On January 24, a small group of UC Davis Occupy protesters moved into the vacated Cross Cultural Center building. It was a move that would divide the movement, in part because it was not sanctioned by the Occupy UCD’s General Assembly and in part because the cottage was to be the new home of the Educational Opportunity Program and Guardian Scholars Programs, both of which aid those who might be priced out of a UC education.
In the early morning hours on January 26, the students reported a strange robbery. According to a press release, at about 4:00am, someone entered the occupied former-Cross Cultural Center and took valuable equipment from the main room where occupiers were sleeping.
Among the possessions taken were five laptops, one tablet and two cameras.
Most interestingly, the students noted that the stolen items were all personal information media with contact information, photographs, communications, personal emails and passwords (and hours of academic and personal work).
They also noted that, while bags and wallets were rifled through and moved about the room, no cash, credit cards or other money was taken. Also left behind was university property clearly marked as such, which was rented by students through their departments, including a recorder and camera.
According to Andy Fell, from the UC Davis News Service, “The victims did file a police report and the case is being investigated.”
He did note, “Contrary to some reports, there were no university computers, electronic equipment etc in the building when the protesters took it over.”
The Vanguard is attempting to find out who filed the police report and any additional information.
The protesters would soon thereafter abandon the building. One student, who asked not to be identified, told the Vanguard that while the robbery was not the reason they left per se, “people definitely did feel less safe.”
When the students woke up at 7 am on the morning of January 26, personal possessions were in disarray and items were missing from the main room. One student, who had been listening to music through her laptop during the night, awoke to find her laptop gone, her headphones still on her head.
The individual told the Vanguard, “Someone literally stepped around sleeping bodies to take laptops next to people.”
“While there isn’t any information on who stole personal equipment from Occupy UC Davis students, whoever did steal the items clearly knew that we were inside the building, had a good idea of the layout of building, and was able to maneuver within the building within very close proximity to sleeping students without waking any of us up,” the students said in a statement.
“Occupy UC Davis is operating under the assumption that this crime was politically motivated,” the statement added. “Occupy UC Davis General Assembly has [reached consensus] to pay for replacement equipment, for those students who had their personal equipment stolen, out of their donation fund. This will enable students to resume academic work in a timely manner.”
The Vanguard asked the interviewed protester to explain why Occupy UCD believes that the theft was politically motivated.
“If the theft wasn’t politically motivated that would make it a random burglary,” the protester told the Vanguard, “but it seemed like the individual who burglarized the former CCC building had an awareness of the layout of the inside of the building and knew about the different rooms and was able to move really freely in the dark without being heard.”
“Most of the people were sleeping in the main room which is where most of the equipment was taken,” the protester said.
The protester said there was a clear emphasis on information and personal communications rather than merely taking property.
“It seems that that was a focus because bags were actually rifled through and moved about the room,” the protester pointed out. “People said that their wallets were looked through but there wasn’t any cash that was taken from them or credit cards or passports. University property wasn’t taken as well – even though it was clear that someone had handled these things.”
The Vanguard asked if the protester thought it was the university that broke in.
“I have no idea,” the protester responded. “It seems like it was someone who wanted information about Occupy UC Davis.”
The university was reluctant to release any additional information, citing an ongoing police investigation into the matter. The Vanguard will be investigating this matter further, given the seriousness of the implications if the student accounts prove correct.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
I totally laughed as I read this story. So we have a group of students who are trespassing and occupying a building who are complaining about having their items stolen as they themselves are breaking the law?
“One student, who had been listening to music through her laptop during the night, awoke to find her laptop gone, her headphones still on her head.”
“Someone literally stepped around sleeping bodies to take laptops next to people.”
“Most of the people were sleeping in the main room which is where most of the equipment was taken,”
“It seems that that was a focus because bags were actually rifled through and moved about the room,”
“People said that their wallets were looked through but there wasn’t any cash that was taken from them or credit cards or passports. University property wasn’t taken as well – even though it was clear that someone had handled these things.”
So we’re supposed to believe that someone did all this without being heard? Sorry, but I’m not buying it.
You probably laughed when you first heard about Watergate as well. They are either making this up or something very serious happened. I want to know either way.
Sorry David, but Watergate didn’t have someone walking through rooms full of sleeping students. Bad analogy.
“They are either making this up or something very serious happened.”
My vote is they made it up.
And you’ve never heard of thefts taking from people while they are asleep. How would they even think to make up such a thing?
So you would have believed that in a year that Nixon already had the reelection sewn up that he would have operatives break into the Watergate hotel? Come on.
