On Friday, December 9th, the villagers of the Occupy Eugene camp created a voluntary set of agreements to live by on site in order to set a community standard . In two days over 160 villagers have signed.
Villagers have come together to paint a picture of what their ideal community would like like and to support each other in making a commitment to creating that community.
Take a look…
I am a member of the Occupy Eugene Village Community and promise, to the best of my ability, to be a positive member of the community and to contribute toward making this a safe, clean and pleasant place to live and bring my family and friends. I want to help build a community that is united and strong enough to thrive in even the worst of circumstances. I will try to attend Village Meetings and GAs or, if I miss meetings, I will be responsible for finding out what happened at them that affects me. I know that Occupy Eugene Village is part of a protest movement and I promise to welcome and act respectfully to all people who come to the village to participate in Occupy Eugene’s activist and other programs. I expect that everyone will also welcome and respect me and that they will also honor these agreements and try to make this a good community.
I will try to resolve all my personal, neighborhood and community problems in a non-violent, respectful way. I will help make Occupy Village a place where everyone feels safe and respected. I know that the village is home to many diverse people and I promise to honor differences and to never degrade anyone in racist, sexist, classist, homophobic, or other prejudiced ways, including whether someone lives in a house or not. I will honor quiet hours from 11PM to 8AM so others can stay healthy and rested.
I know that weapons and substance use can make my community dangerous. I agree not to have a gun at Occupy Village. I may choose to have a knife as a tool, but I agree not to brandish or use a knife or any other item as a weapon. Because substance use can make my community an unsafe and unpleasant place to live and because it is against park laws and can cause the city to evict us from our site, thus endangering our homes, I agree not to abuse drugs or alcohol in the village. I agree not to use drugs or alcohol in communal areas (everywhere but private areas) and not to go into communal areas when others observe that my behavior is negatively affected by drugs or alcohol. I know that many community members are trying to kick drugs and alcohol and I promise to respect and support those who are trying to be straight. I promise not to deal drugs at the village. I will smoke only in areas designated by posted signs and will have only village approved fires or flames.
I will help with the duties necessary to make Occupy Village a safe, clean and pleasant place to live. This includes volunteering or responding to requests to help with kitchen duties, working on building, maintenance and cleanup crews, serving on security teams, participating in village work groups, helping plan village activities and entertainment and on other jobs that need be to shared by community members. I will keep the area in and around where I live clean and orderly.
I promise to keep all of these agreements, as well as other agreements when approved by the GA, and to help my friends and neighbors keep them. I agree that if I am not faithful to these agreements the community can reduce my privileges or ask me to leave for a short time or, in serious or repeat cases, to leave permanently. If I am asked to leave, I promise to leave peacefully and not to return until I am accepted back into the community. I agree that a Village Council, made up of neighbors we have chosen, plus medics, peacekeepers/security, kitchen and legal will make the decisions about reduced privileges or being asked to leave and they will also decide about reinstating privileges or returning.
I know that Occupy Village is a place where people value community and support each other. I will try to think of ways to make our community a better place to be. When new people arrive, I will try to make them feel at home and safe and encourage them to protect our community. When I am concerned about or unhappy or upset with situations in the village, I will bring these problems to the Village Council so that we can work together to figure things out. I willingly sign these agreements which are a voluntary contract between me and the Occupy Eugene Village Community.
___________________________ ___________________________ _________
Name You Choose to Use (printed) Name You Choose to Use (signature) Date
The city government and police department has closed down Washington-Jefferson park and our camping Occupy community is asked to vacate today . We are continuing to work cooperatively with the police to functionally remove tents, break down structures, and foremost, keep our park clean during this displacement. Our goal is to continue to keep this a peaceful action, working with the police to deconstruct on our terms, and in turn making sure that personal belongings remain intact and in our possession, unlike many of the evicted Occupiers across the country.
