STUDENTS AT WISCONSIN COLLEGE HOLD SOLIDARITY VIGIL FOR UC DAVIS ‘OCCUPY’ ACTIVISTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) November 25, 2011 -- Students, staff, and alumni of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater held a vigil late Tuesday night to show their support for students of the Occupy Wall Street movement at UC Davis who were pepper-sprayed and beaten by police while holding a peaceful rally at their campus last Friday.

The Whitewater vigil began shortly after 11 p.m., along Main Street, in front of the historic ‘Old Main’ campus building and the illuminated ‘University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’ sign. Participants brandished messages of ‘99%’ and ‘We Are UC Davis’ to show their support for fellow ‘Occupy’ activists who were injured during the police raid of the rally at UC Davis.

Thomas Hapka, a Whitewater graduate and principal organizer of the vigil, said the event was intended as a show of solidarity, and an opportunity to raise public awareness.

“The video from the UC Davis rally was truly shocking, and many of us here in Whitewater felt the need to reach out to our ‘Occupy” friends in California and let them know that we support them,” Hapka said. “But we also hope our vigil will help raise public awareness about the disturbing trend of peaceful protestors all across the nation being met with violent police crackdowns. This is supposed to be a country where all of us are constitutionally guaranteed the right to peaceably assemble and voice our political views, and that right is clearly under attack.”

Members of Forward Whitewater, The American Dream, Occupy Whitewater, UW-Whitewater College Democrats, and P.E.A.C.E. took part in the Whitewater vigil on Tuesday night. There was a smaller, follow-up event on Thanksgiving morning, with participants placing messages of support for the Occupy Wall Street movement and the UC Davis students at the ‘University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’ sign.

democracy activists     Forward Whitewater     occupy wall street movement     Occupy Whitewater     Police Brutality     uc davis     whitewater     Wisconsin politics