Dear supporter of public education,

We are now entering week 3 of the occupation of the Anthropology Library at UC Berkeley. Already, Chancellor Carol Christ’s claim that the fate of the library is sealed has begun to crack under the force of our movement. On May 3, the Chancellor had Raka Ray, the Dean of Social Sciences, extend an offer to the Department of Anthropology to take ownership of the space as a dedicated reading room in exchange for an end to the occupation. This was a clear attempt at damage control: a tactic to defuse our efforts by giving us a symbolic win.

Symbolic wins are not enough for us. We have not been on this front line for 16 days because we want a reading room. We demand a fully staffed and generously funded library, and nothing else will do. In that meeting room on May 3, the faculty of the Anthropology department stood behind our efforts and refused the Chancellor’s proposal. Our occupation continues.

This Tuesday at 3 PM, we will hold a press conference to announce the current state of our struggle and our plans moving forward. Turning out to the Occupied Library for the press conference is invaluable to showing the world the resolve of our occupation, and we want you there as part of it. 

We are also in the early stages of planning a potential direct action Thursday evening. Keep your calendars free and be on the lookout for more information on that soon. 

Our activities at the occupation draw new supporters every day. If you haven’t already, come join us for a day -- or a night, or several! If you have, our doors are always open for you to visit again. If you've been supporting us from afar, please consider donating to our occupation here: https://givebutter.com/saveanthrolibrary. Your donations will go towards feeding the occupiers and other necessary expenditures to keep our occupiers fed and alert for as long as we need occupy in order to see our demands met.

We hope to see you soon!

All the best,

The Occupation to Save the UC Berkeley Anthropology Library