Let #OccupySeattle stay at Seattle Central Community College!
On Saturday October 15 Occupy Seattle reached its biggest mobilization yet with more than 5,000 demonstrators participating. This coincided with a stunning victory as we re-occupied Westlake Park in the heart of downtown Seattle in defiance of the Mayor’s ban on tents (See previous article on socialistworld.net).
This Saturday October 29 marks a new development for the local Occupy movement. The movement has taken the bold step of moving the occupation to Seattle Central Community College (SCCC).
However, the president of Seattle Central, Paul Killpatrick, has been anything but welcoming thus far. The movement has already signaled its support for fighting tuition fee increases and education budget cuts.
In the face of growing repression of Occupy movements nationally and internationally, and the critical juncture that OccupySeattle now faces, we are urgently appealing for support from activists, workers and students in Seattle, around the U.S. and internationally.
Call and/or Email Seattle Central Community College President Paul Kilpatrick to tell him:
- Support #OccupySeattle!
- Don’t allow any police harassment of students, faculty, or other demonstrators camping out in front of Seattle Central Community College
Phone Number: + 1 206 934 4144
Email: [email protected]
Why the move? By a super-majority of 81%, the occupation chose to move its camp to Seattle Central Community College. After weeks of continued police harassment and arrests at Westlake Park, to move camp to the Capitol Hill neighborhood is to go on the offensive instead of being forced to be defensive.
Important support has already been demonstrated by previous student walkouts originating from SCCC in support of the national Occupy movement, in addition to support from student government, campus publications, as well as staff members and faculty.
The lesson of the October 15 “Night of 500 Tents” was that we can push back the efforts of the city government and police to repress our movement when we mobilize large enough numbers in struggle. That is why it is vital we get the largest possible turnout this Saturday October 29. We must also bombard the Seattle Central Community College President with phone calls and emails from supporters around the world to ensure we maintain our space.
Be the first to comment