Public Comment
UC Berkeley's Gill Tract Suit is Nothing New
The lawsuit against the Gill Tract farmers is an expensive bullying tactic, and the regents have used it before.
Exactly 20 years ago in 1992, I was one of four named defendants in a similar SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) designed to frighten and intimidate the community of people opposing the effort to turn People’s Park into a sports facility.
The regents eventually had to remove their own sand volleyball courts in the park, but not before costing the public millions in scarce funds intended for education.
It is an outrage that the clear call for cooperative, communicative response to protest suggested in the Robinson-Edley report is being ignored in favor of a costly and malicious prosecution of people for simply planting vegetables.
