United Opt Out National: Occupy the DOE in DC
Demos, Education Business, Education Reform, In The News, Policy Tuesday, March 27th, 2012
Occupy the DOE in DC will take place from March 30 to April 2, 2012 at the U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave, SW , Washington, DC, 20202, United States.
United Opt Out National endorses Occupy Wall Street by creating ACTION in solidarity. PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE POST FOR ALL INFORMATION ON THE OCCUPATION. WE OPT OUT OF CORPORATE EDUCATION REFORM.
It is time to end Wall Street Occupation of Education.
We asked – they said NO. We wrote – they said NO. We sent them research – they said NO. We say NO. We opt out. We will put a screeching halt to corporate education by saying NO to the test.
We will occupy the Department of Education in DC from March 30th to April 2nd. On-going planning can be found at our Facebook Occupy the DOE page.
It’s time to put the public back in public education. Occupy the DOE and show them who education REALLY BELONGS to.
Join United Opt Out National & #OCCUPYDOE in Washington D.C.
April Fools!
No Child Left Behind – Fool Me Once.
Race to the Top – We Won’t be Fooled Again.
Join us. In solidarity with Occupy Movements everywhere.
See SCHEDULE.
Download summary of schedule.
Share this letter to promote Occupy the DOE in DC.
See here for Occupy the DOE in DC posters created by Jay Rivett from Occupy ART: Indiana.
Wondering where to stay? (free places and/or hotels)
Check the map here for hotel locations and more. Where are WE/United Opt Out Administrators staying? We are staying at the Washington Hilton, also known as the Dupont Circle Hilton, address: 1919 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington DC 20009, 1.202.483.3000
Where to stay for free? We have reserved sleeping space for our group at St.Stephen and the Incarnation. We can be in the building during these times:
March 29th to March 30th, Thursday 9 pm – Friday 8:30 am
March 30th to 31st, Friday 9pm – Saturday 11am
March 31st to April 1st, Saturday 5pm – Sunday 7am
April 1st to April 2nd, Sunday 9pm – Monday 11am
Here is the information on sleeping arrangements:
Here is directions to St. Stephen
At St. Stephen there is street parking only. It can be tight; folks will simply have to look. Or pay for parking in the garage at 14th and Park Road NW — a five minute walk away.
Additional housing information from NOWDC.
We have three channels that may be used for livestreaming – please check them all out.
The majority of our livestreaming will most likely be at http://www.livestream.com/califather on Saturday, Sunday and Monday afternoon.
During other times, including Friday, one of the following two channels below will be used. We may have multiple channels running at the same time broadcasting different things so check them all out!
Here is our USTREAM channel: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/unitedoptout
Here is a second channel which may be utilized as well: http://www.livestream.com/unitedoptout?t=997514
See here for Occupy DOE Rules of Engagement
We have a permit to occupy at the Department of Education in D.C. and the following guidelines must be respected:
The hours the group will be allowed to utilize the Plaza at 400 Maryland Avenue from March 30th, 2012 through April 2nd, 2012, will be 9am until 5pm daily.
No tents or other structures can be placed on the plaza.
There will be absolutely no access to the LBJ facility unless pre-approved by the Department of Education.
There are no bathroom facilities available for the groups use at the LBJ facility.
The sidewalks leading to the entry or exit points the LBJ facility are to remain free of obstruction at all times.
There will be no standing or jumping on GSA property including but not limited to picnic tables and chairs, exhaust grates and railings.
There will be no unsafe acts that could possibly lead to an accident.
The group will remain in the plaza area nearest the bell.
The group is responsible for cleaning up all trash and other items they bring on the property.
No items will be left behind when the group breaks for activities off the property.
While occupying at the Department of Education we are allowed to bring folding chairs, tables and coolers – items must be movable and removed when we adjourn at the end of each day.
The march to Capitol Hill on Friday will proceed as follows:
The parade will form 400 Maryland Ave SW and proceed over the following route; east on C St SW to 4th St., north on 4th St to Independence Ave, east on Independence Ave to 3rd St, entering Capitol Grounds, east sidewalk of 3rd St, north on the east sidewalk of 3rd St to Constitution Ave, east on Constitution Ave to 1st St NW, cross Constitution to the event site, Taft Memorial Park where the group will rally and disband. See here for map.
Useful information from occupationeducationca.org regarding interaction with police.
Useful information from occupationeducationca.org regarding your rights to demonstrate and protest.
Information from National Lawyers Guild. We will have a legal observer on site during the daytime.
Pamphlet from National Lawyers Guild on Knowing Your Rights
NOWDC begins March 30th as well – check out their website.
Parking information in DC shared from NOWDC:
Parking inside the city falls into two categories: on street and off street. On street parking is metered and/or time limited. The best time to find on street parking is Sunday; Monday through Saturday, spaces are limited. There are many parking garages, but most downtown are fairly expensive (e.g., $12 or more per day).
Parking outside the city is best at Metro stations that have parking garages. Most of these are located well outside the city. Here is a link to the Metro where you can find out a lot more information about this. Parking at most stations is around $4.50 per day. At some outlying stations like Franconia, it is possible to leave your car for several days, at least that is what people I met at the occupation told me. To me, the Metro is by far the best way to get in and out and around D.C.
Some out of city Metro stations offer free parking on weekends.
Attention Media – here is the contact info. for all United Opt Out Administrators:
Shaun Johnson
412-965-1196
atthechalkface(at)gmail.com
Morna McDermott McNulty
410-294-3223
mmcdermott(at)towson.edu
Laurie Murphy
863-386-4806
murphylauriet(at)gmail.com
Peggy Robertson
720-810-5593
writepeg(at)juno.com
Tim Slekar
office. 814-949-5639
cell. 412-735-9720
tds12(at)psu.edu
Ceresta Smith
786-303-4785
cerestas(at)yahoo.com
