...And the taste is bitter:
Protesters occupying land in Albany used by UC Berkeley for agricultural research missed a weekend deadline to agree to a negotiated departure, but representatives said they would respond Monday.
University officials said they would consider more forceful measures after the group Occupy the Farm failed to respond to their proposal to end the encampment in exchange for discussions about using part of the 10-acre plot for urban farming.
"We're very disappointed," said Dan Mogulof, the UC Berkeley spokesman. "Unfortunately, because time is short, we need to begin to assess other options."
Gopal Dayaneni, spokesman for Occupy the Farm, said the group had made it quite clear through their lawyer that they intended to respond, but not over the weekend.
"We are prepared to present them with a comprehensive proposal, and we will do that" Monday, Dayaneni said. ...
The university wants the land vacated by mid-May in order for certain agricultural research studies to be conducted.
"We have stated publicly and made clear to the occupiers that research and a tent city cannot coexist," Mogulof said. "The offer on the table is that if they voluntarily and peacefully end the encampment, we are open to discussing with them and the community ways in which we can peacefully share the property. Our researchers do not need all of the acreage there in the current growing season, so therefore there remains the possibility that we can share it - some land for research and some to urban farming. But we won't do it under duress."
Aside from the fact that the university should not have to negotiate for rights to its own land, I would love to see the liberal mecca that is UC Berkeley kick the occupiers off the farm land and will laugh out loud when they attempt to "share the property." The university is reportedly operating under new guidelines that take a "kinder, gentler approach to dealing with civil disobedience." Last week, the university released a 121-page report which encourages administrators to "avoid blind adherence to regulations" and to "use force only as a last resort."
Yeah, good luck with that.
