por Yashenka Baca
A woman protest against the government. (PHOTO BY OCCUPY SF)
The city of San Francisco presented a proposal on Tue. Nov. 29 to the Occupy SF representatives, proposing the encampment be packed up and relocated to a vacant High School in the Mission District, between 15th and 16th streets. The protesters have rejected the offer and are instead gearing up for an imminent raid.
The Occupy SF General Assembly decided it was not in their best interest to move their encampment. Occupiers are convinced the offer is just looking to get them out of their strategic location in the Financial District. Occupy SF is one of the largest protests of the Occupy Wall Street movement in the west coast.
Although some protesters saw Mayor Ed Lee’s proposal as a viable idea to protect themselves during the rainy season, they became worried after learning the rules that would be enforced at the new location. No cooking or open fires would be allowed, nor tents placed next to each other.
Occupiers at the Phoenix High School, at 1950 Mission St, would not be able to bring mattresses, pets, or children to the location, and the vacant High School would be surrounded by a fence.
SF City Hall wants the camp out by Thursday, Nov. 30. Officers who inspected the encampment in the last few days reported unsafe healthy conditions created by piles of trash and other violations of the city’s health code. The SF Mayor did not comment publicly on the proposal, but spokeswoman Christine Falvey said ‘the new’ site had restrooms and running water, “which would address the city’s health and safety concerns.”
The Director of the Department of Public Health, Mohammed Nuru, said Tue. 29 to some protest representatives, “time is short and inwe don’t want the tents at Justin Herman Plaza anymore”. Some protesters saw the offer as an opportunity to expand, and said they should accept moving but also remain at the initial location. Nuru said that was never the intention of the proposal, “the city will not support two encampments” he added.
As El Reportero closes the edition the protesters remain at Justin Herman Plaza expecting to get raided by the SF police, several packed their belongings to avoid losing them, but the group has a clear commitment to stay or take the plaza again once the raid is over.
UC regents approved budget behind closed doors
Due to protests in several UC campuses, the UC Regents meeting took place behind closed doors and via teleconference Nov. 28. Students and activists at UC Davis, UC Merced, UC Los Angeles, and UC San Francisco gathered to watch the assembly and turned it into the People’s Regents’ meeting.
The regents gathering had an unprecedented number of students sign up for the public comment period, during the one and a half hours several people who were pepper sprayed, and beaten spoke to the Regents directly and presented their proposals for a better financial system in the UCs.