I’m not surprised that you believe they are making it up. But don’t you at least want to know for sure?
lol, if they are not making this up, then it sounds like poetic justice to me!! like rusty said, they broke in to property that didn’t belong to them in the first place, so how sorry can we feel for them when their little stunt backfires?
not all of their sins go unpunished. but I agree, I think we don’t have all the facts, and to be quite frank, I’m not accepting their word for it. there is something else going on.
also, I think it is fighting fire with fire. their tactics are to coordinate with eachother, strike a target, then fight like hell when the police arrive and set up the police to look like the badguys. The best way to defeat them is not to sit back and wait for their next move, but to hunt them down and take the fight to the enemy. and stealing all their crap might just be enough to send fear through their ranks.
Octane, I think you’re missing the forest through the trees. It’s not about whether or not we feel sympathy for the protesters. It’s not about their sins. The real issue is whether the university or some other government agency is trying to steal communication devices as a means of spying on citizens. Whether they broke the law or not, that’s a frightening thought.
“Strange” and “Mystery” only begin to describe this story. I’m trying to imagine an intruder walking around a darkened room occupied by sleeping bodies in random locations and positions. The intruder relies on the tenuous assumption nobody is momentarily awake at the time, nobody is a light sleeper, the intruder will avoid tripping or falling in the dark, and none of the floors will squeak in what is obviously an older construction house.
Were the intruder to be detected, he/she would immediately be surrounded by outraged burglary victims being awakened, with exit paths blocked by defenders. Were I to be this cat burglar, that possibility would be a major consideration in my plan of action.
Then, in this same darkened room the intruder is depicted to have the ability to selectively search for items of some value while deliberately avoiding items of greater value. Prized items owned by the University are ignored, along with cash. Items taken were limited to those which had identification and strategies related to the Occupy Movement. Thus, the assertion by somebody that this act was politically motivated, and thus the subsequent comparison to Watergate.
The burglar’s innate ability to distinguish among the various electronic devices in a darkened house those which had Occupy “intelligence” is not mentioned or asked.
If this crime is factual, the perpetrator is the bravest and the stupidest person in Northern California. If this crime is a fabrication by somebody else, the same adjectives apply.
Phil, it was the greatest cat burglar of all time, and right here in Davis to boot. Who would have thought? Maybe they were those same Watergate burglars, are they still active?
[quote]The Vanguard asked if the protester thought it was the university that broke in.[/quote]
Haha. Plant the seed of conspiracy, nice.
Phil: My guess he probably had a flashlight but perhaps he had night vision goggles.
“Phil: My guess he probably had a flashlight but perhaps he had night vision goggles.”
Perhaps the burglar was hung off of the ceiling like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible and just bounced around the room picking up laptops, wallets and bags, oh my.
Count me in the cynics on this – a “crime” like this, together with the paranoid Vanguard in hand, certainly does provide some timely publicity for a “movement” which hasn’t had any for some time now.
It sounds like an inside job. Maybe the students had help to make them sleep so soundly.
Let’s start a pool… my guess is that one of the protesters saw the opportunity to be a part of the un-Occupy-authorized sleep-in, then stole the items, and stashed them for later retrieval… the stealth protester could cover any detection by saying they were just ‘going to the bathroom’, or sleepwalking, etc. I bet
… five dollars (somehow the dollar sign character truncated my earlier post…
A game of Clue
The “Strange Theft Remains a Mystery For Both Occupiers and UC Davis Officials” by David Greenwald raises some interesting questions.
So the occupy davisistas broke-into the cross-cultural center and while tresspassing in the vacant building had a collection of their computers, cameras etc. stolen while they slept. Naturally suspicion turned to Chancellor Katehi.
I picture the morning after the theft, a group of scruffy vagrants and college students who own(ed) laptops waking together in unity. “Where is my laptop?” asks the students.
“Its a mystery” responds Tom the homeless guy with the bulging backpack.
“No idea, must have been campus police” replies Buttonring the unemployed meth adict with a snicker.
“The feds must have used night-vision goggles” said Salmonberry the 8th year senior in romance languages who has been struggling with his tuition payments.
“It hurts when I go pee” said the sophmore girl who has been showing her unity a bit too enthusiastically.
“Obviously they were after the information in our computers so they can spy on the movement” said Mudflap, whose computer is loaded with dwarf porn and world of warcraft characters.
A committee was formed and a decision formed that Chancellor Katehi was responsible for the theft and it was time to launch another “Day of Vengance” on the lawn.
This story sounds a bit like someone has been watching movies like “Mission Impossible” too much… and there are all sorts of fun possibilities to think about:
1) It never happened; it was a vast conspiracy on the part of the Occupy movement;
2) It did happen but the “intruder” was one of the students themselves;
3) There was a vast conspiracy by the entire university to retrieve personal information;
4) There was a vast conspiracy by Lt. Pike and the UCD Police Dept. to steal personal information;
I’ll stop there… you catch my drift…
LOL, Mike Hart that was an excellent synopsis.
