from tear gas, the national guard and confrontation at people's park in berkeley -- the tree sitters perched for months in a small grove of trees, protesters on campus confronting business decisions made by the university of california. and what those protests established. it's all up next on a second look. hello everyone and welcome to a second look i'm frank

somerville. berkeley is seen as a magnet for radical social politics. the university of berkeley has battled over protesters over cal's developing plans. the most ferocious of those protests began 45 years ago when a violent demonstration over uc plans for a small plot of land left one person dead and dozens of others injured. in 2000, rob roth had this look back at the events that put people's park on the map. >> reporter: perhaps things you notice in people parking in berkeley these days is how quiet it is. all seems peaceful much the way people's park began 31 years ago. in april of 1969 with the anti vietnam war movement in full throttle hundreds of uc berkeley students responded to an ad in the underground

newspaper the berkeley ard. they asked for people to make a park out of the parking lot. but the university said it planned to use this space for a sports field, ordered the people at the park out and put up a no trespassing sign. >> reporter: in 1969 he was captain of the berkeley police department. he said this garden of eden had become a magnet for drugs and crime. >> finally the city and university decide they had to do something about it. >> that plan was to put a chain link around the park. if the park had become a can of gasoline this was the match. >> there were highway patrol officers all around the park and there were people putting the fence up. >> reporter: back in 1969, he was uc berkeley's student body

president. in his speech at sprawl hall, he asked the people to take back the park. >> people started to drift down telegraph avenue toward people's park. they ran into the police barricades set up at telegraph and haste. some people threw some rocks or bottles. the police started throwing tear gas then the riot was on. >> these people were really afraid. they were really being hurt. >> reporter: the conflict became a war. as they road through downtown berkeley even children flashed the peace side. the heavy handed remark seemed to fire up if situation police were trying to quail. >> i was trying to give a midterm examination yesterday and the gas drifted in. i suppose from this gas delivered by helicopter. >> actually the law enforcement

officers were attacked by the mob literally overrun. a lot of them crowds of mobsters that smashed them. >> reporter: but while tear gas may have seemed harsh enough, one man was shot and killed, another man was blinded. >> they were supposedly loaded are bird shots and obviously somebody had buck shots. and rector was throwing throwing rebar and concrete at

law officers and killed him. >> we thought the cops were totally outrageous. definitely deserved being called pigs. >> reporter: by the end of the may that year the dispute began the cool. marchs became peaceful and the national guard troops withdrew. in the end 169 people were injured including dozens of law enforcement officers. more than a dozen arrested. >> i was very much involved in the antiwar movement at that time and my main objective in life was trying to bring an end to the war in vietnam. and people's park at the time seemed a little bit of a side show to me. but here i was, right in the middle of this event accused of insighting to riot. segel stood trial in that charge and was acquitted. >> you can't allow a free zone where everybody can do what they want. this is the unite of america. you have to enforce the law. the police were charged with doing that. years later there would be more confrontations such as the when the university wanted to

build volleyball courts here. but despite or because of all the bloodshed, protest, yelling and screaming people's park still survives. although not in the way many people would like. many who use the park are street people and police come here frequently during drug sweeps. many people say the park is cleaner and safer but students seldom come here. >> i'm not too sure about students, or berkeley students are really interested in these type of issues. they're more interested on getting jobs after graduation. >> reporter: but last month, students voted to keep people's park a park and not dorms like some were pushing for. dan segel remains a strong presence in politics. after serving as an advisor for quan he is now running against her for mayor of oakland. tree sitters who refused to

come down for several months. a look at efforts to save a small grove of trees right in front of memorial stadium. >> the people of the bay area -- >> and high praise from nelson mandela years after students demanded that berkeley pull millions of investments in south africa.

