Occupy UC Davis

Tents on the Quad on 22 November 2011, the morning after the big rally

The tentatively named (see below) Occupy UC Davis grew out of the general "Occupy" movement as well as concerns over continuing tuition increases and the desire to express solidarity with Occupy Cal’s Call for a Strike and Day of Action. Occupy UC Davis is separate from Occupy Davis, although there is some overlap of membership and some shared events. For example, Occupy Davis supported the initial Occupy UC Davis Strike Rally on 15 November 2011 on the UCD Quad. Other concerns of Occupy UC Davis include privatization of the UC system and militarization of campus police. Many also identify with the larger OWS issues such as corporate personhood, plutocracy, and class inequality. Notable events have been the occupation of Mrak Hall and of the Quad, resulting in the November 18, 2011 UC Davis Police Response to Occupy UC Davis.

There are still protest tents on the quad and it's not as cold as it looks. Join the conversation!

There are donated tents available if you do not have your own.

Actions

US Bank

Although it was not a sanctioned Occupy action, some members of Occupy shut down the US Bank in the MU for several weeks. US Bank struck a deal with UC Davis administration to be the only bank branch allowed on campus. All other banks or credit unions were prohibited from setting up branches on campus. This created a US Bank monopoly of bank branch service on campus. Many members of UC Davis Occupy support keeping for-profit corporate mega-banks off campus and object to the increasing privatization of the university more generally. The US Bank deal also dictated that every single student ID card be emblazoned with the US Bank corporate logo as a form of advertising.

US Bank announced in a letter that it closed its Memorial Union bank branch on February 28, 2012. That US Bank location was no longer profitable to them and they abandoned their branch and fled campus.

On March 30, 2012, the Yolo County District Attorney sent letters to twelve protesters (eleven students and one professor) who were allegedly involved in the protest and blocking at the Memorial Union of US Bank.  They have come to be known as The Davis Dozen. They have been ordered to appear at an arraignment and face misdemeanor charges. They will be arraigned on two charges on April 27: obstructing movement on a street or in a public place and conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor. There is a petition calling upon the UC Davis administration to solicit the immediate withdrawal of all criminal charges against students and professors.

Cross-Cultural Center

The former Cross-Cultural Center was occupied on the afternoon of January 25th, following the movement's occupation of buildings worldwide. On the 26th, some EOP students came to request the building, which had been promised to them by school administration. Some people, including members of the movement, see this as a problematic occupation. Occupying a space that serves marginalized communities has been very alienating to potential allies. One banner quoted Franz Fanon, saying "Revolution is the only culture," while the communique mentioned the "Crush culture center." This occupation was not passed through the General Assembly.

General Assembly Votes

• At the GA on Monday (back in November) there was a proposal for a general strike of UC Davis on Monday 28th of November, beginning at 7:30 AM, that passed with 99.5% of the vote.
• The General Assembly of Occupy UC Davis convened and formally voted that it has no-confidence in Linda Katehi to continue to act as Chancellor of the University of California, Davis. Her actions have stripped her of the legitimacy required to continue to rightfully wield the authority of that office.
• The General Assembly of Occupy UC Davis has voted and reached consensus to issue an official, formal demand. We demand change in the institution of the Office of the Chancellor itself. We demand the democratization of that Office, to begin with the implementation of a recall mechanism that will allow a sitting chancellor to be removed from office by democratic means.

Name of the Movement

The movement has not definitely decided on a name yet. Some people object to the term "Occupy"; some prefer "Decolonize." Because tents are present, some feel that the UCD movement should take part in the Occupy identity/brand name.

There was supposed to be a workshop on November 18 at 4pm to discuss the implications and history of the word 'occupy' and other issues of privilege (for example, decolonize is a word that might only make sense to those with privileged access to a certain level of education). Obviously this workshop did not take place due to the pepper spraying. There were privilege workshops during the first week of the winter quarter, but no proposals about a name have yet been presented at the General Assembly.

It is very troubling to many that "Occupy" has become the default name for the group, given that various cultural heritages have been oppressed under one occupation or another; as a result a number of people feel they cannot participate while this is the name. This is similar to the way that people feel about the use of the word "crusade" in Campus Crusade for Christ. This might be seen to be "quibbling" about a name and distract from the goals of the movement. Another view holds that people who don't acknowledge the problems with the name need to check their privilege, i.e., they should consider whether they don't consider the name of the group to be important because they don't come from a cultural background that has experienced oppression under occupation and fail to understand the significance of the word "occupy" for that reason. Still others understand why some find the name objectionable, yet suspect that a change of name is unrealistic at this point.

Photos

Tents facing west Tents facing east

See also UC Davis Budget Cuts.

2011-11-30 22:04:57   I think it would be a good idea to screen some documentaries to better inform some people about the issues. Inside Job is a great one. Anyone else like this idea? I have tons of docos I'd be willing to share. We could do it from a laptop in the blue dome or if we could get the support of staff - a lecture theatre.

Inside Job trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzrBurlJUNk —ConsciousConsumer

2011-12-02 16:37:55   Occupy Dutton is getting ridiculous. Tents obstructing the hallways, gatherings of people obstructing the stairways, graffiti in the bathrooms. I've been strongly in favor of Occupy UCD so far but the behavior of Occupy Dutton is making me rethink my position. Go occupy the Mondavi Center instead; that's where tuition money is being wasted on the 1%! —BarnabasTruman

2012-02-26 11:36:36   Does anyone know what the current state of Occupy UC is? On the quad I see about 4-5 tents left, but all look vacant (when I pass by 1-2 times per day), and half have been ruined by the wind. I support protest, but if the movement is over on the quad, somebody should clean up the tents. It looks more like an abandoned campsite than a political protest. —EricJensen

The movement is very much active; see, e.g., their Facebook page for details. It has shifted focus, however, from occupying the quad to events like March 5 Occupy the Capital and protests of the presence of U.S. Bank on campus. Of course, this doesn't address your concerns about the tents. I am not sure what's going on with those. I imagine they are being kept there as a symbolic gesture. —CovertProfessor

2012-02-26 12:50:59   Thanks for the update. I'm sure it's also because the University is too afraid to clean up the tents themselves for fear of bad press. I'm curious to see how long they will stay there, and if anyone will either reoccupy or remove them. It's a bit like an experiment in seeing how tents "decompose" over the course of weeks and months. —EricJensen

Heh.... yes. —CovertProfessor