Sleeping elsewhere

Occupy Lansing members will no longer sleep in Reutter Park as part of a compromise with the city

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Saturday, Dec. 3 — Occupy Lansing protesters will no longersleep overnight in their base at Reutter Park effective tonight, said AaronMayfield, a Lansing member who announced the arrangement at a press conferencethis afternoon.

The new arrangement is the result of a compromise betweenLansing Mayor Virg Bernero and the Lansing Occupy movement, Mayfield said.Occupy Lansing met with Bernero earlier this week to discuss the group’s winterplans.

“This is what people are hoping is that the winter is goingto make us go,” Mayfield said. “None of the movements are going to go, it’sjust we’re trying to move forward and trying to keep people safe. The lastthing we want is for someone to freeze to death or someone to get sick.”

The camp in Reutter Park, which isacross from the headquarters and downtown branch of the Capital Area DistrictLibrary, at Capitol Avenue and Kalamazoo Street, will become the Lansingmovement’s base of operations, Mayfield continued. Many tents will be takendown, but the General Assembly tent and the information tent will remain, aswell as a few tents for people to use when the group stays in the park duringthe day.

“We’re not decamping, we are just not staying in the parkovernight anymore,” Mayfield said. “We’re still going to maintain our presencedown here from sunup to sundown, and we’re going to have a night watch atnight.”

Mayfield said community members have told them they feelsafer walking through the park with the group there, so a night watch willremain in the area to help keep the park safe.

The group plans to occupy foreclosed homes in the areaovernight rather than sleep in the park, Mayfield said. About eight membershave continued to stay overnight in the park, despite the recent snowfall.

“You don’t know where we’re going to pop up next,” he said.

The group will also continue to have events and spreadinformation throughout the community during the daylight hours, Mayfield said.Following the press conference, a group of occupiers headed to Leslie Street tocanvass the neighborhood and increase awareness of the movement. They will alsocirculate a petition aimed at reversing the state’s emergency financial mangerlaw. Fun events are also being planned in the coming weeks, including a 99percent vs. 1 percent volleyball game in front of the Capitol.

“We have our serious direct actions, but we also have ourfun direct actions that will get the community involved as well that kids cancome to,” he said.

Mayfield said he was not worried about being forced out ofthe park by Bernero’s office.

“The mayor actually supports us, and that is a big thing,”he said. “We’ve kept the parkclean, we’ve kept the park safe so I don’t see any reason why we can’t stillhave some stuff down here. It’s not like we’re making the park an eyesore.”

Group member Ken Orlich agreed and said the Lansing movementshould be a model for the country because of the relationship they’ve had withthe mayor’s office and because of their non-violent presence.

“As long as we’re cool, the mayor’s cool,” Orlich said.

Even though both the Grand Rapids movement and the Detroitmovement decided not to continue camping during the winter, group member EdgeBrussel said those decisions would not affect Lansing’s arrangement.

“We’re very pleased with the compromise that was made withthe mayor,” she said. “It’s very generous and we’re very glad to still have ourpresence and our face in the park so we’re not concerned about pulling out ofthe park at all.”

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