welcome back to a second look. in 1985 there was a growing effort to withdraw investments in south africa. among those investors was the university of south california. here are two reports from that time. >> reporter: the longshoremen, 400 of them are delegation of the uiwu convention in san francisco this week. international president herman says the student's effort to put pressure on uc to sell its stocks that do business in south africa has their full

support. harry bridge is making a rare appearance predicting a grand swell of support for the apartide movement all over the country. >> it's a shot, but now that the whole country behind it they're going to feel it. >> reporter: cannot move to a demand. >> one move is being met, the views of the group's respected here and other groups can be presented to the region. >> reporter: assembly speaker wily brown said he's ashamed of his fellow regents for dragging their feet and he predicted the student protest will force them to take action. >> i think it's coming together and it's amazing to me that the regents still aren't doing anything about it

>> reporter: the students were arrested after they sat down at the sidewalk at university hall and refused to move. they included the student body president from uc river side. berkeley city councilwoman nancy skinner and uc berkeley student winner nob era. all six were lead off amidst the cheer of demonstrators the arrests were carries out peacefully and as students leaders were processed and released in less than 10 minutes. today's protest marks a change in their strategy. from now on there will be daily demonstrations at university hall and a number of prominent people will look to get elected. as we've seen what happens at the embassy, the south african embassy in south africa the cumulative effect will be dramatic. >> it's not about getting

people arrested but to keep the impression in the minds of the administration that they can't just ignore this issue that they just can't wait us out. that we're going to continue to put the demands on them. >> reporter: the students kept the pressure, and the board of regents voted to divest. the university system pulled out $3.1 billion. in 1990, nelson mandel newly freed after 27 years behind bars spoke to some 58,000 people at the oakland coliseum where he thanked the crowd for the efforts to remove the apartide government of south africa. >> it is you, the people of oakland, the people of the bay area who have given me and my delegation the hope to continue

to struggle. when we come back on a second look. a political veteran sets aside her fear to show support to a protest to save a grove of trees right in front of memorial stadium. >> how do you get down? >> and later, protesters demand uc berkeley create an urban farm on a tract of land in albany.

for 649 days they perched high in the trees of the cal campus. tree sitters opposed to berkeley's plan to cut down 90 trees to build an athletic center. it all started in november of 2006 and for the next 21 months a dedicated group of tree sitters fought to get uc berkeley to abandon their plans to cut down all of those trees in front of the stadium. as david stevenson reported in 2007, just a few weeks into that protest, the group got support from three grand ams of uc politics. >> reporter: it was a short climb but a big statement today from a trio of veteran berkeley political figures. berkeley city councilwoman betty oles and 71-year-old former berkeley mayor shirley dean spent a half hour this morning as tree sitters perched on a small platform suspended between the branches of an old

oak tree. >> save the oaks at the stadium. >> reporter: the women and other protesters who have been camping in these oak trees for almost two months, hope to discourage uc berkeley from cutting down this grove for a new athletic training center. >> this is what we would like them to do. voluntarily back off of cutting these oak trees down. and fighting the athletic center in another location. >> reporter: this is such a beautiful oak grove. and i think it should remain the way it is. >> reporter: protesters say the university should build the center elsewhere not only to save historic trees but also because the fault runs right underneath the oak trees. the university says it will pant 51 trees than it camps. campus police raided this encampment and said they will continue to monitor the protesters closely. >> after we did the clean up

due to safety concerns, some of the people the ground support people have properties, tables, food chairs things like that. and we're continues to inform them that's a violation. >> how do you get down? >> reporter: the women say leaving the trees was as difficult as climbing up. >> i have this personal fear of heights. the tree sitting campaign came to an end in 2008. and as david stevenson reported then the effort failed. it began after 8:30 a.m. after crews placed scaffolding to reach protesters. others said they knew this was the beginning of the end. >> it was time to see how we

could best end this and take the higher ground. i think we did that i think we accomplished that. as the platform rose and tree sitters scrambled for higher ground, campus police officials tried to talk them down. arborists cut branches and tossed down the sitter supplies. >> we accomplished, he brought together thousands of people to fight for what's right my friend. and that, thousands of people have come together. >> people here are here because they're celebrating seeing them come down after 600 something wasted days. >> i think it's really sad that they are cutting the trees down. i think they're very brave people but it's over. >> reporter: just before 1:00, the protesters announced what they called a deal to finally end a stand off one that would create a committee for future land use by cal. >> he promised this will be a land use committee, all committee members which will all abide in the future uc land

