Traffic snarled, but plenty of drivers honked in support as UCSC students marched from campus to downtown Santa Cruz protesting education cuts, banks and corporate control of everything.
It wasn't quite the 1960s, but showed a movement that was gathering steam.
After hearing speeches supporting unions at the post office, the students, along with members of Occupy Santa Cruz surrounded the closed Wells Fargo bank, holding up yellow police tape that said "Crime Scene."
A Santa Cruz Sheriff's Department plane circled overhead and the top brass from UCSC and Santa Cruz police were there, as well as California Highway Patrol officers. But they were spectators, giving none of the aggression seen in Oakland last week.
They steered traffic off of Front Street while the marchers took it over, but mostly traffic flowed as it usually does after work: crowded but manageable.
It was unclear why the protestors chose Wells Fargo for their target, especially since earlier in the day Occupy Wall Street opened an account in that national bank to send money from New York to Oakland to bail out people arrested there.
According to the Associated Press, "an occupy statement said the money only will be with Wells Fargo temporarily while they work to establish an account with a credit union or community bank. Protesters said it was the easiest way to access the money to bail out people from jail."
And the wire service added: "Wells Fargo spokesman Ruben Pulido says the move demonstrates that Occupy Oakland recognizes the value and service the bank provides its customers."
Protestors in Santa Cruz held signs demanding that banks pay up, referring to the fact that several large banks have avoided paying taxes. According to the Wall Street Journal, San Francisco-based Wells Fargo was found to be in violation of tax codes in April for $115 million in false deductions for 2002.
