Do You Care About Occupy Cal?

Being a university city, Berkeley is doubly occupied right now.

Occupy Berkeley is fighting the banks downtown. A few miles away and across the Bay, our neighbors are occupied too. Then, Occupy Cal started demonstrating on campus — and all hell broke loose. 

, the movement has made national headlines and sparked serious debate about fundamental rights like freedom of speech and the right to peacably protest. Protesters continue to gather in Sproul Plaza each night at 6 p.m., sleeping on campus as part of their tentless occupation. 

But the message behind the movement is slightly different from the other occupations — Occupy Cal is about the rising cost and diminishing value of a college education, while Occupy Berkeley, Oakland and San Francisco are struggling against corporate greed on a broader scale.

The question is: for non-students living in Berkeley, does Occupy Cal mean anything? Is it purely a struggle for students, or perhaps the college educated? Or does its message still resonate with Berkeley residents? How have drawn Berkeley residents into the fray?

Are you following Occupy Cal? Do you care about the message behind the movement? Let us know in the comments and take the poll. 

Feel free to share your thoughts on whether Occupy Cal has overshadowed Occupy Berkeley, or created a stronger hyrbid. Also, how have the protests affected everyday life in Berkeley? 

Catch up on the news or refresh your memory by visiting the Occupy Berkeley and Cal page on Berkeley Patch.