GW Students Become Involved in Occupy DC Movements

Ever slept in Freedom Plaza?

Miles Milliken has. The GW Sophomore majoring in Environmental Studies has slept in the plaza, located at 13th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, more than once over the past couple of months.

He has become involved in a movement that goes by several names, an offshoot of the Occupy Movement that calls itself "October 2011," the month its participants began to "occupy" Freedom Plaza. The other most common name for the movement is "Stop the Machine: Create a New World."

Milliken was there from the beginning of the occupation of Freedom Plaza, when the movement was originally given a four day permit to set up camp. Besides sleeping outside in the plaza at night a couple of times in either a tent or under a tarp, Milliken helped in the movement's food tent where he prepared pots of soup and coffee to keep more than 200 protestors warm.


Milliken says he is passionate about his time supporting the movement and it's 24/7 occupation of the plaza.

"To be there [at Freedom Plaza] continually is to show that we are truly fed-up with the situation of this country," Milliken said. "That being there, spending our time there, giving our time to this cause, means more to us than going to school, than going to work, than taking care of our standard responsibilities of life. Our common lives don't matter as much as the issues of corporatism and profiteering across this country and in the political system."

Milliken met a number of different people who came to Freedom Plaza to become part of the movement from all over America, including one man who drove all the way from California to participate in the DC protest.

"It's an awesome community. You wake-up with the sunrise when you're outside and there's people already up, around, making some food," Milliken said. "There's already people getting ready for the day's action. It's just, in general, a great atmosphere to be in."

Other GW students are joining the protests as well. Sam Nelson, a sophomore majoring in History, became involved with the official "Occupy DC" movement at McPherson Square, just blocks from the GW campus at 15th and I streets. Nelson first went to McPherson Square just days after the initial occupation, looking for a movement that would represent his political ideology.

"In the past few years or so I've become disenchanted with both major parties," Nelson commented. "I've always developed my own political ideology that was not necessarily mainstream in many cases.


"There hasn't been a real left in this country since the 60's and a real organized active left since even the 1920's, and I feel like this is a chance to build off things like the union protests in Wisconsin and create a new identity for the American left."

Nelson participates in the McPherson Square general assemblies, public meetings built around building consensus on issues facing the movement. Facilitators lead the discussions on issues and operations, including approving an action, such as a protest, spending of the movement's funds and removing someone from the movement. People participating in the assembly are encouraged to speak and voice their opinion. It takes more than 90% approval for any vote to pass and take effect. Nelson feels this slows down the process of taking action but has many benefits too.

"I feel like it does take a longer time but we hash out our problems and in the end people agree on something so there is a lot of commitment and also unity with the decision we make," Nelson commented.

The general assemblies are not the only characteristic the Freedom Plaza and McPherson Square occupations have in common. Both Milliken and Nelson agree that although the occupations are technically not related to each other, many people are participating in both occupations.

Nelson also recently joined in a DMV student march from McPherson Square to the headquarters of Sallie Mae, a financial company that specializes in giving out federal student education loans. The protest included people from many of the different Occupy groups in DC, who marched with signs and fliers in hand, addressed to the head of Sallie Mae. They protested over their frustration with the amount of student loans they have to take out. The protestors ended up surrounding the building, posting the fliers on its outer walls and windows.

GW Sophomore Jesse Schaffer, majoring in International Affairs and Environmental Studies, also participated in the Sallie Mae protest. Schaffer became involved with the Occupy movement in McPherson Square, he said, because not protesting would be accepting the status quo.

Schaffer said the education system in the United States needs to be fixed.

"We [The United States] clearly have a broken system," Schaffer said. "Education is a human right and higher education is so expensive that we are creating divides in our society that makes some people get an education and some people don't. I see that as unfair."

Besides participating in some of the large protests, Schaffer has also spent time at some of the cultural events sponsored by the new McPherson community, including Jewish religious services.

Sam Free, a senior majoring in Sociology, attended the Square's Yom Kippur service (the highest holy day in the Jewish religion). The service's diverse demographic impressed her the most.

"You had everybody there from college students, to the people who had just gotten off from work, to families out- that's what really struck me," Free said.

Free says she can't devote as much time as others in the movement, but as a supporter she believes one of the main goals is to let the public know what the protests are about.

"I think the big thing is raising awareness," Free explained. "What I find is nine times out of ten, a lot of people don't really know what the occupy movement is. It's really about educating people as to what it is.


"At it's core it's really simple. It's about making sure people have enough money to make ends meet."

Still, not everyone is supportive of the Occupy movements. Protestors have faced opposition from Government officials and law enforcement in other cities, as well as some in the general public.


Milliken claims he is not concerned about the possible legal consequences of his actions.

"The police have been very kind to us," Milliken said. "They have not threatened us ever in any way, and I trust that they will maintain that stance."

Both local movements have plans in place to help those arrested while protesting. Legal teams from the National Lawyers Guild Association, a major supporter of the Occupy movements, often supervise the Occupation sites and major protests. Many protestors wear the phone number of the Lawyer's Guild on their arm when they protest. Some fill out Guild risk arrest forms, which include an emergency contact in case of arrest.

Schaffer, though, is more cautious about the possibility of legal trouble.

"I'm watching my back and making sure I'm not going to get arrested," Schaffer said. "I do worry about violence but not from protestors."

Schaffer hopes that the Occupy movements won't be uprooted anytime soon and his concern won't stop him from participating in the movements, which plan to remain in McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza through the cold winter months.

"We should occupy this country until we create a world that I want to raise my kids in," Schaffer said.