The final hour: Post-occupation statement from UCLA

Statement from the occupiers – please disseminate to all media contacts:

A certain small group of students is doing what it can to slander the occupation that occurred at Campbell Hall. CYNTHIA, a junior politician careerist bent on control, has helped to spread rumors that the occupation was carried out by mostly “older white males.” This rumor is absolutely without truth – the occupation was in fact planned and carried out by more minority students than whites — but is that important anyway?

The building was liberated and barricaded to keep the police and administration out while opening the space for student and youth autonomy. The building remained porous and was in fact, for the first time ever, under complete autonomous student discretion. Prior to the final meeting which destroyed the occupation, a rush of students had come in to the building creating an incredible energy of activity, excitement and anticipation. Friends were made, the building re-decorated, and the bathrooms were declared gender-neutral: while there was a general feeling of defeat on the outside from the day’s protest, inside Carter-Huggins Hall there was a revolution.

A meeting was called to discuss the occupation and was held in the building’s stairwell. It was derailed by student leader saboteurs who were threatened by the autonomy granted to students by the liberated space. It was and remains a concern that the building chosen for occupation provides services to minority students (whom the saboteurs condescendingly view as societal handicaps). Well, this concern is actually quite ridiculous – the space was opened to all students and youth regardless of their status as UCLA customers, and for 24-hours too, without the old hourly limitations of the building under university control. It is important to check race, class and privilege, we don’t deny this, but this is not what went on – the meeting devolved into mere race-baiting in an attempt by the saboteurs to take power of the occupied building. And they succeeded.

The student government leader, CYNTHIA, left the meeting 1/2 way through after using all of her time inside to change the positive horizontality of the building in to a hostile-bureaucracy. On her way out of the building CYNTHIA desecrated the legacy of Bunchy Carter and John Huggins by tearing down for the second time the banner declaring the hall Carter-Huggins Hall. After she tore down the banner, it was brought to our attention that she and her cronies had earlier sabotaged an attempt at direct action by a separate autonomous student group. The group had planned for months to storm the regents meeting at Covel Commons. CYNTHIA and her gang of movement-police linked arms in DEFENSE of the regents meeting, taking a load off the police, and thwarted the student group from rushing in to Covel.

These so-called student leaders swear they know the correct and objective form of protest. There is no respect for a multiplicity of tactics. By the time of time of the meeting, power had already been taken away from the university without asking permission from administrators or student leaders (are these even different categories?) and was redistributed horizontally. Unfortunately this freedom brings about the possibility of usurpation by those used to power, used to hanging above everyone from their ivory tower. These people thrive on the status quo, its their realm, and they always want to drag back those who escape.

There are CYNTHIA’s everywhere who make up and direct the movement-police to be encountered at any site of struggle. Occupation takes power and immediately destroys its concentrated form. Beware of bureaucrats, occupy everything!