Meeting Minutes for 10/13/2011
UM Forum for #OccupyMiami Thursday October 13, 2011, 2pm University of Miami Meeting Minutes
The UM Forum for OccupyMiami met to continue talking about issues related to the OccupyMiami movement and how students can relate to the movement and/or actively participate in it. Main topics of discussion included media (lack of adequate or honest coverage in national mainstream media and our group’s relationship with local media outlets), upcoming events like the on-campus debates and Occupy rally on Saturday October 15th in downtown Miami, plus the formation of subcommittees within UM Forum.
-18 students attended, the meeting lasted until 3:30pm.
-We will show a movie on Monday night. Location and title TBA
-Next meeting of the general assembly (GA) will be on Tues Oct 18, 2011 at 8pm on the Rock.
-Pre-rally poster making party- Saturday, 12pm @ 110 SW 12th St, Apt 2002, in Brickell. The rally begins at 1:30pm. ALL ARE WELCOME!
General Points for Discussion -We would like to see another feature article in the campus newspaper that concentrates on the formation and platform of our student group (Kristen works on the Hurricane staff)
Kristen volunteered to write an op-ed for the paper (please talk with Jordan, he also volunteered, you guys could collaborate)
-Campus debates coming up:
UM Dems vs. UM Republicans- when?
UMTV hosts debate specifically on the Occupy movements- when?
-Frustrations with mainstream media coverage of the occupations and the movement in general à suggestions of news sites and sources:
Salon
Russia Today
Democracy Now
NYTimes, Room for Debate
Live Stream from Wall Street
“Right here, all over” (not a site, but a great video nonetheless, http://vimeo.com/30081785 )
-We reminded each other of the language of hand signals used during the assembly to better facilitate the conversation among one another. Facilitators, not leaders -Professors that have already been emailed about standing in solidarity with our group (please correct me if wrong):
Dean of School of Education (waiting for response)
Butterman and Chatterjee (WGS; yes)
Butler Center for Service and Leadership (they don’t want to get involved in anything “too political”…we’ll work on them)
Reitan and Weisskoff (INS; yes)
-Professors/Departments that should be emailed ASAP: if one of these is yours, contact them! We have an email draft that you can use and/or personalize
INS Department (esp. Steve Ralph bc of his relationship with student base)
ECS Department
POL Department
Anthro and Sociology
And so many more!
-Internal communication within the group; suggestions were made for Facebook, using a Occupy link on the Amnesty website (to be launched soon), or the UM forum tab on occupymia.org
It’s beneficial to use the occupymia.org forum space because it will show other groups what we are doing and ensure transparency and accountability. However, it’s not a go-to website, like Facebook
Facebook page: UM Forum for OccupyMiami, use it to post links, ask questions, invite friends, etc.
WE HAVE AN EMAIL ACCOUNT! Minutes will be sent from this address [email protected]
-We want to create a little more structure within the group so as to work more efficiently and effectively, to avoid becoming repetitive, and use our individual strengths where they are best applied. We would like to send representatives or ambassadors of our group to other campus meet-ups in South Florida to exchange ideas and network.
-Committees! Committees will not have leaders but will elect a member to give a 2-minute report-back to the General Assembly during campus meet-ups; committees will otherwise meet at a separate time from General Assemblies:
-Committee Name and Basic Responsibilities:
Media- writing press releases, managing social media, creating digital media, flier making
Arts and Culture- poster making, music, group image and logo design, creative theater and events on campus (all will help with planning and logistics)
Outreach- communication with OccupyMiami campaign; on-campus recruiting of students and specific professions (law, med, nurses, music, etc.); stay in touch with other S. FL campus groups; contact community organizations that may want to contribute or collaborate
Education- articulating a clear student platform and the issues we focus on; coordinating teach-ins and reaching out to professors and departments for support; compiling and creating educational materials to hand out on campus
Fact Check/Research- acting as a resource to other committees, researching local and national politicians, bills, and amendments related to the issues on our platform
-We came to a consensus that each of these committees might at some point encounter a roadblock in university bureaucracy or administration, but that we will not designate one individual to be a spokesperson or facilitator between this group and the administration. There are students in the group with good relations with some higher-level administrators that have volunteered to help on any such matters. (Robert and Jenna) We agree that we want to break barriers not break rules, this means keeping on good terms with the administration
-Committee Sign Up:
Media- Valerie, Kristyn, Kristen, Robbie, Kyle
Education- Lana, Ryan, Robert
Arts and Culture- Jorday, Kristen, Ryan, Kristyn, Valerie, Marc, Kyle
Fact Check/Research- David, Robert, Jordan, Chris
Outreach- Greg, Jordan, Jenna, Dylan, Liz
If you’d like to sign up for a committee, please send an email with your name and the committee name