FIRST, People were not drawn to the occupation by a "tweet" about a dance party. There was a one-day walkout/strike to protest the destruction of public education in California, which is happening hard and fast on account of the fiscal crisis of the state of CA. People marched from the base of campus, where the picket was, on to the campus itself. The march happened to end at the "quarry", a commercial/student space at the university, where the occupation took place. The occupiers, as is clear from their statement, did not believe a one-day event would change anything at the University of California. Their belief has been borne out by the facts: UC President Mark Yudof did not so much as acknowledge the walkout. UC students, faculty and staff will have to undertake much more abrasive direct-action if anything is to change at all. Nothing will change, however, unless everything changes, which is why the students at Santa Cruz occupied without demands, refusing to turn over the building in exchange for paltry concessions.
SECOND, Occupy California is not a group of activists. In fact, it is not a group at all, at least in the usual sense. Of course, there are some activists in the building, but in the opinion of this commentator, they have fully transcended their status as activists. The occupation was not a publicity stunt, nor a single-issue action, nor even an arrest action. The space was taken and then transformed into a social center for the organization of further actions on campus. The dance party was one such action (and a political one, since the occupiers have an uncommon notion of the political). As for group status, "Occupy California" is only the name of the website. The occupiers have no name. They have control over a door, and so the composition of the group of people inside is constantly changing. There are no leaders, no committees, no meetings except those called, with whoever is in the space, making decisions to be implemented immediately.
Thanks much, another autonomous committee inside the occupation
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occupy california
Sep 30, 2009
5:12 a.m.
Just a few corrections:
FIRST, People were not drawn to the occupation by a "tweet" about a dance party. There was a one-day walkout/strike to protest the destruction of public education in California, which is happening hard and fast on account of the fiscal crisis of the state of CA. People marched from the base of campus, where the picket was, on to the campus itself. The march happened to end at the "quarry", a commercial/student space at the university, where the occupation took place. The occupiers, as is clear from their statement, did not believe a one-day event would change anything at the University of California. Their belief has been borne out by the facts: UC President Mark Yudof did not so much as acknowledge the walkout. UC students, faculty and staff will have to undertake much more abrasive direct-action if anything is to change at all. Nothing will change, however, unless everything changes, which is why the students at Santa Cruz occupied without demands, refusing to turn over the building in exchange for paltry concessions.
SECOND, Occupy California is not a group of activists. In fact, it is not a group at all, at least in the usual sense. Of course, there are some activists in the building, but in the opinion of this commentator, they have fully transcended their status as activists. The occupation was not a publicity stunt, nor a single-issue action, nor even an arrest action. The space was taken and then transformed into a social center for the organization of further actions on campus. The dance party was one such action (and a political one, since the occupiers have an uncommon notion of the political). As for group status, "Occupy California" is only the name of the website. The occupiers have no name. They have control over a door, and so the composition of the group of people inside is constantly changing. There are no leaders, no committees, no meetings except those called, with whoever is in the space, making decisions to be implemented immediately.
Thanks much,
another autonomous committee inside the occupation