“Occupy UC Davis General Assembly has [reached consensus] to pay for replacement equipment, for those students who had their personal equipment stolen, out of their donation fund. This will enable students to resume academic work in a timely manner.”
David, being that these students are likely the more hardcore occupiers are they also members of the Occupy UC Davis General Assembly?
Does anybody know where Chancellor Katehi was at the time?
What did she know and when did she know it?
This story could be big!
The possible triumvirate of investigative reporting:
Woodward
Bernstein
Greenwald
You mention that the main source for this story doesn’t want to be identified. Do you know why? You’ve questioned the ” interviewed protester” as though she/he has some personal knowlege about what happened as well as authority to speak for the Occupy UCD group. Is this accurate?
Who is the source for “a press release” in the second paragraph and “the report” (by “the students”) further down. Please provide llinks for these documents. Thank you.
It was someone who knew where things were, because it was probably one of them. They took the things that could be sold most quickly.
I’m not sure I’d look first at the government instead of one of the lawbreakers already in the room. Maybe the one who had to leave the demonstration early that morning to care for his dying mother in a Chicago suburb.
Perhaps the laptop liberation was an act of civil disobedience?
There is a long history of college students advocating for change through civil disobedience. The Occupy Davis movement should have respected this history through a process of dialog and education with the laptop “protestors”, whom all evidence indicates engaged in a strictly non-violent process. Instead they escalated the situation by calling in the police, showing a tremendous lack of judgement.
I call for their resignation.
“Occupy UC Davis General Assembly has [reached consensus] to pay for replacement equipment, for those students who had their personal equipment stolen, out of their donation fund.”
Are you kidding me? What a great way to get some new electronic equipment!
Hey, while we’re at it, someone just stole my illegally parked 5-series BMW – I’m sure it was politically motivated – so maybe I can get the Occupy UC Davis General Assembly to by me a new one out of their donation fund!
LOL!
My son told me a story about some Chico State students down the road from his Animal House location that had their Animal House broken into and had their laptops stolen. But the belief on the street was that they all sold their laptops to buy pot growing equipment… knowing that their parents would help them buy a new laptop, but would not fund the pot growing equipment.
This plot sounds as feasible as a tiptoeing cat burglar with a specific shopping list.
“You mention that the main source for this story doesn’t want to be identified. Do you know why? You’ve questioned the ” interviewed protester” as though she/he has some personal knowlege about what happened as well as authority to speak for the Occupy UCD group. Is this accurate?”
JS- The protester was one of the people at the Cross Cultural Center and obviously does not want to be identified in case of prosecution and harassment.
David, I’ll ask again. Do you know if some or all of the protesters who had their laptops stolen also a voting member of the Occupy UC Davis General Assembly?
[quote]”The protester was one of the people at the Cross Cultural Center and obviously does not want to be identified in case of prosecution and harassment.”[/quote]Obviously? Not until you said that was the case. Most people would not immediately jump to this fear, particularly people involved in an open civil disobedience demonstration. But, I don’t mean to sound skeptical, just pleading a surprised nature that people would find this “obvious.”
The rest of my question: You’ve questioned the ” interviewed protester” as though she/he has… authority to speak for the Occupy UCD group. Is this accurate?
Who is the source for “a press release” in the second paragraph and “the report” (by “the students”) further down. Please provide llinks for these documents. Thank you.
Finally, you note that you don’t yet know who filed the police report. Wouldn’t this be a part of the report itself, along with the names of people whose property was reported stolen? (Seems as though the authorities already know who is involved “in case of prosecution and harassment.”)
“Do you know if some or all of the protesters who had their laptops stolen also a voting member of the Occupy UC Davis General Assembly?”
I don’t have that answer, I imagine some if not all are. I would also point out however that they are not a sizable percentage as the general assembly did not approve that occupation.
JS: I thought it was fairly obvious.
I don’t know the authority that the individual had to speak for the Occupy group, there are interesting dynamics and a decentralization anyway.
The press release came from the same individual I spoke to. Whether more than just that person worked on it, I cannot say.
I don’t have links to any documents.
I am seeking clarification on the police report issue. The only report was an account of events from the individual I spoke to, sorry if the use of report implied a formal document, that was not my intention nor was it the case.
For those who suggest that this might have been an inside job – I think it’s highly unlikely. There were just ten students sleeping there, they are a close knit group. I can’t preclude, but I don’t think it’s likely.
