General Assembly Notes – November 21, 2011
Facilitator: Santhosh; Stacker: Jordan; Note Taker: Summer
New Faces: Brian, Anthony
19 people present at the start of the meeting.
Announcements:
Inspired by members of Occupy San Francisco, Beth has the idea of using painted cardboard boxes to resemble small-town America for an action. Folks interested should get in touch with her.
The New Mexico legislative session opens January 17 and Occupy Santa Fe is magneting an #OWS action that day – we have been in communication with them and will continue to do so.
March Against GMO Chile December 3 at Robinson park. Potluck; bring a chile dish if possible.
From the Party for Socialism and Liberation – Is Socialism Possible in the United States? December 3 at 4pm at the Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice. The Battle of Algiers screening on December 9 at 7pm also at the P&J. 15th Annual P&J Holiday Gala fundraiser on December 10 from 6-10pm at First Congregational Church.
Hershe – Lila needs plexiglass to construct shelter for info table.
Assist organizations that provide free meals on Wednesday and Thursday this week – info. on website.
There will be no general assembly on Thursday, Nov. 24.
Occupy Wall Street just launched a campaign to forgive student loans. We are initiating a UNM version. See occupystudentdebt.com and forgivestudentloandebt.com.
Our new Facebook page: (un)Occupy Albuquerque.
Carolina – Bus Action 3-4pm at 1st and Central November 22. Carolina stressed how motivating and productive the bus actions have been and recommended that everyone participate.
Acoma is now out of jail.
Working Groups Report:
We the People Working Group – Constitutional ammendment to get money out of politics and strengthen the right to vote poll on website.
The (un)Occupy Albuquerque information booth in UNM Student Union Building allows students to share their stories. It will be in the SUB Monday through Wednesday.
Action Working Group – Oakland has called for a massive solidarity action on 12-12-2011 to call attention to police violence. The group is also looking into holding an (un)holiday variety show.
Foreclosure Working Group – Diana from the United South Broadway Corporation has arranged for (un)Occupy folks to be able to come by on Wednesday from 2-5pm during foreclosure intakes. This is a way for us to offer support to and connect with people undergoing the foreclosure process. 1500 Walter St SE.
Anti-Capitalist Working Group – March for the Working Class (final event title TBA) on Dec 30 starting at Robinson Park at 1pm. The ACWG holds action-planning meetings at 4pm on Saturdays and discussions at 5pm on Mondays, both at Yale Park.
Faculty and Students Working Group – This group includes UNM, CNM, and NM Highlands. Desi wants to setup a listserv through UNM. They met with the SUB administration, who requested that (un)Occupy Albuquerque use the lower floor should we ever meet indoors for a general assembly. The group is also drafting a letter to demand unlimited tabling access on the UNM campus. They meet Tuesdays at noon in Zimmerman Library. They’re planning teach-ins for the first week of the Spring 2012 semester. Various UNM faculty members are contacting state senators for a legal check-in about the arrests in New Mexico connected with the Occupy Wall Street movement. UNM has agreed to use a restorative justice model for Cody Jo, the UNM student arrested for reading a book in Yale Park on October 26.
Agenda Items
Move to Amend Endorsement – We quickly reached consensus to support the movement to amend the U.S. Constitution that comes as a response to Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. The We the People Working Group will draft and publicized a statement to this effect.
Listserv – We discussed the advantages and disadvantages of setting an (un)Occupy Albuquerque listserv through UNM versus creating an independent one. The main downsides are that UNM could make the list disappear and lack of privacy. The advantage would be ease of setup. We decided to research the matter (Thomas) and defer the discussion to later date.
24/7 Location – The (un)Occupy Albuquerque permit for Yale Park currently goes from 5pm to 10pm on weekdays and 11am-5pm on the weekend. We discussed whether we wanted a permanent camp and prospects for getting one. Jason suggested creating a working group to research the matter and explore options.
Proposal: No Permit for the General Assembly – Those of us present supported this proposal, but we decided to table it until Friday to seek input from the community.
Proposal: No More (GA discussion) Time Limits – We decided to table this proposal until Friday.
Rollover agenda items for Friday’s GA:
Proposal: No Permit for the General Assembly
Proposal: No More (GA discussion) Time Limits
Listserv Discussion
