A group of students will “occupy” Ohio University during Homecoming Week to localize nationwide protests regarding governmental neglect of popular opinion.
In an extension of the Occupy Wall Street movement that began last month in New York City, OU students will protest what they say are anti-democratic practices trickling down from national politics to university policies.
“The general understanding of people who are involved with or support the occupation of Wall Street … is that the society that we now live in has become incredibly antidemocratic,” said Tyler Barton, a senior studying chemistry.
Barton, who is organizing the Occupy Ohio movement, will hold a “people’s assembly” for interested participants at 5 p.m. today by College Green’s Civil War monument.
He said student activists — and any faculty and staff members they recruit — will camp out on the grass strip between Alden Library and the president’s house, 29 Park Place, during Homecoming Week to raise awareness.
The protests could include an anti-war vigil and a demonstration against student debt, Barton said.
“The planning process is entirely decentralized,” Barton said. “We have no central planning committee or anything like that; we’re going to go there, and we’re asking people to join us.”
Occupy Ohio is the local version of a national movement that began last month on Wall Street with a group of college-age students saying they’re fed up with the decisions being made by America’s rich. Last week, more than 700 people were arrested while marching across the Brooklyn Bridge.
The group on OU’s campus will focus on similar goals that are adjusted to fit the concerns of students, faculty and staff.
“Generally, I’d like to see more students become political,” Barton said. “There’s a very strong understanding among most students that something is not quite right in the world.”
Barton said he is concerned about what he sees as undemocratic practices at OU, including in Student Senate and the Board of Trustees.
He said he does not believe Student Senate is properly representative of students. He also said students’ rights are limited because they cannot vote for student trustees, and student trustees’ rights are limited because they don’t have a vote on the Board of Trustees.
“A lot of people can argue about the role of Student Senate, but we represent students every day,” Student Senate President Kyle Triplett said. “We are a group of about 35 people trying to represent a constituency of 20,000. It’s a difficult job, really.”
The university listens to all opinions, including those of students, through various standing committees and governmental bodies, such as Student Senate and Graduate Student Senate, said Becky Watts, chief of staff to President Roderick McDavis.
“Student voice is very important here at Ohio University,” Watts said. “It’s lifted up through those shared governances.”
In preparation for various “Occupy” groups across the state, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio posted a protestor guide for participants.
“Peaceful protests are an important and constitutionally protected right,” said Christine Link, executive director of ACLU of Ohio, in a news release. “This advisory will help protesters anticipate and, if possible, avoid confrontations with law enforcement.”
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