If you’re a college student and a slacker, then attending the University of California, Berkeley is the right college for you when Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro comes to town.
At least one class has been canceled as a result of the expected protests on Thursday, when Shapiro is speaking. One UC Berkeley professor, deciding that the prospect of violence would endanger the students in the class the professor gave, issued this e-mail:
Dear all --
I've heard from some of your classmates that they do not feel safe coming to a militarized campus on Thursday. Given the reality of what's going on, I don't feel like it's ethical to hold class when some are not in a position to attend.
So we will not hold a regular class on Thursday. However, Kel and I will be in our usual classroom on Thursday 3:10-4:30 holding voluntary office hours. If you cannot be on campus on Thursday, email me and I guarantee I will find a time for us to meet early the following week. Kel is similarly available, you should email them for specifics.
Sorry we've had to do this, but in the context of the current attack on campus, I don't feel like we have a choice.
As has been widely reported, Berkeley police are using stringent tactics as they prepare for violence that may occur on Thursday, from creating a perimeter around Zellerbach Hall, where Shapiro is speaking, to shutting down six buildings on campus, including the César E. Chávez Student Center, Alumni House, MLK Jr. Student Union, Sproul Hall and Eshleman Hall, in order to cordon off the area, to obtaining permission from the city of Berkeley to use pepper spray if necessary to confront violent protesters.
Those people attending Shapiro’s speech will be required to pass through security barriers and must have a ticket for the event that they obtained with photo identification.