What are they teaching students at California State University Sacramento? It sure isn't political science. Nor geography.
A group of students there wanted to take action -- some form of civil disobedience -- to demonstrate their opposition to tuition hikes and budget cuts. So where they do take their protest?
Being in Sacramento, there are plenty of options. They could target the Capitol or the legislature, which has cut the budget of Cal State by $500 million this year. They could go after the governor, who went along with those cuts and lives in town. Or they might protest appearances by Republicans, the party that is opposing tax extensions that would forestall further cuts.
So what do they do? The students take over a building on their own campus, the one place where everyone already agrees with their message. Their administration doesn't want to make cuts or raise tuition -- they're forced to because of cuts in state support for the university system. But this basic facts of politics and geography seemed to elude the students.
After four days, the students abandoned their protest under threat of arrest from campus police. Arrests, of course, would have been pointless -- as pointless as this protest.
For future reference, here's a handy guide for future protests.
