“All day, all week, Occupy Raleigh” reverberated between downtown buildings as CHASS graduate student Ryan Thomson led the Occupy NCSU charge down Hillsborough Street to the capitol.
With permit in hand, 72 people were in attendance at the peak of Occupy NCSU’s teach-in held Thursday in the Court of North Carolina. Following morning presentations by professors in the Court, 13 occupiers marched to the capitol, chanting the last block to make their presence known.
“We are trying to combat disinformation that is often times spread by a number of different outlets. We are here today to defend education,” Thomson said.
The movement is gaining traction and, even without a central leader, is becoming more organized.
“Occupy is beginning to coordinate amongst itself. We are in coordination with Occupy Duke and Occupy UNC . We are trying to merge into a common movement. We start rather small, and grow into each other–expand our network, so to speak,” Thomson said.
The movement has similarities to that of the late 1960s , according to Thomson.
“The student movement of May, 1968 was the global student movement. We had one professor come out today and speak almost specifically on that. [History professor David] Zonderman did a side-by-side comparison: a leaderless movement, completely consensus-oriented, trying to drive toward protecting education…It seems too often that we are facing too many hurdles trying to get through college, and then when we get out, go to what job?” Thomson said.
Over 150 campuses nationwide participated in Occupy Colleges between Wednesday and Thursday. Organizers streamed video into Occupy Colleges.
“I am proud to say N.C . State is one of the bigger names in [Occupy Colleges]. We have some pretty big names coming out today,” Thomson said.
Organizers for Occupy NCSU were given the runaround when it came to obtaining an on-campus permit, according to Thomson. They had the permit in hand last week, but had it revoked last Friday at around 4:30 p.m . when University offices were near closing time. No one picked up the phone when organizers called.
Dick Reavis , associate professor of English, is the faculty advisor for Occupy NCSU . Upon hearing about the permit, he arranged a meeting with Chancellor Randy Woodson to discuss the incident. The permit was returned Monday.
Organizers also obtained a permit to gather at the capitol. Those without permits are not allowed to leave the sidewalk surrounding the capitol building, according to Capital Police Officer Hillar . With the permit, Occupy NCSU was allowed to set up shop on the capitol grounds, but they still had to stay on cemented areas.
Senior in fashion and textile management Katina Gad, who was arrested Oct. 27 for trespassing beyond the cement at Occupy Raleigh, attended Thursday’s event. However, she could not join students on capitol grounds–she is banned from all state property pending the resolution of her misdemeanor charge. She watched from the from the sidewalk along Morgan Street.
The Occupy movement has lawyers on retainer who offer their services pro-bono. Gad said three lawyers contacted her offering their services. She plans to take one of them up on his offer to fight her charge.
Occupy NCSU will be leaving Raleigh Sunday to travel to Washington, D.C . where participants will merge with Occupy D.C . Technician will join Occupy Raleigh on the bus trip and report from on-site. As of 5 p.m . Thursday, around 70 students and community members had signed up to take the trip.
