Rally protests Dish closing Students march, sign petition against rules restricting Dish access

By Sarah Ruby

More than 200 students and community members met at the Tresidder bollards Wednesday night and bypassed newly enforced regulatory measures in a midnight walk to the Dish.

Student activist groups such as Think! and the Foothill Liberation Front, accompanied by members of the Stanford Open Space Alliance, organized the peaceful rally to protest the University's new policy concerning the Dish.

The demonstrators met no resistance as they climbed the fenced enclosure, despite the fact that police officers have been patrolling the area at night since September.

In a rally speech, sophomore Aaron Shaw read a list of demands from the Foothill Liberation Front. He referred to Stanford's gestures toward conservation as "hyper-conservation," and labeled its new policies "unbalanced and disingenuous."

Restricted access to the Dish is based on former University President Gerhard Casper's Conservation and Use Plan for the Stanford Dish Area released in May. The Plan urges the need for a University-led restoration and conservation effort in the Foothills.

Since September, terms of recreational access to the area have been restricted and new rules implemented, confining hikers and joggers to paved service roads, not permitting dogs in the Foothills and closing the area a half-hour before sunset.

Wednesday night's protesters expressed dissatisfaction with these initial steps.

Others at the rally expressed similar concern that the motivation behind the policies are not purely environmental or academic.

"I see this as a way to cut people off from the area in order to do future development," said Cindy Jacobsen, a member of the Stanford Open Space Alliance and a Palo Alto resident. "By the time they want to build in the Foothills people will have almost forgotten about them. It's all part of a long term plan and it's a brilliant PR scheme. I'm doing my part to make sure that doesn't happen."

"What I want is for Stanford students and community members to come together and enjoy the night beauty of the Dish that has been enjoyed for the last 40 years," said Jacob Klein, a senior.

The protesters met and signed petitions to save the Foothills while an impromptu drum circle formed.

Casper's Conservation and Use Plan points out that the Stanford Foothills are private property, and Stanford is within its legal rights to restrict the area. However, students expressed a desire to be a part of a discussion concerning the fate of the Foothills.

"Stanford is justified in what it's doing, it has a right to control its own land," said sophomore Andy Gotterba. "But I do think it is possible for [the University] to achieve its objectives while listening to student objectives."

Thus far the University has stood firm in its new rules and shows little sign of changing its policy.

"I must make it very clear that Stanford considers the violations of laws and University policy a most serious matter and is deeply concerned about the safety of individuals who choose to ignore these regulations," said University President John Hennessy. He defends the Dish policy as "an effort to balance competing interests in light of the land's primary purpose, which is to serve the academic mission of the University."