Tense Protests Stall UC Regents Meeting

Thursday protests at the University of California at Riverside that for much of the afternoon seemed to be heading toward an ugly conclusion ended with reports of some violence. Campus police had warned students multiple times earlier in the afternoon that they would use force against protesters if they didn’t back off, but that was hours before things escalated as the regents prepared to leave. Dozens of campus police officers in riot gear lined up outside the building, and later, students carried barricades and followed a long line of sheriffs marching into the building to escort the regents out. During the live stream, students said police used rubber bullets and batons against students, and at least one person was arrested. The Occupy protesters delayed the start of the UC Board of Regents meeting for about an hour, The Daily Californian reported. The students were protesting rising tuition and student debt, "privatization of higher education," and low pay for professors; some on the campus estimated that up to 2,000 students showed up. In November, UC Regents first called off meetings entirely, citing safety concerns over the planned protests, then tried to hold them via teleconference but ended prematurely when protesters made it impossible to hear. was this the resumption of the meetings that were called off then? dl *** it was a scheduled meeting but yes, I suppose they would have been continuing those previous meetings (which they actually tried to have via teleconference -ag.