| Occupy Texas State | |||||||||||
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| Part of the Occupy Movement | |||||||||||
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Occupy Texas State is a student activist group out of Texas State University - San Marcos.[1] It is distinguished from the off-campus but allied Occupy San Marcos.
Occupy Texas State utilizes the principles of peaceful protest that began on October 5, 2011[2] in the Quad around the "Fighting Stallions". It is affiliated with both the Occupy Colleges and Occupy Wall Street movements that began in Los Angeles, California and New York City, New York respectively.
The series of protests and demonstrations put forth by Occupy Texas State are the largest to occur on the campus since November 1969 when about 70 students at the then named Southwest Texas State University gathered in the Quad to hold a peaceful demonstration against the Vietnam War. The 1969 demonstrations resulted in ten students referred to as the "San Marcos Ten"[3] being expelled from the university and went before the US Supreme Court in 1970 which led to the creation of "Free Speech Zones" at several universities nationwide.[4]
The original intent of Occupy Texas State was to denounce the role that large corporations had in promulgating the financial crisis and to highlight the effects of the financial crisis on higher education. The protesters at Texas State University, as in other movements throughout the world, have described themselves as the "99 percent," a reflection of their belief that the financial system rewards the richest 1 percent at the expense of everyone else.[5]
The group was founded by Joshua Christopher Harvey, a US Air Force veteran,[6] Leo Gomez Jr., Matthew Molnar, Laura Cowan and Max Anderson.[7]
The group's motto is "Student activism for higher education reform" and they plan to "implement change to improve the quality of education and reduce educational cost inequality for not only Texas State University students – but students across the state of Texas and the nation". They plan to highlight cuts to student grants and highlight the problems posed by the current student loan system.
The following mission and values were ratified by the Occupy Texas State General Assembly:
Solidarity Statement
We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who occupy Wall Street as well as our peers who occupy campuses across the country and the world. We stand in a tradition of peaceful protest inspired by the San Marcos Ten in 1969. We are dedicated to non-violently reclaiming control of our governments from the financial interests that have corrupted them. We demand that our public servants recognize that the people are the supreme authority. We demand the return of funding to both public education and higher education by the State of Texas and seek to return student involvement to government from the collegiate level and university affaires to the national level.
The following are the Core Values as ratified by the Occupy Texas State General Assembly
Core Values
We are committed to resisting the monied corruption of our democracy. We are committed to non-violent forms of resistance – including peaceful civil disobedience if necessary. We are committed to engaging students through teach-ins and demonstrations. We are committed to finding corrupt sources of funding to our university as well as exposing gross mismanagement and application of funding on the part of the university. We are committed in demanding the return of funding to grants and scholarships sponsored by the state of Texas.
The General Assembly for Occupy Texas State also ratified a "Declaration of Occupation" [8] which was modeled after the Declaration of Occupation by The New York General Assembly.[9] The Declaration of Occupation for Texas State states in part [10]:
We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments and corrupt our systems of education.
The declaration goes on to list grievances:
On October 5, around fifty students walked out of class in a show of student solidarity with Occupy Wall Street. The call was put out by the newly formed Occupy Colleges group based in Los Angeles, California [12] They held the quad for several hours and at one time brought about 1,000 students, faculty and staff to a complete standstill as they chanted. University PD were called to the scene but maintained distance.[2]
On October 11, Occupy Texas State holds its first informal General Assembly to discuss participating in a solidarity protest on the 13th of October.
On October 12 Occupy Texas state hosts and informal work group to gather supplies and make signs for the protest on the 13th.
On October 13 around 40 to 50 students gathered to rally in the Quad in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street[13] . Occupy Texas State received national attention when the events were covered in The Huffington Post and Inside Higher Ed. The students marched from the "Fighting Stallions" sculpture to the Hays County Courthouse in downtown San Marcos, Texas.[14]
On October 19, Occupy Texas State holds its first formal General Assembly where it discusses its future plans, seeking sponsorship and lays the foundations for working with local businesses and school administration.
On October 19, Occupy Texas State launches the website Texas State: Occupied.
On October 27 representatives Matthew Molnar, Lindsey Huckaby, Joshua Christopher Harvey, Rex Pape and Clifton MacAlbrecht of Occupy Texas State united marched with Occupy Austin in a coordinated demonstration with the city of Oakland.[15] About two hundred Occupy Austin protestors gathered with candles and marched silently from Austin City Hall to the Texas capitol building in downtown Austin.
On November 1 The College Republicans of Texas State University hold an "Occupy Occupy Wall Street" protest to counter protest Occupy Texas State and mock the Occupy Movement in general.[16]
On the evening of November 1 Occupy Texas State sponsored a candlelight vigil[17] for Scott Olsen[18] a former Marine and Iraq War veteran, and a member of Veterans for Peace who suffered a skull fracture caused by a projectile fired by the police at Occupy Oakland on October 25, 2011. The students marched in silence to and from the Quad at the university to the Hays County Courthouse
Between November 2 through the 5th members of Occupy Texas State participate in Bank Transfer activities culminating on November 5 with Bank Transfer Day.
On October 11 Occupy Texas State meets with possible sponsors in the Philosophy Department of the university and secures a sponsorship for 2012.
On November 17 Occupy Texas State, Occupy Austin, the Texas State Employees Union/CWA, The American Federation of Teachers the ISO and the Texas AFL-CIO gathered at the Texas State Capitol to rally against the Texas Legislature' $6.6 billion cut on public education.[19] The events we coordinated to fall on the two-month anniversary of Occupy Wall Street.
On November 17 Occupy Texas State organizer Joshua Christopher Harvey and University of Texas at Austin student Eslerh O. Gomez form the United Communities Action Coalition to unify members of Occupy San Marcos, Occupy Austin, Occupy UT, Occupy The Hood, The Texas Branch of the ISO as well as local churches and grassroots organizations to commit to working together on social projects that improve local communities in Central Texas. Their first event is planned for December 5 when they plan to march into East Austin for a day of community service. (Citation Needed).
The Thanksgiving holiday was observed.
On November 30 a constitution was drafted. The week was declared a Constitutional Convention Week as constitution made an open document and changes and modification could be made by any member of the group.
On December 7 Occupy Texas State held a Ratification Day event where the constitution was put up for a final approval before being ratified. A social to celebrate was held after.
Occupy Texas State profiled by the American Independent News Network in an article by Teddy Wilson.[20]
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Other U.S. protests
Other international protests
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