TheLittleHawk : ED IOWA CITYP I Iowa City High School Iowa City, Iowa volume 70-issue 2 October 28, 2011 www.thelittlehawk.com
OCCU
An anti-corporate movement that has been sweeping the nation has come to town in the form of “Occupy Iowa City.” By Kieran Green
photos by RENATA STEWART & KIERAN GREEN
On a balmy October afternoon, the normally quiet College Green is flooded with protesters. A few cluster in small groups scattered across the premisis, their voices barely audible over the faint sound of an acoustic guitar playing on the far side of the park. The largest group sits in a large semi circle around a flat sheet of cardboard dubbed the “soapbox.” Unlike the other circles, this group is loud, erupting periodically into applause and cheers. Individuals speak one after the other, railing against everything from government policies, to corporations, to wealth disparity and the tax code. “The great thing about [the Occupy protests] is that it draws attention to to the fact that one percent of the population gobbles up most of the wealth. This is a majority movement within society, not just a traditional working class movement” Tom Louis, a lecturer who led a seminar at the park, said. The assembled crowd is a diverse one. Tiedye and checked scarves intermingle with button down shirts and slacks, and close-cropped grey hair is just as common as the free-flowing mops of the college students. But despite these differences, the crowd is united in sentiment. “A lot of people here just feel like they’d rather get pissed off than pissed on.” David Ellinger, one of the many occupiers currently residing in the park, said. It was a sentiment that was echoed by many of the protesters there, as evidenced by the many slogans drawn on the sidewalk with phrases like “Be your own Robin Hood,” “Money isn’t speech,” and “End the Fed.” “It’s a matter of truth. Efforts like this go to prove that sovereign nations need to take care of their own people.” Michael Tibbets, an Iowa City native taking part of the protests, said. The protesters are referring to their movement as “Occupy Iowa City,” in solidarity with the the “Occupy Wall Street” protests, which started in September of last year. Sister protests have cropped up in over two thousand cities in every continent except Antarctica. Mirroring many of the other movements that have occurred this year, social networking played a major roll in helping to organize the protests in Iowa City. “I found out about the Occupy protests through Facebook.” Alison Clark, one of the protest organizers, said. “I was upset that it hadn’t been covered much by the media.” The organization that helped to put the protests together appears to have helped maintain them as well. Negotiations with the City Council have granted the protesters the right to install portable toilets on the premises. The
protesters have managed to avoid confrontation with law enforcement so far. No demonstrators have been incarcerated at this point, though thirty protesters were arrested in Des Moines after setting up an encampment in front of the State Legislature building. “[The police] have been very cooperative.” Clark said. “We’re granted access to the park so long as we don’t do any damage and don’t disturb the neighbors.” To avoid damaging the park, protesters have taken over maintenance of the park, moving tents every three days to avoid killing the grass, and picking up trash. Tibbets described a typical day at College Green. “Everybody gathers in the morning to clean up everything. Then we have informational meetings throughout the day. In the evening, everybody makes dinner together, with donations that we’ve been given. By the time the day is over, we’re all full and happy, and there’s a feeling that this is how it’s supposed to be.” Many protesters cite economic concerns as the driving motivation behind their occupation “While we have political equality, we do not have economic equality, and economic equality is a precondition to democracy” said Louis. The demonstrators have also taken steps to get students to take an interest, through social media and more conventional means, such as plastering City High’s trees and announcement boards with posters encouraging students to attend rallies. Many students have taken an active interest the occupation. “Though I’m not really affected by many of the issues, I sympathize. I think its good. The government and corporations need a wake up call every now and then” Christian Kennedy (‘14) said. Demonstrators intend to continue occupying the park, as plans have been drawn up to keep encampments over the winter. The protesters are currently in negotiations with the city to obtain a long-term permit from the city. There are also plans to bring in an arctic tent and to winterize existing structures, along with setting up propane heating throughout the park. “I think more and more people will come to the protests especially as more they begin to understand and become educated” Clark said. In contrast with earlier protests, many “occupiers” as they have come to be known, are trying to incorporate as much of the population as possible into the movement. “Most of the people, most of the time, are not revolutionaries. But circumstances move people, and I think that that’s a large part of whats going on here” Louis said.