PAGE 2 // WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2011
NEWS
the pendulum
Protestors stand in solidarity, despite differences in goals
t-
OCCUPY from PAGE 1
a brief rally, the group prepared to march
to Times Square, not anticipating the
barriers that would obstruct theit entry
into the square.
Filing along one portion of the
sidewalk for two hours, stretching about a
mile long, the march arrived on the street
across from Times Square around 5:30
p.m. and immediately began funneling
into the street.
“We’d been escorted by the police all
day, everything had been relatively fine,
but they wouldn’t let us cross the final
street (to Times Square),” Castor said.
It was then that the scuffle broke
out. Batons began flying, people were
arrested, a police barricade went up and
horses were used to keep the protestors
on the sidewalk. Senior Claire Healy, who
documented the action, including the
police barricade, said she was sure she’d
be arrested.
“It was probably some of the scariest
moments of my life,” she said. “The one
cop that could have hurt someone, we
were all telling him, ‘We have your name
and number, you will be reported.’”
The power struggle continued for
hours as the police attempted to hold the
protestors back, while they in turn tried
to make a plan of action using the system
of mic check.
“You can hear this huge dialogue
among thousands of people happening
in real time,” Castor said. “The police
can hear everything you’re planning all
day. It’s very transparent, there are no
secrets.”
In many cases, the police refused
to make eye contact or communicate
with the protestors. Castor remembers
people crying in fear, saying they wanted
to leave, but continued to stand their
ground. Despite her own fear, Castor did
the same.
“I have never been more scared in my
entire life, but what was incredible is that
1 was firmly planted,” she said. “I did not
have the desire to go anywhere and 1 did
not go anywhere.”
A conclusjon is reached
The standoff lasted nearly three
hours before Joseph Esposito, Chief of
Department of the NYPD, joined the scene
and told the police officers to stand down
and that they were disobeying orders. To
the surprise of the protestors, he began
using mic check to communicate.
“No one asked him to use (it),” Castor
said. “It was incredible and then there
was the start of negotiating between the
whole group and one officer.”
Castor and junior Lauren Clapp were
two of the first protestors escorted across
the street into Times Square. It was a
process that took about three hours as a
total of 6,000 people marched across the
street in groups.
“We went from tear gas to being
charged with horses and threatened with
CLAIRE ESPARROS I Staff Photographej
Mat Masterson (left) and Max Silver (right) were two of about 40 participants at Occupy Greensboro Oct. 22, playing music for others in attendance.
of
arrest to everyone winning,” Castor said.
It was the best experience of the trip,
Clapp said, and one she will never forget.
“I didn’t know what to expect and I
wouldn’t say I felt safe in that moment
because it could have escalated to real
violence really fast,” she said. “Knowing
that feeling makes it more meaningful
that the whole situation diffused
peacefully, it could have been the opposite
reaction.”
Angel Aguayo, a local North Carolina
high school student, said she traveled
to New York with the intention of being
arrested in support of the cause. But,
when the barricade was removed and she
crossed into Times Square, the success of
the march was worth more, she said.
“This was a victory for the protestors,
we had won using nonviolent methods,”
Aguayo said. “This was by far the best
experience I have ever had. I’m not sure
I have ever seen anything as beautiful as
the movement.”
Grasping the meaning
As a horizontally led movement, some
have questioned whether the protestors
have any clear goals they are actively
working toward. For the participants
from Elon, that’s not a fair judgment to
make.
“When people say they don’t have
demands, that’s the wrong question to
be asking about the movement,” Healy
said. “It’s more, how are they getting to
their demands? What is making this such
a success? You can’t deny it’s successful.
\
y
II
The camp site at Zuccotti Park is serving as home to thousands of protestors.
PHOTO SUBMrTTED
Hundreds
cities around
the world are
occupying so
something is
going right.
We’re trying
to revamp an
entire system,
it’s not going to
be fast.”
The plurality
of ideas within
the movement
complicates
the process of
determining
concrete
demands, Clapp
said.
“This kind of
democracy is so hard because it accounts
for everyone’s differences,” she said. “It’s
beautiful but very strenuous.”
Blackney’s hope is that the process
of direct democracy is one that can
eventually be applied to national political
discourse.
“I think it would be awesome if,
instead of money talking, the people
talked, but it’s important to remember
that it’s a month old,” she said. “I have no
idea what it’s going to be yet. It’s possible,
but it could also fail, it’s too soon to tell.”
A national movement localized
Though small in comparison to the
movement in New York City, another
group of people has pitched tents in
a small, grassy area in downtown
Greensboro.
Julie Southerland, a resident of High
Point, said while she identifies as a
socialist, the group represents numerous
political ideologies. Though standing in
solidarity with the national movement,
the Greensboro branch has also set its
sights on more local problems, including
foreclosures in Greensboro and cutbacks
at the post office.
“We see the movement as the antithesis
of the Tea Party,” Southerland said. “We
are from the left and more grassroots.
We’re working on developing concrete
demands.”
Many of those joining the movement,
Southerland said, have been mad about
the system, but have gone for many
years without an outlet to express their
frustrations.
‘Individual people have connected
with one another at occupy groups,” she
said. “A lot look to Wall Street for ideas.
Their camp has been established a lot
longer with many more people. We are
taking cues from New York and other
places.”
Lauren Guy-Mcalpinsaid, a Greensboro
resident, said she considers herself a
long-time activist and has always been
frustrated with the lack of alternatives in
the U.S. political system.
“I think the two-party system of
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Thousands of protestors filled the streets of New York City Oct. 15 in an all*
day march from their base of Zuccotti Park to Times Square.
Republicans and Democrats won’t change
anything,” she said.
For Max Silver, who has stayed at the
camp for four days, the motivations for
participation are different. After hearing
his friends make fun of the movement, he
decided to join in.
“I’m staying until it’s torn down,” he
said.
Many of the hallmarks of the
movement on Wall Street are intact,
including a library, press area and three
meals a day. Southerland said some of
the homeless population from the local
community has also taken up camp at
the site.
Reflections on the experience
For the participants from Elon, a sense
of community pervaded their time on
Wall Street.
“In the park, everyone was committed
to being a community and working
together, even though they were pissed
off,” Clapp said. “They all had legitimate
concerns for being there.”
Though the thousands of protestors
were not always familiar with one
another, there was a feeling of safety that
defined many of their interactions.
“In the middle of downtown New York
for over 24 hours, things we needed and
had brought were left unattended by us
and were still in perfect condition when
we came back,” Castor said. “That was
incredible.”
Clapp and Castor are currently
developing plans to return to New ^or
during Winter Term and have already
visited the Occupy Greensboro site since
returning to campus from New York.
“1 think now that we’ve had peope
there and are bringing back a very
optimistic message with lots o
information and levels of involvernen.
I think the conversation arouiid to
will become bigger,” Castor
optimism being part of it, that caugh
off guard. It’s easier to get on board w
something that is so happy and '
That can make the conversation ea
and will help make it grow.”