development. >> the university agreed to an overall an over all oversight of the entire university and the land use. so that's huge. >> reporter: not true say university officials. >> that predated this protest. that would continue and that committee would stand regardless of how the protest ended. in short there was no quick proquo. >> reporter: by 12:30, all of the tree sitters were down, handcuffed and placed in patrol cars. the men will likely face contempt of court. >> today's effort was brilliant both in its design and execution. >> i think each one of us are going to internally see what could have been done better. what could have come out of this. we also have to take the time to say we did a hell of a job.

in all, four were sentenced to community service. was one given jail time for credit for time served. all five were also ordered to pay the university's attorney fees ranging from 5,000 to $10,000. the university said the protest ended up costing $700,000 in construction delays and security costs. the 142,000 square foot student athlete performance center finally opened in 2011. when we come back on a second look, a small parcel of university land slated to be a senior housing complex becomes a battleground as protesters demand uc berkeley set aside land for an urban farm.

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on earth day 2012, a group of protesters broke the lock to a gate that surrounded a 20- acre parcel of land owned by the university of california.

that land was in albany right near the intersection of marin and san pablo. the group planted seed and sought to create a farm. as protesters took over the land at least one researchers found himself locked out of his open air laboratory. >> a tractor in the middle of city. protesters got ready to sell corn on this research land. >> apparently there's a lot of people in the way right now. >> reporter: protesters took over the gill track. the land is owned by uc berkeley and by next week scientists like damon rich needs to plant seeds here. rich uses corn to study the

genes of the plant and to find out what turns them on and off. university officials think protesters can be part of that discussion too but they have to clear their camp first. the protesters are skeptical. >> to leave this space then feel like we have any bargaining power with the university, the fact they're requesting that of us. i don't really honestly understand how they expect us to stay sure. sure we will leave and we will negotiate with you. >> we put it on if record. we will stay serious. and at this point they need to decide whether they need to take that leap of faith. over a year and a half, protesters moved on and off the land. sometimes on their own acard and sometimes by -- their own

accord, and sometimes by force. >> the land is our land. we're going to take it back. it's public land for the people. we're going to put it to public use. >> you're ordered to leave this property immediately. >> reporter: the demonstrators defy police orders and march on to the parcel right off after san pablo and started planting the vegetables the university plowing under earlier. 10 people were arrested when police moved in. the protesters started taking over the land a week ago. the protesters had been repeatedly warned that they were trespassing. >> we've been involved in a five year community process in this area who are definitely supported of a mixed use

development site. >> reporter: and this albany resident agrees. >> it benefits the city, and will help with greenhouse solutions by providing more people in the city. >> reporter: the beat goes on, warnings ignored. >> we think it's pretty clever to plant seeds this time and that way if they till the ground again they're just helping us out. >> reporter: seeds because monday protesters plants were plowed under and several people arrested after a weekend of squatting. >> right about here is good. >> reporter: now they're back, pitching camp. arguing for crops instead of the senior housing complex and grocery store slated for this site. >> to pave it over and build something that this community really doesn't have an immediate use for would be a waste. >> they have a lot of rhetoric. they

>> when they lose they should go home. and recognize the majority and the rights of the citizens of albany. >> i've been an organic tkpard they are before there -- organic gardener before it was a term. >> i would say this is not the spot for them to do this. there are so many places. there are people in town who would love to have them helped. >> but this is the spot. >> you're ordered to leave the property immediately. >> reporter: and the show down protesters want. cal says it expected this resistance but seems reluctant to step in on a big commencement weekend. >> there's a lot more people in the community this weekend. we want to make sure that whatever we do is the safest, least disruptive option. last month the university said it was moving ahead with the retail development and that the college of natural resources will continue to do research on gill trap land. that's it for this week's

second look. i'm frank somerville. we'll see you next week.

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