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BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Student protesters remained inside buildings at two University of California campuses as their demonstrations against tuition hikes stretched into the weekend.
A peaceful sit-in began on Wednesday in hallways and lobbies at Wheeler Hall on the UC Berkeley campus. The next day students took over a building at UC, Santa Cruz.
UC Santa Cruz spokesman Guy Lasnier said an unknown number of students spent Thursday night in the humanities and social sciences building on that coastal campus.
Dozens of students continued their sit-in in both campuses Friday night and planned to stay through the weekend.
Students say they plan to walk out of class on Monday at both campuses and at UC Davis.
A spokeswoman from UC Berkeley was not immediately available to comment.
Classes were held Thursday as scheduled at both campuses. UC Santa Cruz officials used alternative rooms for classes scheduled Friday, Lasnier said.
Scholar and civil rights activist Cornel West visited the protesting students at UC Santa Cruz Thursday night and encouraged them to continue protesting the tuition hikes.
"When it comes to war and prison they find money overnight, but when it comes to education, all of a sudden they've got a budgetary challenge and they want to increase tuition," West said.
The UC Board of Regents voted 14-7 on Thursday to approve increases of as much as 5 percent in each of the next five years unless the state devotes more money to the 10-campus system.
Berkeley students have been sleeping in the Wheeler building and say they want to make certain a 21-year-old student arrested at a regents committee meeting on Wednesday won't face charges.
They have vowed to stay in the building until the regents rescind the tuition increases.
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Information from: KTVU-TV.
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