Students arrested in protest

Marisa O’Neil

Nine UC Irvine students spent the night in the county jail Tuesday

after campus police arrested them for blocking work crews from a

trailer park earmarked for destruction this summer.

Students, some park residents, gathered outside the Irvine Meadows

West park on Tuesday to try and prevent soil sampling, scheduled that

morning on the 80-space property, which is home to 100 students. The

university announced in 1999 that it would close the park on July 31,

to build a new parking lot as part of its expansion plans.

“Parking is a problem,” said four-year resident Garrett Asay. “But

you should not solve one problem by creating another problem.”

After a peaceful, day-long protest, about 15 students stood their

ground when campus police and a drilling rig showed up at 2 p.m.

Campus police arrested nine students an hour later for failure to

disperse.

Officers informed the students of their rights and asked if they

were willing to be arrested and spend the night in the county jail.

Campus police Sgt. Steve Monsanto took down the names of the nine who

were willing and told them to have identification on them to speed up

the booking process.

“Just wait, I’ll be right back for the arrest,” 56-year-old

undergraduate student Barbara Seoane told Monsanto before she went to

drop off the rest of her belongings in her trailer. “I wouldn’t want

to miss it.”

Seoane, wearing a neck brace and riding a motorized scooter,

volunteered to be the first student arrested. Officers from the

Irvine Police Department brought a paddy wagon to help transport the

nine students.

The students were protesting the drilling, which came during their

spring break. White spray paint marked the spots in the park’s

circular driveway that were set for testing.

“We live here,” Asay said, pointing out a drilling target 10 feet

away from one trailer’s window. “I shouldn’t have to wake up and have

to see this.”

Many students have chosen to purchase trailers, which he said can

cost anywhere from $1,500 to $12,000, and pay $130 a month for the

land and utilities, rather than face high housing costs. The city of

Irvine has some of the highest rents in the nation, he said.

But the students had plenty of warning to find other housing, UCI

spokeswoman Lori Brandt said. The university informed students in

1999 of the planned closure, which is also written into their lease

agreements.

The park was set up as interim housing more than 20 years ago,

said Rob Ameele, executive director of undergraduate student housing.

The university’s planned expansion calls for more parking and,

eventually, a new building on the property.

University officials have offered to find alternate housing for

the students displaced by the park’s closure, he said. The lowest

rents available would start at about $370 a month per person, he

said.

Graduate student Matthew Cardinale, who led the protesters in

vigorous chants, said he feels the park fills a much-needed niche for

starving students who are struggling to make ends meet. He doesn’t

live in the trailers and said he spends most of his stipend just on

rent for his campus housing and has little left for bills and

textbooks.

Next year, his rent will go up, as will student fees.

Asay, also a graduate student who receives a stipend, said he

enjoys the family atmosphere of the park, which is also home to about

10 dogs. His space includes a small trailer, covered patio, outdoor

bar area, back yard and a small, fixed structure he called his

office.

During the protest, he carried a sign that read: “My mom loves

IMW,” referring to the park’s name.

“She’s not going to like it,” he said shortly before his arrest.

“I’m sorry, Mom. But the cause is worth it.”

* MARISA O’NEIL covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil@latimes.com.