Very Slight Chance in Tomorrow’s Plans (10/22)

Just to keep everyone, updated. We are now meeting at noon outside Lawlor Events Center at UNR instead of the JCSU tomorrow, Saturday the 22nd. We have the whole concrete area to ourselves and will be more visible from Virginia Street. Everything else planned is the same.

Saturday, October 22nd:

Noon: Meet outside Lawlor to briefly go over our rights to march

12-1: March from Lawlor to City Plaza

1-4: General Assembly in City Plaza across from City Hall

If everyone that came last week brings one friend, we could have around 600 people just like that! Let’s show a strong presence.

Our Occupier’s Code

Please let us know if you’d like to make any changes before the GA Saturday. This version was adopted by consensus earlier tonight.

OCCUPIER’S CODE

In our occupation, we are committed to sustainability and self-reliance. In realizing this commitment, we support the following eight guidelines:

#1: In our relations with each other and our neighbors, we support a culture of love, respect, and understanding over hatred in any form. Further, we support peace and non-violence.

#2: In respecting ourselves, we support keeping ourselves healthy— physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. In this, we support sobriety and sustaining ourselves on good food.

#3: In our connection to ourselves, each other, and our neighbors, we support open and reflective conversation over silence and confrontation. Further, we support educating ourselves, each other, and our neighbors.

#4: In helping our neighbors, we encourage using local business and abiding by the local laws that keep all of us and our community safe, healthy, and free to exercise our First Amendment rights.

#5: In respecting the area we occupy, we support a no trace left behind approach.

#6: In our living situation, we encourage the use tents and sustainably built structures over RVs and trailers.

#7: In our movement, we encourage walking, cycling, using public transportation, skateboarding, roller skating, and unicycling over the use of motorized vehicles.

#8: In our economy, we support openness in all donations we receive and openness in all monetary transactions we make.

In summary, we care about ourselves, each other, our community, and our planet.

Everything you need to know about what happened at today’s GA…

Thanks to everyone who made it out to Occupy Reno’s 4th General Assembly tonight at the Moana Pool site. For those of you who couldn’t make it, I’ve got you covered with the update.

We did not apply for a permit for this GA, and we were right at the limit of our legal right to assemble with just about 75 people in attendance. In addition, the mayor, a few members of the Reno City Council, a few members of the Reno Police Department, Channel 8, and NPR were also in attendance. Most notably, a wooden platform bed on wheels was there with “Occupy Reno Looking for a Home” written on it in spray paint. Rumors are already circulating that this bed might be making its way around town along with groups of around 75 people.

Two decisions were made via the consensus process. We made a move to proceed with a 30-day permit for the Moana site which went through with consensus under the condition that we will continue pursuing all other potential locations simultaneously. We are using this permit as a means of setting up a home base location and infrastructure that we can organize other events and protests in the community from. Essentially, we’ll have a place to go back to and regroup from if things get crazy elsewhere. Additionally, this 30 day permit will give us a chance to start occupying by early November if not sooner and also a place where we can hold committee meetings, conversations, and General Assemblies daily to figure out what’s at the heart of Occupy Reno and where we want this movement to go in the future collectively.

We also adopted a preliminary draft of common values we call the “Occupier’s Code” though consensus. Some suggestions were given to change a few words here and there. We will be putting a copy of this code for you all to comment on so that we can revise it and present it at Saturday’s GA.

We will be turning our application in to the city council tomorrow morning. It is also worth noting that one member of our GA presented the idea of occupying the old bus station at the corner of 4th and Center. Though this issue wasn’t officially voted on, many members of the GA seemed to support it. He is writing a proposal tonight and will  be presenting this location to the city council tomorrow in addition to the Moana site.

This means we could potentially be occupying two locations in Reno very soon!

We will keep you updated every step of the way. Keep stocking up on warm clothes, non-perishable foods, and camping supplies as best you can until then.

We hope to see you on Saturday. We are meeting at the JCSU at UNR at noon and then marching down to City Plaza where we will have another GA from 1-4 p.m.

Remember, flash occupations of 75 people or less and impromptu marches in highly visible public locations indefinitely!

Once again, I feel so fortunate to be surrounded by such passionate and intelligent people taking part in direct democracy together! We may not agree on all the same things, but so far it really feels our hearts (and heads!) are in the right place.

See you soon!

-Stacey