UC Berkeley Rumbles Over City Council's War Criticism

Berkeley is getting a little of its ‘60s vibe back, with pro- and anti-war groups gearing up for a night of demonstrations as the City Council decides whether to revoke a letter critical of the Marine Corps, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The council’s letter, written 2 weeks ago, demands that the Marines abandon their recruiting post near the UC Berkeley campus.

"This is a great gift to us to be able to ignite a national debate," said a spokeswoman for an anti-war group. "We're drawing a line in the sand on Shattuck Avenue and saying the war stops here." But some dislike the focus on the council’s actions: "The tragedy is that the issue of the war seems to have gotten lost,” said one professor. "The issue instead has become Berkeley itself." (More US military stories.)