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A group of UC Berkeley students upset over a campus newspaper photograph they described as racist have caused the student-run Daily Californian to “lock down” their offices indefinitely. 

In addition, over the course of Wednesday and Thursday, at least 2,400 newspapers disappeared from racks at various locations around campus, according to UC Police Capt. Bill Cooper. He said officers cited two students for petty theft on Thursday, a charge that could carry a $250 fine.  

James Drake, a spokesman for the student group, denied that anybody associated with the group had anything to do with the missing papers. 

The lock down went into effect after about 50 members of the student group flooded the Daily Californian’s offices Tuesday to protest a story that ran with a photograph of Cal Football player Michael Gray. Gray, 19, was arrested under suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after a brawl outside a fraternity house on Saturday night. The lock down means the sixth-floor offices of the Daily Cal in Eshleman Hall are locked to the general public, though staffers can come and go at will. 

About 30 group members returned to the newspaper offices Wednesday night but were unable to gain access.  

The student group is not officially organized but includes blacks, Asians and “anti-racist” whites, according to Drake. 

Daily Californian Editor in Chief Rong-Gong Lin II said he’s taking measures to assure the paper will be available to readers and that the offices will remain in lock down until “We feel like it’s safe.” 

The controversy stems from a Saturday-night fight in which as many as 50 people were involved, according to police. Four people involved in the fight were taken by ambulance to Alta Bates hospital. The most serious injury was a skull fracture suffered by a UC student when he was struck in the head with a bottle, allegedly by Gray. 

Gray was released on Sunday, according to Berkeley police. An Alameda County District Attorney’s Office spokesman said Gray has not yet been charged. 

On Tuesday, the Daily Californian ran a story about the fight and included a photograph of Gray, which they copied from a Cal Football publication.  

The student group said Gray’s photo looked like a mug shot and accused the newspaper of racial profiling. The photograph and story, the group said, could adversely affect Gray’s collegiate career. 

“The Daily Cal has had problems like this in the past,” Drake said referring to past controversy surrounding Daily Californian cartoons and ads that were challenged as racist. “We’re going to continue taking action against the Daily Californian until they run a front page apology.” 

He said actions would include demonstrations and possibly contacting advertisers to discourage their purchasing advertising space in the Daily Californian. 

Lin said the editorial staff has refused to run a retraction and will stand by the photograph and story. He said that Gray enjoys special status as a Cal Football player and that his arrest, regardless of whether he is charged with assault, is news.  

Lin said he was upset about the paper thefts and that if members of the student group were stealing them, they were defeating their own argument.  

“It’s crucial to continue the dialogue on this issue,” he said. “Friday’s paper will include letters and opinion pieces from a variety of perspectives. If anybody takes the papers again, that goes against the very foundation of freedom of speech.”