“Occupy Albuquerque” protestors braved the wet weather Tuesday night as they continued to protest in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement, but UNM officials said protesters must get a permit before noon today if they plan to stay.
“This is my fourth day sleeping out here,” Hani Barghout, former New Mexico Tech student, said. Barghout is camping out with about 20 other protestors on UNM’s campus on the corner of Central Avenue and University Boulevard. He said the wet weather hasn’t deterred him.
“It was very wet, we made tents out of the tarps,” he said. “We are still here.”
UNM issued a statement Wednesday night asking the protesters to apply for a permit in order to occupy UNM’s grounds.
“We are looking for an opportunity to provide a teaching moment to explore their issues,” the statement said. “UNM has specific policies in place to ensure that all groups are treated equally.”
GPSA President Katie Richardson said she supports free expression on campus.
“In this nation, we have a tradition of having a healthy dialogue about what our community should look like and what our economy should look like, and that has often started on college campuses,” she said.
UNM community member Sean Scott said he came to the protesters’ campsite to talk to them about the movement.
“I’m not sure I agree with them,” he said. “The gist of all this is they are against corporations, how big they are and how much money they make, but if I was to guess I bet they all shop at Walmart and drive cars built by corporations, so I think most of them are probably hypocrites. They are dependent on a lot of the things they are protesting for all of their stuff.”
Barghout said that is exactly what the group is trying to change.
“Since I’ve been out here I haven’t spent any money,” he said. “And what is the alternative (to buying from corporations), the whole point is that there is no choice.”
Scott said while he may not agree with the movement, he supported the group’s right to protest.
“It’s a public University, and these people have the right to free speech, it doesn’t bother me.”
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Birdsong bookstore offered the protesters use of its bathroom and electricity to charge phones and laptops.
For more information on UNMs response: dailylobo.com/index.php/multimedia
Junfu Han contributed to this report.
