Community. If events escalate around you, please strongly consider leaving...

Support and counseling services for students, staff and faculty

We are deeply concerned about the impact some speakers may have on individuals’ sense of safety and belonging. No one should be made to feel threatened or harassed simply because of who they are or for what they believe. For that reason, the following support services are being offered and encouraged:

• Student support services
• Employee (faculty and staff) support services

And Shapiro is only the warm up act.

Ann Coulter, Milo Yiannopoulos and possibly former White House aide Steve Bannon will be coming to Berkeley from  Sept. 24-27 for "Free Speech" week.

 -RW