Ever since Occupy Chapel Hill set up camp in Peace and Justice Plaza, the town has learned a great lesson about what measures people will take to have their voices heard.
Recently, the group has taken concern with a memo written by Town Manager Roger Stancil asking the Town Council to discuss the enforcement of ordinances regarding the use of public space in Chapel Hill.
I attended Occupy Chapel Hill’s rally on Sunday in the plaza, where the movement pushed for Chapel Hill to “free up public space.” The group also has a petition on its website calling for the “immediate repeal” of three of Chapel Hill’s public space ordinances. While Occupy Chapel Hill didn’t foster any noticeable changes in the town (besides a campsite on Franklin Street), it may have a point in all its noise. Some of the current rules Stancil outlines in his memo are clearly archaic and should be reviewed.
One ordinance states that the town manager’s office can’t issue permits for protests in public spaces on Sundays, a rule that doesn’t have much effect on safety.
But the Town Council should keep its restriction on how long groups can stay in public spaces because areas in the town designated for public use should be open to all residents, not dominated by one cause.
Occupy Chapel Hill demonstrated that it is possible to protest peacefully without following the ordinances in question. The protesters didn’t cause any major incidents and encouraged safe and spirited activism. But regardless of safety or aesthetic concerns, the town’s public spaces should be available to any resident. With protests settling in public spaces for days at a time, every group wanting to promote their cause can’t possibly be accommodated.
While Occupy has every right to protest there, the restrictions are a matter of consideration for other people’s rights. Occupy may have cooperated with some groups, but seeing the camp in the plaza is enough to discourage a group from trying to reserve the space for itself.
The restrictions within the ordinances address this issue clearly. There is a rule prohibiting the town from issuing a space permit more than six consecutive days in a row to the same group — a rule that is in place to regulate the fair use of the space.
Ever since Peace and Justice Plaza was renamed in 2006, it has been dedicated to giving a voice to nonprofit organizations that can’t get their voices heard otherwise. Various groups have used the plaza for protests, ceremonies, rallies and even Girl Scout cookie sales. But when one group dominates the space, the plaza’s goal of opportunity for everyone cannot be achieved.
