Agenda Requests for 10/21General Assembly

[rebecca]

Please post here with any requests for agenda items for Friday's General Assembly. Keep in mind that we do not know yet if we will have any sound system - we may be limited to using the People's Mic, which would require us to keep things simpler. And this assembly is likely to be BIG!

Issues I know of so far, in no particular order:
- Celebrating the launch of the Occupation!
- Legal WG's two urgent proposals, posted on General board
- Occupation logistics:
--- info updates re: bathrooms, food, etc
--- any logistics issues that require GA decisions
- There are politicians who wish to show up to express their support. Should they be on the agenda? Discussion thread on general board if you have opinions about that.

What else?

[loyalsd]

I know there has already been discussion regarding keeping the assembly motivational for the benefit of newcomers and spectators. I don't think we can emphasize this enough! We also need to remember that people will be coming and going and a lot of people won't be there until after 5:00 so I feel that it is extremely important to incorporate the motivation throughout the length of the assembly, not just at the beginning. We want people to see that we are taking action and that our working groups are impressive but we can't get bogged down in that at this assembly. We have to get people excited and make them feel empowered! Maybe some key action items would be good to present, though. I recommend the Bank Transfer Day as an item to discuss.

[colin]

I agree with loyalsd. This Friday will not be the time for long complicated proposals and discussions. It is a time for celebration, getting logistics set-up, digging in and starting off on a positive note. Once we have the space held, daily GA's can begin to deal with contentious issues and work through proposals.

[Emma]

agreed.
perhaps a 2nd GA time should be set by the beginning of the first meeting, so people who want to discuss more in-depth things will know when they can have a chance to do that (and will hopefully be more patient with not doing it Friday evening). Hopefully we can set this up at tonight's facilitation meeting, at least as a proposal.

[markm]

A group of 30 people came together Tuesday to start Occupation Saratoga. On Saturday we are gathering at noon in front of the Saratoga Post Office to stand in solidarity with the Saratoga Peace Coalition (they meet EVERY Saturday from noon-1 in front of the Post Office to peaceably protest.) We plan to have our 1st GA Meeting at 1PM in front of the Post Office followed by a march to Skidmore College where we are working on meeting up with an on campus occupation group. It would really help our efforts if the GA could in some way recognize our events this weekend. Could a proposal be made that the GA recognize and support our group and it's efforts in the movement and stands in solidarity with our work in Saratoga? There are many of us who are working in both the Albany and Saratoga groups. We are using what you are doing in Albany as a model for our efforts. Any and all support would be appreciated. Let's grow it big together, let the people's voices be heard and watch what happens.

[hz]

PR working group would like to report, time allowing. We can simply ask GA if they would like a two minute update, and respond and be prepared accordingly. No pressing proposals before GA as far as I know though.