UNM administrators released a statement to the media Wednesday telling Occupy Albuquerque protesters to apply for a permit to occupy main campus, but protesters said the administration didn’t inform them.
Protester Kate Michalske said UNM representatives have not been to the Occupy Albuquerque campsite to talk to protesters.
“UNM didn’t tell us about the permit,” she said. “But we did finally apply for the permit today.”
Occupy Albuquerque’s Facebook page said the group will move their camp from its current location on the corner of Central Avenue and University Boulevard at the request of the administration.
“We have been asked to move our protest to Yale Park by Monday in order to protect those beautiful historic trees,” it said. “Small concession for an overwhelming acknowledgement of our right to assemble peacefully.”
Michalske said representatives from UNM’s peace studies program are acting as mediators between the protesters and University administration.
Peace studies advisor Desi Brown and other faculty wrote a letter to UNM administration and police department asking for support for the movement. Brown met with administration and UNMPD yesterday morning on behalf of the protesters.
Brown said administrators expressed concerns about the landscaping, open fires and possible safety threats, but was open to working with the protesters.
“They understand this is a ‘protest’ yet still want everyone to follow the rules (permits, etc),” Brown wrote on Facebook. “I think as long as the relationship between the camp and admin remains open that many of those ‘rules’ can be bent.”
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