Category Archives: Festivals

We tend to promote free speech —VSU President Levy



Henry Calhoun found VSU Interim President Dr. Louis Levy,
who came over to the Occupy Valdosta meeting 27 October.
Erin Hurley invited him to come to the

mid-November Teach-In.
He replied:

…as long as it’s legal and non-obstructive
in terms of people getting in and out of buildings.
We tend to promote free speech.
And if we don’t, we’ll pay the price for it later.

…



We actually encourage free discussion and debate.
Besides, I’m a sociologist.
We can take what everyone knows and put them into
four different kinds of perspectives and lenses
just to do battle with each other.

He thanked Erin for the invitation.

VSU students, staff, and faculty who want their next president
to hold positions like that on free speech might want to

get involved with selection of the next VSU president.

Here’s

the video:




We tend to promote free speech.

Information and Organization,

General Assembly, Occupy Valdosta (OV),

Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 27 October 2011.

Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq

The local “unification” attack on public schools is part of a nationwide assault

The “unification” attack on the public schools in Valdosta and Lowndes
County, Georgia is part of a nationwide assault on public schools,
which has nothing to do with improving
public education, and everything to do with private profit and private schools: disaster capitalism right here at home.
And it’s not government causing our local disaster: it’s local business interests.
What should we do about that?

Jeff Bryant wrote for Campaign for America’s Future 13 October 2011,

Starving America’s Public Schools:
How Budget Cuts and Policy Mandates Are Hurting Our Nation’s Students



Critics of America’s public schools always seem to start from the
premise that the pre-kindergarten-through-12th-grade public education
system in this country is failing or in crisis.

This crisis mentality is in stark contrast to years of survey research
showing that Americans generally give high marks to their local


schools. Phi Delta Kappa International and Gallup surveys have found that
the populace holds their neighborhood schools in high regard; in fact,
this year’s survey found that “Americans, and parents in particular,
evaluate their community schools more positively than in any year since”
the survey started.

The first factor: New austerity budgets passed by state legislatures
are starting to have a huge influence on direct services to children,
youth, and families.

Well, we don’t have that problem in Valdosta City and Lowndes Schools.
For example,

graduation rates in Valdosta schools have been improving year over year,
and both school systems are solvent.



So what happened instead?
Why, they made up a crisis instead!

A local business group

convinced enough registered voters to sign a petition to get
a referendum on the November 8th ballot
to decide whether to abolish the Valdosta City School System,
which would force the Lowndes County School System to take it over,
and also

would result in massively raised taxes, which still wouldn’t
be enough, so services would have to be cut.
Voila! Forced budget crisis!
Fortunately, the two school systems have seen through it, and

Continue reading →

Atlanta police use 5 to 1 odds to arrest peaceful protesters in middle of night

CBS News wrote
26 October 2011

“Occupy Atlanta” camp cleared, dozens arrested,



With helicopters hovering overhead, police moved into a downtown Atlanta
park and arrested around 50 Occupy Wall Street protesters who had been
encamped there for about two weeks early Wednesday….

Organizers had instructed participants to be peaceful if arrests came,
and most were. Many gathered in the center of the park, locking arms,
and sang “We Shall Overcome,” until police led them out, one-by-one
to waiting buses. Some were dragged out while others left on foot,
handcuffed with plastic ties.

Police included SWAT teams in riot gear, dozens of officers on motorcycles
and several on horseback. By about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday the park was
mostly cleared of protesters….

Hundreds of others stood on Atlanta’s famous Peachtree Street, booing
police. They shouted “Shame!” and “Who do you protect? Who do you serve?”

And according to

Occupy Atlanta this morning:

Continue reading →

Being a part of this march was, in a word, liberating —Amber Smith

Amber Smith wrote for the
VSU Spectator 20 October 2011,



Occupy Valdosta exceeds participant’s expectations,

I don’t consider myself an extremely political person,
but I do believe
that people should stand up for what they believe in. The Valdosta
community has recently come together to do just that.

On Friday, I participated in the



Occupy Valdosta march
with over 100
students, teachers, and other members of the Valdosta community. I was
excited that I got to shed my title of Spectator reporter and


editor for a
day and actually fully take part in an event. The turnout was, in a word,
amazing. Honestly, I was trying not to get my hopes up too high for this.

