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Davis

Davis, California

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Letter to the Editor: Some occupiers respond to EOP building takeover

We apologize to the Educational Opportunity Program, those students whom EOP serve and the general student body for taking over the EOP building.

We appreciate the hard work EOP does on campus, and we envision a day when EOP and Occupy can work together.

The General Assembly did not plan the takeover. As such, the majority of the members of Occupy were, like the rest of the student body, surprised at the takeover.

The autonomous group that planned the takeover told us that the university had abandoned the building. We did not know that EOP was slated to move in. Once we learned that, indeed the building was not in disuse, everyone except for the group who planned the takeover quickly vacated the building.

Media reports claiming that Occupy UC Davis continued to occupy the building are misleading, since the UC Davis General Assembly neither approved of nor supported the occupation; the media used the name of our movement to label an action that the majority of us were opposed to.

However, we fully recognize that taking part in a movement also means taking responsibility for that movement when it goes astray.
We have addressed the immediate problem. All members of Occupy UC Davis have now vacated the building, and we have cleaned and vacuumed the building for EOP’s arrival. If you permit us, we will help EOP move in next week.

Furthermore, we are currently addressing the structural problems that allowed the EOP building takeover to occur. Occupy UC Davis must become substantially more transparent and accountable.

To this end, increasing student inclusivity is vital if we are to claim to represent student interests. Yet, we recognize that not every student can sleep on the quad, attend daily meetings or navigate a complex political web to have her voice heard. As such, we will start hosting a weekly UC Davis General Assembly. This weekly assembly will be central. It is where we will make our major decisions. Everyone, even having never participated in Occupy, is welcome to attend.

We also recognize that those who participate in Occupy put their reputations on the line when they do so, and shameful autonomous actions such as the EOP takeover hurt everyone associated with our movement. So along with a stronger focus on inclusivity, we recognize that those who act as participants of Occupy must be held accountable for any harmful autonomous action they may choose to pursue.

As such, participants of UCD General Assemblies will be asked that when they act as part of Occupy UCD, they remain non-violent, respect General Assembly decisions and not break the law without prior GA approval. We believe that these changes will not only prevent future issues like the EOP building takeover, but will make our movement more effective and inclusive as a whole.

While we were addressing the issues surrounding the EOP building takeover, the University of California administration continued to privatize, militarize and exclude. It continued the practices and policies that create the need for EOP in the first place.

We must join forces to face our shared struggles.

In Solidarity,
Some of the Many UCD Occupiers

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