Occupy Pitt talks University transparency at meeting

There were no tents, no campsite, no land to reclaim — but there were Occupiers.

About 15… There were no tents, no campsite, no land to reclaim — but there were Occupiers.

About 15 students from Occupy Pitt met for their fourth weekly general assembly meeting Friday afternoon in a dark corner of Posvar Hall at the old Forbes Field home plate. The Occupiers discussed a multitude of issues, ranging from University funding to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Occupy Pitt’s members stand in solidarity with the other Occupy movements, which started with Occupy Wall Street in September. The student group formed in January as a more education-focused branch of the Occupy movement.

Occupy Pittsburgh, whose members joined in Occupy Pitt’s first on-campus demonstration at the beginning of the month, peacefully left their encapment on Mellon Green Downtown Wednesday­ — two days after the Monday eviction deadline issued by the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas that ordered the group to clear off BNY Mellon’s property.

Occupy Pitt member James Simkins said that as the Occupy movements move away from their encampments, the Occupiers will continue spreading their message, protesting a number of issues including economic inequality.

On Pitt’s campus, although the Occupy Pitt students stand in solidarity, each member of the group made it clear that he or she could only speak for himself or herself and not for the movement as a whole.

“We are all very much free thinkers, so everything is a debate,” Lucas Lyons, a member of Occupy Pitt, said. “It’s built so people are able to compromise.”

Lyons, a student in Pitt’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, studies nonprofit management and policy analysis.

Occupy Pitt discussed advertising for a week-long event hosted by Students For Justice In Palestine beginning Feb. 26, but Lyons raised concern over putting information about Israeli Apartheid Week on the group’s social media sites. He said that he didn’t want Occupy Pitt to choose sides on an issue.

“Peace is the neutral road,” Lyons said.

Although members of Occupy Pitt had differing opinions about advertising the event and did not make a definitive decision regarding the proposal, no voices of dissent arose when discussing making Pitt more transparent.

Senior Eric Reidy, a history and global studies major, encouraged facilitating conversation between the University and the students.

“People don’t even know how to raise these questions because we are so isolated from the process,” Reidy said about the University’s funding practices. “Students should be engaged and included in the conversation and environment surrounding their education … have it built into the structure that students are equal players.”

He cited current methods in place through which students can interact with the administration, such as the Student Government Board and Dean’s Hour. He said that it is important that students take advantage of those avenues of discussion.

Before the end of the meeting, the Occupiers broke into three working groups.

Simkins participated in the networking working group, in which students discussed reaching out to other campus Occupy movements and Pitt’s campus to increase participation.

“We certainly think that we could be more effective,” Simkins said. “One of our big focuses is gaining more people.”

Occupy Pitt did not finalize plans for upcoming campus events. Their next meeting will be held Friday at 2 p.m. in Posvar Hall.