A few dozen protesters gathered near California Hall on the UC Berkeley campus at noon on Tuesday to protest proposed fee increases.

Students and UC employees hung up banners and spoke out against the spiraling cost of a UC tuition, as well as Cal’s ongoing contract dispute with workers. A group of 40 protesters had tried to block the east entrance to the hall earlier in the day.

The UC Board of Regents will meet in San Francisco on Wednesday to consider raising fees 8% for next year. This year, the Regents raised fees 32%, sparking university-wide protests.

But the mood on the Berkeley campus was fairly subdued. In fact, there was a bigger crowd watching a performance of swing dancing performance in front of Zellerbach Hall put on by the UC Berkeley dance troupe, The Movement.

Then there was the three-person protest against the Israeli treatment of Palestinians under Sather Gate.

A typical day at Cal.

Frances Dinkelspiel, Berkeleyside and CItyside co-founder, is a journalist and author. Her first book, Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California, published in November...