Without land Occupy movement struggles to fight on

On Sept. 17, 2011, 1,000 protesters gathered in lower Manhattan to protest corporate greed. That… On Sept. 17, 2011, 1,000 protesters gathered in lower Manhattan to protest corporate greed. That protest evolved into the Occupy Movement and has since become a worldwide phenomenon that advocates what it claims is the message of the 99 percent.

But only five months later, the movement’s state is unclear. Numerous Occupy movements, ranging from the original New York site in Zuccotti Park to camps in Washington, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have been evicted from their plots. The Allegheny Court of Common Pleas recently evicted Occupy Pittsburgh’s camp at BNY Mellon’s Downtown Mellon Park. On Feb. 6, two days after Judge Christine Ward issued an injunction for the group’s removal from the bank’s property, the protesters vacated the land they’d occupied since Oct. 15.

“As camps start to break down, the visibility of the movement will surely be negatively impacted,” said Pitt political science professor Jennifer Victor.

Lucas Lyons, a graduate student at Pitt and a member of Occupy Pittsburgh, said the evictions would not affect the movement.

“The camps were only a symbol, a metaphor, for the message we are trying to wake people up to. When the camps shut down, only the symbol was gone,” he said. “Everything else continues on. We have built networks both physically and over the Internet, and we will continue to push our message through different avenues.”

Jackie Smith, a sociology professor at Pitt involved with Occupy Pittsburgh, said that while the loss of camps might negatively affect the movement, she is hopeful for the future and thinks the eviction could be beneficial in the long run.

“The camp actually required a lot of energy and focus to defend. This kept many people from thinking about the long-term vision of building a movement that can resonate with and connect to the needs of more diverse groups in our community. Also, by keeping the focus on [Mellon Park] as the main space we were occupying, we missed an opportunity to highlight some of the many other occupations that are happening in this city and region.”

Occupy groups are attempting to raise their visibility in the absence of occupied land. Occupy Wall Street launched an Occupy Wall Street bus that has traveled around the country on tours called Occutrips.

A recent Occutrip visited Pittsburgh last week. It met with members of Pittsburgh’s movement before traveling to other locations in the city, including Schenley Plaza, to raise awareness of the movement’s goals.

But the movement has problems with its public image. A recent study published by the University of Delaware revealed that approximately 20 percent of the United States reported being unaware of the Occupy movement, and among those that are cognizant of the platform, one in three cannot identify the protest’s main message.

The national focus of the group isn’t always fixed, and Victor said that’s a problem because the group’s message is unclear..

“The goals have been pretty undefined and have varied from city to city,” she said. Lyons was more optimistic.

“We are laying the ground work for a long-term permanent occupation and new members, and new niches of people are opening up to us as we continue forward,” Lyons said, although he didn’t mention any specific plans.

Lyons is aware of the uphill battle he and other Occupiers face, but remains undaunted.

“Creating a whole new paradigm to think about the world is very challenging and at times frustrating. These ends will take a long time and a lot of people power to achieve,” he said.