Start time: 7:30 PM

Mission: The Occupy Austin Spokescouncil seeks to orchestrate coordination, prioritization, and information among working groups

*sparkles*

 

Structure

  • Stack – focused on working groups, rather than individuals
  • Introductory period – everyone stands up, introduces themselves, and tells what working group they are in.
    • Mission
    • Description
    • Meeting times
    • Events
  • Calendar Review
  • Discussion of Needs and complexities of events

 

Introductory Period

Jack – sxsw

  • Southby group
  • Meets Wednesdays @ 9 PM
  • Joined with the Million Musician March folks
  • Special March on 3/17 from capitol to City Hall
  • City hall from 2-7 PM on 3/17
  • Musicians and activities at a park – park tbd 3/16 from 10 AM-10 PM
  • Several subgroups

Nolan – Safer Spaces

  • Promote a safe space here, still looking forward
  • Forum for various issues related to safety
  • Social contract in advance of taking a new space
  • Group needs a spoke – we prefer that it not be a white male
  • Meets every other Thursday at 9 PM
  • Contact email infoscribes@occupyaustin.org
  • Facebook group
  • PoI: In philosophy, social contract means something different
  • PoI: Justin has been in touch with an Aikido master who wants to give self defense lessons

Finance

  • Claire, Cedric, Nate, Gee
  • Plan nothing, protect our money
  • Meetings: Tuesdays and Sundays at 6 PM @ Austin Java
  • Petty cash: $82
  • UFCU checking: $814.41
  • UFCU savings: $115.67
  • WePay: $3193.29
  • Developing a set of processes trying to get passed through GA
  • CQ: Do you need any more members
  • A: Maybe. We probably do.

Justin

  • UT
  • March 1, 5 PM action towards tuition increases with teach-ins @ south side of tower
  • Meet Thursday @ 5 PM at tower

Interfaith

  • Sunday nights at 7 PM on the Plaza
  • Anyone with any spiritual beliefs are welcome
  • Readings from positive quotes from historical figures
  • Workgroup meets Tuesdays at 6 PM at Austin Java

Media

  • Wendy
  • The media team writes press releases and puts them out
  • In the beginning stages of becoming their own press
  • Working on occuzine
  • First issue will be first-hand accounts of what happened over the past weekend
  • Press release forms that you can send when you have a press-worthy event, so we can collect the information needed for the press release
  • media@occupyaustin.org
  • Valentines for people in the media who have been kind to us – come sign them
  • Meetings via skype at 9 PM Sundays
  • First issue of the zine due out in time for the potluck – need people to print it out

Web

  • Ronnie
  • Web team reforming: Bishop/Corey/Joe/Paco
  • Google group: web@occupyaustin.org (send request to join google group)

InterOcc

  • Ronnie
  • Discussion about a formal national calendar of events
  • Interocc@occupyaustin.org
  • Google Group: interoccatx (email above to get invitation)
  • PoI: National list of events was created at Occupy Congress
  • Idea to have info sharing via skype
  • PoI: Facebook has video messenger
  • No meetings

Local Outreach

  • Building coalitions within Austin
  • UU Church developing statement of solidarity
  • Email interocc@occupyaustin.org
  • Event: Valentine’s Day at UU church – weddings
  • Event: 5604 Manor 2/12, 7 PM – this month specific to economic injustice

Occupy Education

  • Amanda
  • Changing name from occupy aisd
  • Occupy aisd is committed to further democratizing decision-making to reflect the needs and desires of the community…etc (look at website)
  • Action: March 2 (national day of action for education 3/1) – Meet at capitol @ 3 PM and marching to TEA around 4 for speakers, direct action. Focus on protesting standardized testing. Launching boycott of standardized testing
  • Teach-in next Wednesday 2/15 – speakers from ACLU, AFL-CIO
  • Meetings: Sundays at noon, but until March 1st they will probably meet more than once a week.

Occupy Austin IT Department

  • Bishop
  • No mission statement
  • Wants to differentiate INTERNET from WEB
  • IT is concerned with Information Technology – power tower, etc
  • No meetings on regular basis scheduled yet
  • 3 big initiatives
    • Code for America hackathon – keynote @ sxsw, invited to Austin to expose information February 25th
    • Occupy Austin @ Austin Barcamp 3/10 8 AM-8 PM @ Black Sheep Lodge + afterparty
    • Codeathon – developing open-source code bases that can be passed on to other cities and other occupations all over the world “The Summer of Code” 4/13 & 4/14 48 hour lock-in event

Twitter

  • Kit
  • Meetings Wednesdays at 6 PM
  • If questions/issues about transparency, come to meeting
  • Streamers United roundtable – transparency is an issue coming up everywhere
  • Citizen Controller – backpack cameras with people relaying information to them
  • Occupy Austin has a spoof account “occupyaustln”
  • February 15th 6 PM at Austin Java next meeting
  • (might have to reschedule for teach-in)
  • twitter@occupyaustin.org

