Protesters cleared out of San Francisco State building

Tomas Segovia
Soc 313-003
Blog Post #6

This article I found off CNN talks about how a group of protesters were arrested for protesting outside a San Fransisco State University administration building. They assembled to protest budget cuts and fee increases the university had implemented but were arrested for trespassing and now face charges of unlawful assembly and resisting arrest.

I chose this article because it is a prime example of social control. The university, which made decisions that adversely affected their students, was met with resistance and disapproval. The protesters, who actually have a right to freedom of speech and free assembly, was arrested using loopholes and misdemeanor charges as a way to silence their opinion because it conflicts with the controlling force; in this case the university. The university uses claims like the protest was disrupting classes and that the protesters were trespassing to mask the overall point that the university really just wanted them to shut up and go away.


http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/12/10/california.protest/index.html