ACTION

PHOTO: Protestors yell outside Sproul Hall at the University of California at Berkeley as they participate in an Occupy Cal rally. (ABC News)

Was this really the best message to give at far left Berkeley?
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told the graduates at Berkeley to “be disruptors.”
She said being a “disruptor” is a compliment.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) encouraged graduates of the University of California Berkeley to be disruptors, using their knowledge and technology to shake up the economic system.

“Being called a disruptor is a high compliment,” Pelosi said in prepared remarks Saturday. “You here at Berkeley are already disruptors in many ways.”

Pelosi’s speech came nearly 50 years after students led by Mario Savio occupied a Berkeley building and launched the “free speech movement,” which sought to lift university bans on political activities.

“Now, it’s all about you — what you can do with your freedom to speak out, with the tools of our time: Instagram and YouTube, Facebook and Twitter,” Pelosi said.

The California lawmaker urged graduates to tackle problems with income disparity, education quality and climate change. She told them their peers around the world will help, and there’s no need to wait for leaders to act.