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Occupy New Haven is a current protest event that primarily began as an occupation located on the upper New Haven Green in the downtown area of New Haven, Connecticut. Taking inspiration from the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street movements that preceded it the effort was one of longest-lasting Occupy encampments in the continental United States, stretching out over a period of over six months. Along with other Occupy protests occurring throughout the world the movement sought an end to the legal recognition of corporate personhood and to establish a national dialogue regarding the income gap disparity within the United States of America and abroad.

Overview
On October 15, 2011 Occupy New Haven held its first official act of protest as approximately 1,000 demonstrators engaged in a march around the New Haven Green to publicly speak out against the plight of the 99% as part of the movement's focus on corporatism and wealth stratification. Within a week of the first march protesters began to erect tents on the Upper Green with the intent to remain for an indefinite period of time to raise public awareness about their causes. The movement's namesake of public occupation featured individuals that lived at the encampment for extensive periods of time as well as casual visitors that joined protest events staged later in the day. In accordance with its principles of horizontal representation via the General Assembly process Occupy New Haven maintained a leaderless form of managing its day to day presence on the Green, with committees and rotating members dictating how to plan their intended courses of action. The relative size of the movement's physical presence would vary considerably over time, with numbers ranging in the hundreds during marches to dozens during the colder, less active months of the year and holiday seasons also impacting persons present at the encampment.

In addition to General Assembly gatherings the movement utilized several forms of social media to disseminate information about its planned marches and rallies, with Twitter and Facebook accounts releasing daily announcements of what activities Occupy members intended to proceed with. The group's official webpage also served as an online nexus for press release announcements as well as where written records of meeting minutes were posted. Featured speakers that were to be included as part of the movement's focus on social justice and class inequality were frequent topics of announcement as well, including figures such as professor and social activist Dr. Mark Naison. Discussion sessions with other advocacy groups in the New Haven area were also regular occurrences.

Over the course of the Occupy movement's six month presence on the Green it would initiate numerous protests taking a variety of forms, from marches and teach-ins to pickets and vigils. Participation in these events by any and all members of the public was encouraged, with meals typically being served at the encampment afterwards. While engaging in protest marches police motorcades often accompanied the demonstrations wherever they proceeded, generally within the vicinity of the New Haven downtown area. As the seasons shifted to harsher weather conditions Occupy New Haven was challenged with facing environmental challenges such as inclement weather and cold temperatures. Despite this the encampment was constantly present on the New Haven Green with alterations to the structure of the area routinely occurring to compensate for safety and population considerations.

Events began to take a different turn, however, when Occupy New Haven's relationship with city officials started to deteriorate in February of 2012. The cause of the discord was rooted in the city of New Haven's requested attempts asking demonstrators to relocate their encampment in the interest of allowing the Green to be more "accessible to the general public"- which Occupy New Haven members emphatically refused to acquiesce with. What would follow over the course of the next several months would amount to labyrinthine and complicated legal proceedings raising questions about the public and private nature of the Green's ownership, the Free Speech rights of Occupy New Haven, and public interest regarding use of the Green itself.

After managing several legal challenges to the city's efforts evict them from the area Occupy New Haven's encampment was deconstructed and removed from the Green on April 18, 2012, with thirteen protesters being arrested for refusing to comply with the city's orders. Occupy New Haven presently continues to hold public meetings and maintains their credo that "You can't evict an idea."

Responses and reception


The New Haven chapter of the Occupy movement drew many varied and strong reactions from the local community, with both strong shows of approval and disapproval frequently reported. Locals often provided aid to the protesters in the form of food donations and supplies for the encampment, with the city of New Haven providing regular services for garbage and sewage removal. The direct actions and marches attracted crowds numbering nearly one thousand at the protest's outset, with subsequent events attracting sizable crowds that would fluctuate as time passed. Many of the marches typically ended by proceeding back to the encampment where all involved were encouraged to take part in using the people's mic to discuss their vision for the Occupy movement, in an effort to be inclusive of those in attendance. Potlucks and picnics additionally contributed to the communal atmosphere of the camp and served as common outings for attracting the public to the group's spot on the Green, with drum circles and musical performances often accompanying the occasions. Occupy New Haven also made efforts to coordinate with other activist and religious organizations in the city, such as conducting marches against police brutality. Street clean-ups were also well-received activities that were often conducted by Occupy members as well as others from the community that joined them.

Unfavorable reactions to Occupy New Haven most commonly appeared to originate from individuals that believed the encampment was damaging or defiling the landscaping of the Green with its continuous presence. In contrast to Yale students that were vocally supportive of the movement others took issue with the protesters, staging a short-lived counter-protest known as "Occupy Occupy New Haven," a group that quickly drew rebukes from fellow students for its inflammatory statement of intent that included "'protesting the loafing and incoherence of the Occupy New Haven occupiers' while armed with 'posters and Febreze.'" Incidents of vandalism and intimidation were also reported to have been perpetuated by select members of the Yale varsity football team, in addition to alleged acts of theft committed by members of the Yale Republican and Tory clubs.

Incidents that also influenced a negative perception of the encampment included reports of sporadic drug use within the occupation as well as the rape of a woman by a registered sex offender, both of whom were homeless and unaffiliated with the Occupy movement itself while living near the encampment, according to statements of both the police and occupiers.

On October 27, 2011 the police massed at the Potrero Hill substation and planned a raid, under orders from the Mayor to clean up perceived health issues. Some members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (the city council of San Francisco) stood in solidarity with the Occupy San Francisco movement, and the police canceled their raid.

On February 28, 2012, the protest site at 101 Market began to be Occupied 24 hours once again. There is also a De-Colonize Yoga event every Friday above the 16th and Mission Bart Station (10 weeks continuous). A free store in Daly City is currently open on Saturdays between 10am and 5pm. General Assemblies still occur on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6pm. There are attempts to continue a Saturday General Assembly that is not currently weekly.

Occupy Education's "99-mile March for Education" to Sacramento was supported by Occupy San Francisco members and was covered by Occupy San Francisco Media members in March 1st 2012 through March 5th 2012.

Marches
The first march took place on September 29, 2011.

On Wednesday, October 5, 2011, hundreds of people participated in a mid-day march from the Federal Reserve protest site to Civic Center Plaza.

Eviction


There were multiple failed attempts and acknowledged tactical blunders by the City of New Haven to evict the protesters from the Green before the encampment was finally disbanded. Confronting a series of legal and strategic challenges New Haven city officials and police officers were met with stiff, vocal opposition and persistent defiance by Occupy New Haven members that refused to vacate the Upper Green, invoking that their First Amendment right to free speech protected them from eviction.