With discussion in the Occupy Seattle effort of giving up on Westlake Park and moving the protest camp elsewhere in the city, we checked in with one potential Capitol Hill home for the occupiers’ tents and found a not so surprising answer. Seattle Central Community College would not like to host Occupy Seattle at Pine and Broadway, thank you very much.
At Monday night’s general assembly meeting at the downtown Occupy Seattle protest as the group discussed its options amid ongoing pressure and arrests from SPD, the topic of alternative camp locations came up. No consensus was reached on a group move — but reports from the meeting via Twitter note that there was some support for moving up Capitol Hill to the campus of Seattle Central.
We asked the school if they were up for hosting the Occupy Seattle camp. Here’s the response to our inquiry from a Seattle Central rep:
Seattle Central would not allow Occupy Seattle “moving to campus” due to the disruption this would cause in the learning process of our students.
Of course, in manners of civil disobedience and protest, public officials don’t always get to choose where people camp. Mayor Mike McGinn has been trying to coax the occupiers to take up residence at City Hall’s plaza.
Why the protesters might choose Capitol Hill? More space and similar levels of visibility says one participant in the ongoing protest, Aaron McCartney, who has been writing about the events of Occupy Seattle via his @penaetis Twitter account. Everett Rummage, whose tweet we featured above and who has been covering Occupy Seattle for Seattlest, describes the possible move thusly:
They don’t like city hall because that’s McGinn’s idea, they think theyd get a warm reception at SCCC, and it’s close to Westlake
Seattle Central’s Broadway plaza is also a frequent gathering area for protests and demonstrations. And the Hill has a history as a place for protest efforts to make a stand. And there’s the added benefit for being on the edge of the “2-block radius” from Occupy Seattle champion the Stranger’s 11th Ave editorial offices.
Community support might be mixed. On Friday night, a group of around 50 Occupy Seattle protesters marched around Pike/Pine and Broadway to literally drum up support for the cause. There were cheers and jeers. And not many new recruits. How Capitol Hill would react to the protest camping out at Broadway and Pine, nobody knows. But Seattle Central probably thinks that Seattle Center idea is swell.
I support the protestor’s right to protest but that is a mixed residential/commercial area – unlike the other spots discussed. its a school and there are important community resources there- like the drugstore I get all my meds at. they should not move to SCC when they have not been invited- it will directly impact the lives of everybody living in the area. In 1999 I lived and worked in the WTO’s “no-protest zone” and had to battle my way past protesters and cops every day to work and back. I woke up every morning with tear gas smell in my apt. Please keep the protests in non-residential areas.
Not only that- if they move to SCC i am sure there will be one of our wonderful capitol hill anarchy mini-riots, which will probably explode into a giant police riot. with all of us CH residents stuck in the middle. no thanks I dont care what your cause is. dont come here.
This idea has “terrible” written all over it. I don’t care if they want to protest, but when they start protesting in my neighborhood, and disrupting my daily life…that’s when I start having a problem.
If the purpose of the Occupy movement is to inhabit an area of high commerce/tax bailouts, I’m not sure that SCCC fits the bill. Seems like it’s being looked at as a destination for visibility but also convenience. I suppose the target of protest count be the Bank of America ATM across the street, but honestly – SCCC is a public school that serves a very diverse student base; the Walgreens across the street is in a building with low income housing; the Egyptian theater is part of the Landmark Theatres chain, which is hardly Big Corporate. Most of the businesses surrounding the SCCC plaza are small and/or independently owned.
I don’t have a problem with a protest interrupting my daily life – kind of the point, eh? to cause a bit of a disruption to make people examine the issues that we are all so good at ignoring most of the time – but moving to SCCC appears to be caving in and preaching to the choir. There’s nothing at stake there – except possibly pissing off people who might otherwise be allies.
I love the appeal to approved zoning regulations. Protestors ought to settle into Volunteer Park Cafe’s sidewalk and back yard.
Hey hey, ho ho, all you bums have got to go! Capitol Hill already has plenty of trash in it’s streets—it doesn’t need anymore!
really? a cap hil NIMBY??
I agree–moving the occupation to SCCC is a great way to become totally invisible to the Seattle financial district, and just another usual-suspects protest at Seattle Central. Are they just tired of doing it the hard way?
Honestly, how the fuck did you graduate from Harvard? The moral intelligence of the educational elite is truly disturbing. Simply by evaluating the words you have chosen I can tell that your mind is sub-standard. How unfortunate..
ok, that’s funny
tl;dr
but I get your point from your sbj line…the problem is that you’re inconveniencing the wrong people. i agree, corporate politics suck, our banking system is fucked…all that…as I’m sure the majority of the people on capitol hill feel. go to where these rich assholes live and inconvenience them, there.