If you thought that all the University protests in California ended already, you’d be wrong. Students at SF State University continue to blockade buildings on campus with people and objects. (picture is of a stairwell at SFSU).

The logic behind the blockade is that the educational “space” a university setting provides does not belong to administrators or government officials–it belongs to the people who use the space:

Reclaiming a space is not merely borrowing and then giving back. Reclaiming implies previous or deserved ownership, the taking back of what is understood as inherently belonging to someone or someones. We have maintained the occupation of Bu$ine$$ for 18 hours, our barricades not so much a threat as the extremely important work of agitation and political defense from our comrades on the outside occupation.

I have a lot of complicated feelings about university student protests–many times I think that the students who are protesting are acting more on impulse and desire to look “cool” than anything else. I’ve been a part of protests that broke up the *minute* things got a little sticky–leaving people who truly cared or who are affected by the thing being protested to deal with the fall out of protest–while those who only showed up on an impulse caused trouble and ran away.

So, one school and one group of students doesn’t usually get me feeling hopeful–I know how quickly things can change once things get tough.

But–at the same time, I trust the California activist community like crazy. California is the home to Xican@s, Zoot Suiters, the UFW, the Alcatraz protests and so many other amazing movements and people. I am hopeful that the response to these very serious demands will be other students throughout the U.S. taking up the call to action.