The great challenge of social protest is that the status quo, almost by definition, usually seems reasonable. The protesters stand peacefully in the way of things, and the powers that be knock them down, rough them up, and drag them off. The protesters' point gets across. In Garland Hall, though, passive resistance is cutting both ways. The impression one gets is that the university administration wants to regard the protest as some clever and irritating extracurricular, like nude experimental theater.
Protesters come and go during the daytime, to attend class, shower, or get food.
The U-shaped bicycle locks with which they initially chained themselves together sit disused. Students hook laptops into a university phone line to get on the Web, and are constantly talking on land-line and cell phones. But the peace is unquiet. The City Council was sending SLAC pizzas for dinner. Sneaking out, it seems, has ceased to be an option.