I think it was the Pink Panther and that he put something into their water to make them sleep more soundly. Looks like the “splinter” group from the Occupy UC Davis General Assembly found a great way to get back at the General Assembly for not supporting their occupation! Get them to pay for new computer equipment! I also bet that all of those computers were nearly new! I also believe it was an inside job. You sleep with scruffy dogs, you wake up with fleas, or in this case, without your laptop! It will be interesting to see what the claimed cost was for all of that computer equipment. Anyone have any idea how much is in the Donation Fund? I guess it would be true that it was politically motivated…
David, thanks for the perhaps unintended humor piece, I think it put a smile on many a face this morning.
[quote]”David, I’ll ask again. Do you know if some or all of the protesters who had their laptops stolen also a voting member of the Occupy UC Davis General Assembly?”[/quote]I’d like to know who makes up the “General Assembly”? Were these people democratically elected? Is it an approved 501c.3? What would have happened to their surplus funds as the Occupy demonstrations wind down if this computer theft incident hadn’t presented itself?
I actually attended on GA meeting, it’s a very different process from what I am use to. I’m exactly sure how best to describe it, pretty much anyone who attends can participate as far as I can tell, governing is by consensus and discussion.
“David, thanks for the perhaps unintended humor piece, I think it put a smile on many a face this morning. “
I’m glad you got a laugh out of it, I think it’s potentially a very serious matter. We’ll see.
At first I though I’d woken up to another story from [u]The Onion[/u].[quote]”Among the possessions taken were five laptops, one tablet and two cameras….’Occupy UC Davis is operating under the assumption that this crime was politically motivated’, the (mysterious, secret-source) statement added. “If the theft wasn’t politically motivated that would make it a random burglary…there was a clear emphasis on information and personal communications rather than merely taking property (apparently unaware that five laptops, one tablet and two cameras are property that’s commonly stolen because of its property value not for the names and addresses in contact lists).”[/quote]The obvious implication from the “facts” in this story is that the government–the same one that strikes fear “of prosecution and harassment” if we reveal the name of someone already identified by authorities for trespassing–did the deed. The only question left, which agency? CIA? Dept. of Education? UCD police? Chancellor Katehi herself? Campus Republicans? Seal Team 6?
How conceited to think that anyone wants whatever is contained in their “information and personal communications” vehicles. Maybe some dedicated student just wanted to review the notes in the computers and tablet before the big test this afternoon.[quote]”This story sounds a bit like someone has been watching movies like “Mission Impossible” too much… and there are all sorts of fun possibilities to think about….”[/quote] As you say, Elaine, bingo! I wonder if any other outlets will generate–or fall for, whichever–this malarkey.
After all it’s not like the Occupy UC movement hasn’t monopolized a heavy use of administrative or law enforcement time, energy and money. Like I said, I think a lot of people scoffed at the notion that the Watergate burglars would have been linked to the White House, but we all now know that they in fact were.
To me, I wrote this fully aware that this story may be nothing. But I think the consequences of it being something were enough to take that chance.
[i]pretty much anyone who attends can participate as far as I can tell, governing is by consensus and discussion.[/i]
I’ve been on committees like that. It’s why Roberts Rules of Order were invented.
David, even though I think it’s all baloney, thanks for the story anyway. It made for some interesting reading early this morning. I know you put some time in on this and I love stories like this that come from the local angle. Keep up the good work.
But honestly David, I’ll bet you even had a hard time keeping a straight face as you wrote this.
Don’t get me wrong, there are funny aspects to this story. But after meeting the protester in person, I decided this needed to be taken seriously. The person was very credible and I did not feel that they were trying to spin something on me. And as I said, the implications are serious enough that I decided to run the story even knowing the risks.
So,you hear the hoove’s beating the earth, and you say “Zebras”.
I say horses. The items were removed by “Thieves”. There is no reason to over think the issue of missing property.
At least, STORMY, until we determine whether it was the CIA or Attorney General riding those horses, er, zebras.
I find this extremely entertaining. I went from being disgusted with their behavior to being interested in what comes next. Burglary, not robbery as they were asleep and no force or fear.
And the twin towers were bought down by actions of the Bush/Cheney administration…
I don’t think there is much to this, other than a lapse of judgement. Laptops are easy to steal, unlike University equipment (which is probably a bigger crime), and laptops are worth more than what was probably in their wallets.
Plus, did they have passwords on their laptops? Are the secret emails and facebook posts all locked down? Probably not.
All in all, it sounds more like a lack of taking precautions than anything else. Petty theft get committed every day, some even against those fighting injustice.
Lastly, if I were them, I wouldn’t go to the media either. The lack of taking precautions or even planning for security is too embarrassing.
[quote]pretty much anyone who attends can participate as far as I can tell, governing is by consensus and discussion.
I’ve been on committees like that. It’s why Roberts Rules of Order were invented.[/quote]
LOL
DG wrote: [quote]students reported a strange robbery[/quote]
Based on your ‘story’ no 211 more like a 459…
Bush did it!