UC-Santa Cruz protesters leave 'mess'

SANTA CRUZ, Calif., Nov. 23 (UPI) -- A "huge mess" left by California students who staged a three-day campus sit-in will result in criminal or campus sanctions, officials say.

The 70 University of California-Santa Cruz students, who were protesting a 32 percent student fee increase and budget cuts imposed by the UC Board of Regents, voluntarily left Kerr Hall early Sunday. But campus spokesman Jim Burns told the Santa Cruz (Calif.) Sentinel the demonstrators left behind "a huge mess"requiring a clean-up costing "thousands of dollars."

Burns said damage to the building's second floor was particularly heavy, with trash and food left behind and electronic conference equipment ripped from tables. He said the identities of some of the demonstrators is known and campus police are working to identify others, many of whom tried to disguise themselves, the newspaper said.

"It's completely understandable that students, their parents and others are deeply concerned about fee hikes," Burns told the Sentinel. "But, it's difficult for us to understand why people protest in a manner that requires us to spend money on non-essential activities. This money will come from budgets already strained by budget cuts."