The rest of her very interesting experiences and opinions are well worth
a read.
Here’s her conclusion:

Continue reading →

George Rhynes talks to No Consolidation marchers

Received Saturday.
Lots of people from Hahira. -jsq



Valdosta, Lowndes County and other concerned citizens marched from the
Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce building through downtown
to Rev. Martin L. King Jr., Monument. There were many speeches given
along with the sharing of ideas at this historic event. The marchers
were lead by Valdosta Police Department and eneded in peace as we all
expected in our beloved community. Peace!

-George Boston Rhynes

Here’s

the video:




George Rhynes talks to No Consolidation marchers

No school consolidation,

Vote No for Consolidation March, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),

Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 22 October 2011.

Videos by George Rhynes for bostongbr on YouTube.

-jsq

There’s a mousetrap in the house –Rev. Floyd Rose @ Vote No for Consolidation March 22 October 2011



Rev. Floyd Rose, president of the local Southern Christian Leadership
Conference (SCLC), spoke against school consolidation yesterday at the
Valdosta to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who founded SCLC.

Here’s

the video:




There’s a mousetrap in the house –Rev. Floyd Rose @ Vote No for Consolidation March 22 October 2011

No school consolidation,

Vote No for Consolidation March, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),

Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 22 October 2011.

Videos by Gretchen Quarterman and John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq

CUEE you have done what you tried to do —Sam Allen



Sam Allen summed it up before the march:

CUEE you have done what you tried to do.

You have brought us together.

United we stand.


Here’s

the video:




CUEE you have done what you tried to do —Sam Allen

No school consolidation,

Vote No for Consolidation March, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),

Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 22 October 2011.

Videos by Gretchen Quarterman and John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.



Although maybe this isn’t exactly what CUEE wanted FVCS, SCLC, NAACP,
both school boards, the Valdosta City Council, etc. united about:

What are we gonna do?

Vote!

How we gonna vote?

No!

Here’s

the video:

Continue reading →

Occupy movement inspires Valdosta —VSU Spectator

The VSU Spectator posted the most detailed traditional news media report of Occupy Valdosta,
along with an excellently edited video.
Desiree Thompson wrote 20 October 2011,

Occupy movement inspires Valdosta,



According to Occupy Valdosta’s mission statement, the group exercises
their right to “peacefully assemble, to nonviolently occupy public
space, to create an open process to address the problems they face,
and to generate solutions accessible to everyone.”

In an attempt to raise revenue, Bank of America Corp. plans to charge
customers at the beginning of next year with a $5 fee every month they
use their debit cards outside of withdrawing from the Bank of America ATM.

Protestors demanded an answer from the bank downtown, but employees
refused to comment.

Here’s

the Spectator video:




Occupy movement inspires Valdosta —VSU Spectator

We are the 99%,

Marching to Occupy Valdosta, Occupy Valdosta,

Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 14 October 2011.

Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

Extensive quotes from students:

Continue reading →

At the MLK Monument —Occupy Valdosta



Many people stood up at the Martin Luther King Jr Monument last Friday
and spoke.

Here they are (we may have missed a few).




At the MLK Monument —Occupy Valdosta

We are the 99%,

Marching to Occupy Valdosta, Occupy Valdosta,

Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 14 October 2011.

Videos by Gretchen Quarterman and John S. Quarterman

for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq

Vote No March —Floyd E Rose

Seen yesterday. -jsq

Never before in the history of Valdosta have its citizens been met with
a greater challenge. The most powerful business interests in our city
have conspired to deceive us with a scheme to dilute the black vote,
and thereby rob our community of the political and economic benefits to
which we are rightly entitled.

We make up 55 percent of the city’s population. However, we are only 34


percent of the county’s population. If the city and county governments
are consolidated, which is the real goal of the Committee for Educational
Excellence (CUEE), we will lose forever the opportunity to have access to
the millions of federal dollars that will come to Valdosta, with which we
can rebuild our community; monies that we are now going to the North side.

This is, and never has been, about school unification. However, legally

Continue reading →