Beware Falling Activists

So, UC Santa Cruz has been exapnding its campus over the last several years, and this has raised the hackles of a number of students (and, it should be said, with good reason - some of the expansion plans come off as, well, not in keeping with the campus ethos, shall we say). So, now, there are a number of tree-sitters who have built a community that bears no small resemblance to a cross between the Ewok Village, a Mad Max movie and a rennaisance fair in the trees.

Ever since my time as a student there, the good slug-folk have been given to activism without thought as to what the most effective means to the end is - usually resulting is bizarre rallies or stunts that grab attention but ultimately don't achieve their intended goal. Which is a shame really, as with that much energy and passion, these folks could really mobilize to do some good if they put a bit more thought into results and a bit less into spectacle. Hell, I'd love to see them go into either politics or the environmental compliance line of work, as these would be great outlets for their idealism once it is tempered with experience with reality (and thus geared towards workable solutions to serious problems).

But, most likely, they'll graduate with their computer science degrees and go to work for IBM. Shame, really.

In the meantime, their actions have resulted in the UC Regents putting up what is possibly the greatest sign ever put in a parking lot: