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Student supporters of the Occupy Denver movement hosted an “event series” last week, featuring professor discussion panels, student questioning and debates aimed at educating the student populous on the movement as Occupy prepares to branch to the DU campus.
Approximately 60 people attended the three nights of the event.
“I think that the events were very successful, and I am very excited because Occupy is about things that everyone is invested in; it’s reflective of our whole community,” said Colin Lawrence, a DU graduate student who helped to put on the event.
Organizers hope this event will serve as the introduction to a much larger role for the Occupy movement on the University of Denver campus to be called Occupy DU.
Their goal is to create an “all-encompassing campus-wide movement” and to provide the opportunity for student involvement. The first event was a “General Assembly” meeting, a regular practice of the Occupy movement, held outside of Sturm on Monday at noon. Occupy DU plans to make these meetings a regular practice.
“We want all people, young and old, discussing these topics and to make sure all their personal issues are on board,” said Lawrence. “The thought is to get people talking about events that will be part of our immediate future.”
The events series was intended to elicit student interest in this idea and to begin getting students involved.
Each night hosted a separate event aimed at spreading awareness of the Occupy movement and its purposes. Tuesday and Wednesday night featured professor discussion panels, where those who volunteered to speak gave a 15-minute presentation on different aspects of the movement such as rhetoric, economics and its relation to previous revolutions. On Thursday night, there was a debate in Sturm Hall between supporters of Occupy and those who oppose it.
“I was happy to participate because I believe Occupy offers many interesting examples of civic rhetoric and the potential of deliberative discourse and collective action,” said DU academic writing professor Jennifer Campbell, who spoke on the rhetoric of Occupy at the Wednesday night presentations.
“In addition to my scholarly interest, I have a personal stake in the issues addressed by the movement and I hope they continue to provoke conversation about social justice,” said Campbell.
Campbell was among seven professors to speak at the events.
The other professors included Harva Gordon, Seth Masket, Kristian Miccio, Robert Hardaway and George DeMartino.
The Thursday debate also gave voice to those who oppose Occupy by having two supporters and two opponents of the protests debate topics ranging from the goals of the movement to corporate personhood.
“I think Occupy will need to define a clearer agenda and establish serious, practical solutions that their many constituencies can get behind,” said Campbell.
Discussions also focused on what the primary objectives of Occupy should be, legality concerns, their presentation of their movement, where the movement could realistically progress in the future, actions of protesters and the problems of underclass representation
However, supporters believe the Occupy movement is far from done.
“I think it’s important for people to realize that conversations are still being held, whether large or small, they are still being held,” said Lawrence.
Occupy hopes to continue this with their “outreach” programs, which is the program that started the involvement at DU. There are also movements happening on college campuses in the surrounding areas, including Occupy Boulder and Occupy Auraria.
“The DU movement seems to have good momentum, and I appreciate their focus on an intellectual exploration of the movement and willingness to welcome multiple perspectives,” said Campbell.
Organizers hope that the high attendance at the event predicates a high attendance and involvement in all future campus events.
“Occupy isn’t about Democrats or Republicans or Independents; it’s about people coming together,” said Lawrence. “To really change the nation, we need to be engaged in our community.”
