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The University of California at San Diego has agreed to expand library hours - including 24/7 hours in the main library during finals week - following student protests that involved taking over a closed library. University administrators responded to the building take-over in part by removing police officers from the scene, hoping to avoid confrontations that have been so controversial at the University of California's Berkeley and Davis campuses. Students, while they were arguably occupying a space, tried to differentiate themselves from the Occupy movement. The students said they were focused on their need for room to study, and they said that they were "reclaiming," not "occupying" the library.
"We asked (the police) to leave so we wouldn't have any interactions," said Gary Matthews, the vice chancellor who oversees campus officers. "I think since the events at UC Davis, UC Berkeley, Penn State and Syracuse, everyone is reassessing responses, and the need to respond, and our duty to protect property and make sure everyone is safe."
Students stressed that they, too, wanted to avoid confrontation. Nonetheless, they set an 11 a.m. deadline for the administration to respond to their demand that they be allowed into the former Center for Library & Instructional Computing Services, commonly called...