UC Berkeley Students Promote S. F. May Day March

UC Berkeley Students Promote S. F. May Day March

by Jonathan Nack May 1, 2011

OAKLAND, CA - Students at UC Berkeley rallied and marched through campus on Friday, April 29, to drum up support for the May Day march and rally to be held today in San Francisco.

The rally, which was led by the campus chapter of MECHA (National Movimiento Estudiantil Chican@ de Aztlán) [ http://www.nationalmecha.org/ ], began with beautiful Aztec dancing and drumming by a group in traditional dress. They drew considerable attention from on lookers at the entrance to campus at Telegraph and Bancroft streets.

After a brief rally, students marched through Sproul Plaza, past other students holding a banner which reach, “Students Support UC Workers.”

Then the marched arrived at Wheeler Hall, where other students are on a hunger strike to defend ethnic studies programs. The hunger strikers had an encampment there, where they sat on a blanket, with supporters gathered around.

The students on hunger strike began it on Monday, April 25. [ http://reclaimuc.blogspot.com/2011/04/hunger-strike-for-ethnic-studies-begins.html ] (A short video about the hunger strike is at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qjcN8eREyU .)

There was a joint rally held for the hunger strikers, and the students promoting the May Day event in S.F. They were also joined by members of AFSCME Local 3299, who distributed leaflets promoting upcoming events.

This year, the May Day mobilization in San Francisco unites the immigrants rights movement with the labor movement. [ http://www.answercoalition.org/sf/events/may-1st-immigrant-rights-are.html ].

Around the conclusion of the May Day rally to be held in San Francisco on May 1, at 5:00 pm, Cindy Sheehan and Code Pink will begin leading an eight day march to Sacramento to demand a just budget for California. [ http://www.strikemay2011ca.org/index.html ]