Remember the tree sitters?

[audtatious]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/...tsp=1

Berkeley's infamous tree-sitters have been hit with a rude surprise since they came down to earth: Judges are socking them with thousands of dollars in fines and legal fees.

Ironically, much of the money - which could total more than $10,000 per sitter - is going straight to the University of California, the very institution the tree-sitters were protesting as they tried to save a grove of trees outside Memorial Stadium.

"It's really vindictive," said an attorney for some the sitters, Dennis Cunningham. "They don't have this kind of money."

Maybe, but university lawyer Michael Goldstein isn't making any apologies.

"We've asked the judge to throw the book at them," Goldstein said flatly.

UC Berkeley estimates it spent more than $800,000 on police and other security measures during the 22 months sitters were up in the trees. The university spent $40,000 alone on the scaffolding that went up around the final tree during the last day of the protest this month.

Now, the school wants its pound of flesh.

So far, most of the 15 to 20 protesters arrested in the past year have been hit with fines of about $100 for trespassing and little or no jail time.

Once they were back on the street, however, the university hauled them back into court on contempt charges for violating an order issued in October by Judge Richard Keller of Alameda County Superior Court that banned people from sitting in the trees or doing anything to help the protesters already up in the branches.

Protesters Eric Eisenberg, Michael Schuck, Gregg Horton, Terri Slanetz and Matthew Taylor were found guilty last month of violating Keller's injunction. Each was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, and two were sentenced to serve five extra days in jail.

The university is also seeking as much as $10,000 from each of them for its attorney fees.

Five more protesters are to go to trial on contempt charges Oct. 1, and UC plans to file a contempt complaint against six others later this month - including the final four tree-sitters who came down Sept. 9.

Lawyers on both sides said the tree-sitters' chances of beating the contempt charges are slim.

As Cunningham noted, "You were either up in the trees or not. What's to argue?"

To which Goldstein added, "Who said free speech is always free?"

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WOW, Berkeley is doing something right for once.

[dusred]

^

Reality check for them.

When I first heard of "tree huggers" and "tree sitters" I thought it was a joke. If they wanted to be useful they could go and join the lumber companies' re-planting crew.

[AZhitman]

HAHAHAHAHA

If they were REALLY intent on accomplishing something, each of them could have done something TRULY meaningful.

Do the math with me here, and feel free to correct my numbers if I'm off (I didn't research the specifics).

Let's assume 15 protesters secure gainful employment over a 22-month period. They'd net $30K per year, or, let's say $55K each for the duration. Collectively, that's $825,000.

According to the website at http://www.arborday.org, if each of the 15 protesters became a member, it'd cost $10 each and they'd get 10 free trees (150 trees). With the remaining money, at an average per-tree priceof $8, (taking advantage of free shipping) they could order another 103,106 trees. The site will also throw in another 3 trees for any order over $25 (add 45 free trees), bringing the total number of trees obtained to 103,301 trees.

According to the trees-per-acre reforestation guidelines for the State of California (150-300 tres per acre) this would yield 344 to 689 acres of dense forestation.

The Berkeley campus occupies 6,651 acres with the central campus resting on approximately 200 acres.

Protesters are stupid.

[Encryptshun]

Greg, that is a brilliant post.

We need a "smarticulture" movement.

[AZhitman]

Glad to be of service.

I despise hand-wringers and do-littles who whine from the sidelines (or treetops).