Hahn Student Services building is put on “restricted access” in anticipation of student protest.
Administrators restricted access to Hahn Student Services on Tuesday afternoon in anticipation of a student protest. As a result students waited in line at the door hoping to change their classes on the last day of the add/drop period.
Occupy California, the student group that occupied Kerr Hall in November, advertised a planned “Anti-Repression Gathering and March” to take place on Jan. 26 in Quarry Plaza. Fliers were posted on campus advertising the event, demanding charges against students arrested in recent protests against the fee hikes be dropped.
In preparation for the student action, Vice Chancellor David Kliger made a preemptive decision to lock the doors of Hahn Student Services, allowing students in individually with a staff escort, said Building Coordinator Ellen Ziff.
“Our doors are locked because of the planned protest today,” Ziff said. “It’s unfortunate, but we have to take reasonable precautions when we hear there might be a problem.”
Ziff explained that in light of the recent occupation of Kerr Hall, the administration chose to take precautionary measures to avoid another such incident.
“It’s a challenge to serve students when the doors have to be locked,” Ziff said. “But we are letting people in, we are not turning people away.”
About 15 students gathered in Quarry Plaza to march, but the group chose not to do so. Some cited the hasty planning of the event as the reason for calling it off.
Due to the lack of student action, Ziff said she expected the student services building and Kerr Hall to return to normal procedure as early as Tuesday afternoon.
Sharon Rappaport, an enrollment and records advisor in Hahn Student Services, was charged with guarding the door to the cashier’s office and the office of the registrar. She noted that the restricted access was particularly inconvenient, as Tuesday was the final day to add or drop classes.
“It’s an inconvenience for the employees and the students,” Rappaport said. “It’s a deadline day.”
UC Santa Cruz fourth-year Samantha Phillips said her inability to speak to the registrar might keep her from enrolling in one of her classes.
“I just need to get [my class] switched,” Phillips said. “It’ll be closed soon, and my professor won’t take this as an excuse.”
Tom Coxe, a third-year who waited with Phillips to enter the building, said that despite the difficulty it caused, he thought the locked doors showed the protest had done its job.
“I kind of like it – just the threat as a form of protest,” Coxe said. “It’s not as inconvenient for the students as shutting down buses, and it looks like it worked.”