OccuQueers

  • Kit
  • Group for all people of non-heteronormative orientations
  • Anyone whose sexuality doesn’t fall under “normal” categories of sexuality
  • Meetings Thursdays at Austin Java
  • Might move meetings to the Q
  • Queerbomb is a pride event in June & resists a lot of the commercialization of Pride & occuqueers is organizing for that event
  • Working with UU for 2/14 Marriage Equality action
  • kitocconnell@pobox.org
  • really really want to glitterbomb people

End Homelessness

  • Chuck
  • Mission Statement: To address the social injustice of homelessness in Austin…(check website)
  • Right now focusing on outreach
  • First march last Saturday night
  • Planning more marches in the future
  • Meetings Sunday mornings (no meeting this Sunday) 11:30 AM
  • Facebook group

Eviction/land grant

  • Heather
  • Working on a petition for the city to give us some unused public land
  • Petition has been put out to a few groups
  • Needs help with the wording – it’s currently too long
  • Took wording right out of the Texas State Code
  • The City can give land to a non-profit if it’s going to be used for public use
  • The City can give land if it’s going to be used for a juvenile ward
  • The City can give land that is no longer functional or being used (Palm Park)
  • PoI: Kit is a professional editor and can edit the document
  • The document is on the occupy austin eviction facebook page

Welcome Wagon

  • Lainie
  • oawelcomewagon@gmail.com & facebook page
  • Meets Sundays @ 6 PM
  • Picnic 2/12
  • In charge of welcoming the occu-curious

Infoscribes

AALF

  • Meets Tuesday nights @ 9 PM

Facilitation

  • Joe
  • *insert weird meta circular description here*
  • Meets before and after every GA
  • Teach-ins most Sundays at City Hall
  • We need more facilitators
  • Occupy-austin-facilitators@googlegroups.com
  • Also have a facebook page
  • Next facilitation teach-in 2/19
  • Also in charge of facilitating spokes council meetings

Bank Action

  • Azzurra
  • No formal mission statement
  • Lots of events
    • Move your money campaign: 1.5 million dollars moved
    • Hope Farmer’s Market from 11-3 Sundays
    • Trying to get City Hall to divest from Bank of America
    • Foreclosure advocacy: March 6th at Travis County Courthouse 10 AM
  • If you know anyone who is undergoing foreclosure, contact
  • bankaction@occupyaustin.org

Food

  • Brian
  • Accepts donations and cooks meals for occupiers
  • Still wants to feed everyone for GA’s
  • Needs kitchens and help moving food out of Angel House
  • 512-662-9775
  • Facebook
  • Rbharris67@gmail.com

End Corporate Personhood

  • Caroline
  • Dedicated to striking at the root of corruption of our political system by calling to and end of corporate personhood
  • Meeting Sundays @ 2 on the mezz
  • Actions ongoing
  • Working on a sample resolution for City Council to end corp personhood
  • Ryan parker: infoscribes@gmail.com
  • Working on an informational flyer that is almost complete

Occupy Music

  • Ugly John
  • Here from occupy Portland
  • Doing a show on Saturday at Trophy Room for free – protest related music Starts at 9 PM
  • Will be at the picnic on Sunday to play for us!
  • They stand with us!
  • Portland has been evicted since 11/14 and still going strong!
  • Doing a lot of marches in Portland – lots of arrests and lots of beatings.
  • Band formed out of occupy

OATS

  • Kevin
  • Occupy Austin Tactics and Strategies
  • Meetings every Monday night @ 9 PM at Dominican Joe’s coffee
  • Event coordination
  • Mini-teach ins on historical movements strategies and tactics
  • Facebook page – OATS
  • CQ: Is there a guerilla gardening group
  • A: it’s being kept on the downlow.

 

End of check-ins

 

Calendar review being glossed over

 

Do we want to call this a spokes council?

Explanation of what a spokes council is

Options

  • Mesh Council
  • Action Council
  • The Hub
  • Spokes Council
  • Working Group Council
  • Monkeys with typewriters
  • Occuhup
  • Occuwheel
  • Occuspoke
  • Bishop Circus
  • The council that shall not be named
  • Anonymous council
  • The Meta meta

TARA: I think we need to form a working group to name the spokescouncil

We decided to not name it tonight

 

Needs

For the picnic

  • Bring tents
  • Bring outreach materials
  • Bring sign up sheets
  • Bring food
  • Bring games
  • Stay family friendly

Travis County Clerks’ office on 2/14 at 10 AM

  • People are going to try to register for a marriage and be denied by the clerk
  • Come out to support or attempt to get married

Wendy needs good photos of the eviction for the zine

  • PoI: Jack Anderson will share his photos

 

Feedback

Intro period took too long

Maybe have a list of the workgroups and only new workgroups intro

Calendar events taken when signing up for stack

Kit wants to do a teach-in on wordpress so more people can update occupyaustin.org

Occupy Austin infoscribes wants a list of resources

Maybe we can have a list of the workgroups and just call roll at the start of the meeting.

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Posted on: Friday, February 10th, 2012 at 6:52 pm

Filed under: Spokes

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