California: Interview with UCSC Redwood Defender

The image of a redwood falling is the face of stupidity! The silence
after the fall of the tree is the silence of the cash register after
it has closed with your money inside. “Life is a tale told by an
idiot, full of sound and fury, and signifying nothing.” Hey, we should
write that as the UCSC mission statement underneath the welcome sign,
so new students get the message right away. —- Standing next to me
Jenn is noticeably short – probably only 5? 4? – but whatever she
lacks in height, she more than makes up for in courage and a fiery
determination to fight the development plans of UCSC. “The resistance
has not ended,” she says firmly, looking hard through her black rimmed
glasses.

Every bit of me believes her. After all, Jenn was the media
spokesperson for the tree sit protest that has, as of today,
officially disbanded. For months, she has been handling email,
interviews, and information requests on behalf of the tree sit. She
served as the proxy for all statements and information released to the
public, and as such, every communication of the group flowed through
her. When the university attempted negotiations, she was there. She
was there on the first day of the protest, when the protesters
ascended into the trees to their own uncertain futures. And when the
tree sit officially ended, she was at the base of campus with Dani
Drake and Sorrel giving the official statement. So why did Jenn, as of
Monday, Dec. 15, resign her post as the media correspondent for the
tree sit group? In her own words, “I don’t want to be in the position
of representing a group that no longer exists.” Fair enough, but
behind her calm and cool demeanor I could sense that a storm was
brewing. There was a certain angst written on her face, subtle, yet
unmistakable when she spoke of the conclusion of the tree sit. The
protest had ended, and the informal groups behind it had flung from
each other, like small circular magnets stuck to an enormous
electromagnet, a redwood tree, that suddenly reverses its polarity. I
inquired as to what had held them together in the first place, and
what organizational structure governed the group.
http://couranttimes.com/2008/12/17/interview-with-jennifer-charles-representative-of-tree-sit-protest/

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