  We consider the spectrum of the staggered Dirac operator with SU(2) gauge
fields. Our study is motivated by the fact that the antiunitary symmetries of
this operator are different from those of the SU(2) continuum Dirac operator.
In this contribution, we investigate in some detail staggered eigenvalue
spectra close to the free limit. Numerical experiments in the quenched
approximation and at very large $\beta$-values show that the eigenvalues occur
in clusters consisting of eight eigenvalues each. We can predict the locations
of these clusters for a given configuration very accurately by an analytical
formula involving Polyakov loops and boundary conditions. The spacing
distribution of the eigenvalues within the clusters agrees with the chiral
symplectic ensemble of random matrix theory, in agreement with theoretical
expectations, whereas the spacing distribution between the clusters tends
towards Poisson behavior.
