About a month ago word came down that Cal's planned athletic facilities upgrade had been temporarily halted by literally tree-hugging hippies. Apparently the hippies' legal counsel was wiser than their hairstylists -- white male dreadlocks were regrettably prominent -- and managed to get the facilities delayed based on some obscure seismic statutes. Everyone was duly pissed off and waited for the next shoe to drop. That shoe appears to be an 80-year old archaeological report featuring one skeleton and one 19th century Mexican coin:
he protesters, who have been roosting in the oak grove since Dec. 2, pointed Tuesday to a UC archaeological survey from 1925 stating that human remains were removed from the area when the stadium was constructed.Cal blog Tightwad Hill sees through this obvious load of crap and is unamused:
"I think this is a significant find and the area should be protected," said Stephan Volker, attorney for the California Oak Foundation, one of four groups suing UC over the proposed renovation of Memorial Stadium and construction of the $125 million sports training center.
In reality, what the anthropologist in question found was a partial skeleton and a Mexican gold coin dating from the 19th century - but please don't pay attention to the facts. After all, the facts don't really matter - the hippies have another interest group to drag up into the trees and yell into bullhorns. What they lack in gainful employment is more than matched, I'm sure, by their energy and enthusiasm for civil disobedience.It would only be flippant if there was the slightest shred of evidence that this 1925 report was relevant to anyone except unemployed people with awful hair and kickin' lawyers.
Never mind that no one EVEN KNEW ABOUT THIS SO-CALLED REPORT until the lawyer for the hippies dug it up and shopped it around. It's still very sacred, I'm sure. Break out the smudge sticks and the burning sage, and let's party! Sorry if you think I'm being flippant, but this is the worst sort of opportunism. This 1925 report has yet to be corroborated by any other source. Ken Lightfoot - who as the head of the UC Museum of Anthropology, knows a thing or two about the subject - is unimpressed and says the skeleton's ethnicity is undetermined.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-21-2007 @ 5:32PM
USC blogger said...
CAL needs the upgrade & rennovation to take the Memorial Stadium to the level Jeff Tedford has restored to the football program. I have friends & family at CAL & feel bad for them.
I think it is:
(1) A slap in the face to Jeff Tedford after signing a contract extension;
(2) Atrocious that hippies & old folks get involved JUST as rennovations are to start - shows there TOTAL disregard & disrespect towards CAL (everyone on campus & alum) & all that it represents;
(3) NOT a ritual burial ground, even though it may real soon for those hippies & old folks;
PROTESTERS: Give the oldest UC campus staduim its proper face lift and learn to live with it. BRING SOLUTIONS NOT PROBLEMS!
FIGHT ON!....love you Karen D. Class 2009
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2-21-2007 @ 6:15PM
will5000 said...
Yay! Exactly what the world needs: More sports arenas! Who cares about other cultures and having something unique?! And it is really fun to put people in little boxes! For instance, lets call EVERYONE who cares about the planet "hippies" and everyone who Does Not care about the planet "REPUBLICANS!"
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2-21-2007 @ 7:39PM
Moonshine Mike said...
Stop whining. I hate the smell factories of Shattuck as much as the next, but the idea your life and your school is defined by your athletics alone is sad. I will say the entire "build it large because we need to be taken seriously" sounds more like ego issues than anything.
Saying that, I bet if we cut mr. Dreads hair off we could do a study on the amount of drugs in his system back in his memory for some time.
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2-23-2007 @ 1:22AM
Seth said...
Wow, I wasn't aware that a small oak grove planted by the UC in the 1920's was unique. Good point there, Will. I can definitely see the logic in your argument. Just because you find the fact that we like athletics repulsive doesn't give you the right to go around acting like a stupid idiot. Yeah and calling us Republicans, please! If anything you and your cronies at the grove have taken a page right out of Fox News in terms of the malicious lies you spread. Oh and protecting rich land interests, gee, does that sound like a Democratic thing to do? No, not to me. You pal are the only REPUBLICAN I see around here.
Oh and Moonshine Mike, really pithy comment bro, " the idea your life and your school is defined by your athletics alone is sad." Yeah, and we totally said that we are solely defined by our athletics. Our numerous Nobel laureates and Nobel Prize winners certainly do not define us. No, according to your warped perception of the situation only athletics do. Nice one Moonshine, you certainly speak for everyone!
What is really sad in all of this is the fact that a small vocal minority can attack a good solid plan that benefits the entire state and for that matter, world. A plan that the vast majority of Californians, all 40 million plus, fully support. You see at Cal there are many talented people from all over the world, who do many good things that benefit humankind. I wish I could say the same for the two of you, but honestly that would be a pathetic lie.
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2-24-2007 @ 12:52AM
Seth said...
Come on tough guys! Where did you run off to? Come into the light and face the truth for once!
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