Protesters at UC Berkeley Arrested

More than 40 protesters at UC Berkeley have been arrested Friday after they moved into Wheeler's Hall on campus. The protest is over the 32 percent fee hike that is university wide.

The students moved into the building around 6 a.m. Friday as a day long protest over the fee hike for the coming 2010-11 school year. The hike will see students paying out over $10,000 during the year. Those arrested have been inside the building. The police presence has not reduced the swell of protesters even though police have put Barrows Hall and Sproul Hall on lockdown. All classes were suspended at Wheeler on Friday due to the protests. According to KCBS not all of those arrested are students. Protesters have hung a sign from one of the windows that says "32 Percent Hike, 900 layoffs" according to AP. On Thursday up to 50 students were arrested at protests at UC Davis. Regents say that the fees had to be increased because California's government can not meet the funding costs of the school. UC Berkeley reports:

"We're being forced to impose a user tax on our students and their families," said UC President Mark Yudof during Wednesday's finance committee hearing. "This is a tax necessary because our political leaders have failed to adequately fund public higher education."