Demonstrators pressed their demands for six hours in the Mrak Hall lobby on Nov. 24. (Sylvia Wright/UC Davis)

Unidentified demonstrators observe the negotiations in the Mrak Hall lobby. (Sylvia Wright/UC Davis)

Associate Vice Chancellor Janet Gong (in red sweater) negotiates with demonstrators in the Mrak Hall lobby. (Sylvia Wright/UC Davis)

Protest signs around the lobby included this dialogue bubble on a photo of the late chancellor (and building namesake), Emil Mrak. (Sylvia Wright/UC Davis)

A small group of students and a lecturer staged a study-in in the Mrak Hall lobby this morning (Nov. 25), presenting a picture of calm unlike the night before when demonstrators held their ground for more than six hours while pressing a list of demands. There were no arrests.

The Tuesday night faceoff with the administration was the latest in a string of protests sparked by the UC Board of Regents’ approval of student fee increases on Nov. 19.

The demonstrators left Mrak Hall on their own shortly after 11 p.m. after reaching an agreement with the university administration on five points, three of which deal with the arrest of 52 people — including 47 students — on the first day of the protests, Nov. 19.

More marching and a Dutton Hall sit-in occurred the next day (Nov. 20). Then, Monday morning (Nov. 23), Mrak Hall — the university’s main administration building—again became the focal point.

Demonstrators, many of them students, staged a peaceful sit-in in the Mrak Hall lobby — strategizing and studying — until leaving on their own at 5 p.m. That is when the building normally closes to the public.

Tuesday (Nov. 24) brought another daylong study-in in the lobby — with the crowd growing to some 200 people at one point in midafternoon, and growing noisier with chants and drum-beating. When 5 p.m. came, the demonstrators did not leave.

As the evening wore on, as demonstrators put up posters around the lobby and police mobilized in and around Mrak Hall, Student Affairs Associate Vice Chancellor Janet Gong and Police Chief Annette Spicuzza negotiated with the demonstrators.

Earlier in the day, second-year student Eric Lee gave two reasons for the ongoing study-in: to show solidarity with everyone arrested around the UC system, and to send a message to all of California about how the UC system is suffering because of the state budget crisis and ineffective leadership.

Clearly, though, while the student fee increases seemed out of the demonstrators’ control, they were determined to gain concessions if not amnesty for the “Mrak 52,” as the people arrested Nov. 19 have come to be called.

What the university agreed to do

So, while the demonstrators agreed to immediately leave Mrak Hall without incident and to respect the hours of operation of university facilities, Associate Vice Chancellor Gong committed the university to the following:

• To review the single arrest that was made on charges other than trespassing. This involved a person taken into custody outside the building on charges of assault and resisting arrest. The review will take place immediately, regardless of whether a formal complaint is filed with campus police. The university also acknowledges that it maintains a formal complaint process and will also respond to any complaints that may be submitted there.

• To speak with the Yolo County district attorney’s office today (Nov. 25), taking an affirmative position of advocacy in asking the DA to strongly consider his option of not filing charges against the 52 suspects.

• To not pursue student disciplinary actions, given the cooperative nature of the Nov. 19 incident and in the spirit of continuing dialogue.

The university also agreed:

• To engage in further discussions regarding cooperative housing on the campus in a mutual desire to promote sustainable, affordable cooperative living facilities and opportunities on the campus, including the discussion on any potential use of existing co-op housing for nonhousing purposes.

• To enter into further discussions on all other demands with a representative group of protesters, as early as Nov. 30.

On that same day, Nov. 30, Chancellor Linda Katehi already has a fall quarter dialogue with students on her calendar. The meeting, organized by the student assistants to the chancellor before the protests over fee increases began, is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. in Ballroom A at the Activities and Recreation Center. More information.

Meanwhile, the study-in in the Mrak Hall lobby continued today, with participants explaining that nothing has been resolved about the fee increases. With the increases (one effective this winter quarter and the other effective with the start of the 2010-11 academic year), California resident undergraduates will be charged $10,292 a year for their UC educations by next fall, up $2,504, or about 32 percent, from $7,788 at the start of the 2009-10 academic year. The systemwide fees do not include campus fees, or room and board and books.

'Every right to be upset and angry'

In a Nov. 22 e-mail to students, Katehi acknowledged that they “have every right to be upset and angry” and urged them to take their concerns to the state Capitol — where it is the governor and Legislature that have subjected the UC system to two successive years of deep budget cuts.

“What we do with our energy and emotion is critical to the university's future,” Katehi said. “For all the measures in place to mitigate the fees’ impact — including expanded financial aid and a $1 billion scholarship campaign — we must, together, aggressively remind the state of its responsibilities. We must work together and make our voices heard in Sacramento.”

She also commented on the Nov. 19 protest:

“I was glad to hear … that those of you who marched and those of you who chose to be arrested in support of your convictions were orderly and respectful in your protest and cooperative with law officers.

“I hope that the Yolo County district attorney, who has sole responsibility for determining whether to file charges, will take that behavior into consideration when making his decision (on whether to file criminal complaints).”

The night of 52 arrests

Around 7:30 p.m. Nov. 19, campus police, assisted by police and sheriff's deputies from Davis and Yolo County and elsewhere in the region, arrested 51 people on charges of trespassing for allegedly refusing police orders to leave the Mrak Hall lobby, and the one person outside the building on charges of assault and resisting arrest.

All were booked at the Yolo County Jail in Woodland; they were given court dates and released by noon the next day. UC Davis officials gave this breakdown on those arrested: 47 students, one instructor and four nonaffiliates (including an alumnus and two former students).

The arrests culminated a day that saw hundreds of people march around campus, and in and out of a few buildings (including Wellman Hall, Olson Hall, Shields Library and the ARC) before settling in to the Mrak Hall lobby before noon.

Police announced the building’s closure at 5 p.m. and said people who did not leave would be subject to arrest. The majority left.

Still, police waited 2½ hours before starting to clear the lobby. Even then, they gave the protesters one last opportunity to leave on their own. Two did so.

The next day (Nov. 20) started with an 11 a.m. rally on the Quad. A march followed, starting with 60 people and growing to 600.

They made their way to the ARC for a noon forum with Student Affairs Vice Chancellor Fred Wood and other campus officials, including Police Chief Annette Spicuzza and the chief budget officer.

Some audience members called on campus leaders to pressure the district attorney to forego charges against those arrested at Mrak Hall — a demand that carried over to Tuesday. Others asked why the protesters had been arrested, rather than being allowed to stay in the building overnight.

Next, about 100 demonstrators converged on Dutton Hall, which houses student-related administrative offices, including the Financial Aid Office and the Cashier’s Office. Police arrived just before the building’s usual closing time and asked protesters to leave — which they did, at about 6 p.m.

Story and slide show on the Nov. 20 protest.

Sit-in at the UC Office of the President; story and videos.

Fall Dialogue with the Chancellor

The topic for this quarter’s dialogue is “A Discussion of the Budget’s Impact on UC Davis Students and an Opportunity to Collaborate in Thinking Towards the Future.”

The meeting with Katehi and Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Enrique Lavernia is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. Nov. 30 in Ballroom A at the Activities and Recreation Center

The program:

5:00-5:20 — Reception and light refreshments

5:20-5:30 — Welcome, by the student assistants to the chancellor

5:30-5:50 — Remarks by Chancellor Katehi and Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Lavernia

5:50-6:30 — Student remarks and dialogue

6:30 — Formal program ends

6:30-7 — Informal mingling

Assistant Vice Chancellor Mitchel Benson, senior public information representatives Julia Ann Easley, Pat Bailey, Andy Fell, Jim Sweeney and Sylvia Wright, and Dateline Associate Editor Dave Jones contributed to this report.