UCSC Highway 1 protesters plead no contest

All six U.C. Santa Cruz students who shut down Highway 1 during a tuition protest pleaded no contest Thursday morning to the charges against them.

Ethan Pezzolo, 20, of Santa Cruz, Alexander Pearce, 20, of San Francisco, Sophia Dimatteo, 20, of Sherman Oaks, Jeanine Caceres, 22, of Santa Cruz, Lori Nixon, 29, of Santa Cruz, and Sasha Petterson, 20, of Santa Cruz all faced two misdemeanor counts of public nuisance and resisting or obstructing an officer.

“Today I plead no contest,” Pezzolo said. “But do not think that I am accepting the indicated sentence because I agree with the court. I am accepting the sentence because the state never seeks to provide fairness to people who speak out.”

The judge called for a sentence of 30 days in jail, while prosecutors asked for the maximum — 18 months. The protesters will also face restitution up to $40,000 among the six of them for the cost of law enforcement response to the incident.

Sentencing is set for June 29.

On March 3, the students blocked traffic on Highway 1 near the fishhook. For more than four hours, they locked arms through steel poles, strung together by trash cans filled with cement protesting tuition hikes and police on campus. Despite their legal battles, these students say they aren’t backing down.

“We will continue to raise our voices as part of the struggle for change,” Sophia Dimatteo said.

“If I’ve learned anything working with the youth in the state of California, it’s even small streams move mountains,” Lori Nixon said.

However, they’ll have to continue their fight off campus. They’ve been suspended until September 2016.

UCSC chancellors responded, saying they believed the protesters’ tactics overshadowed their message and that just because it was off-campus, wouldn’t mean they’re immune from discipline.