Politics & Government
Ex-Mayor to Support Students' Occupy LA Efforts
Santa Monica College's student government votes to endorse the Occupy Los Angeles movement, which is in solidarity with New York's Occupy Wall Street movement.
The ongoing protest is receiving a local boost of support courtesy an endorsement by the student body at —and one of the city's former mayors.
In a recent vote, the college's Associated Students voted overwhelmingly to back the growing movement, which is railing against corporate profits, worker layoffs, the existing federal-tax structure and other issues.
"Students have been voicing their concerns about recent budget cuts and fee hikes [at colleges]," AS President said in a statement. "Teachers are being laid off, jobs are being lost ... meanwhile, banks have been getting billions in tax-payers' bailout money."
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Two members of the student body voted against the proposal to support the movement, and two abstained, Wills told Santa Monica Patch. Fourteen members of the AS voted in favor of the proposal.
The SMC administration "has been supportive, but there's this feeling of over-carefulness," he added.
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In solidarity with the movement, Wills and other members of the AS plan to stage a related event at the college's Quad from 11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. on Thursday. They'll be making signs and posters, and discussing strategies to support the "Occupy" movement.
Scheduled to participate in the Thursday event is former Santa Monica Mayor Mike Feinstein, along with SMC professors.
Also at the Thursday gathering, organizers are expecting SMC students to make signs and posters, and learn how to get involved in the movement.
"We're hoping this will be an inspiration to other colleges," Wills said. "We want to create a greater awareness about what's going on.
"If we can be successful at this while juggling homework, I'm very excited for what we could do if we worked at this full-time as public advocates or at nonprofits," he added.
Relatedly, on Thursday at 5 p.m., a protest is scheduled to take place outside .
For more on the Occupy Los Angeles protest, check out:
• Viewfinder: Images From Occupy LA
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