#OCCUPYTUCSON

Bryan L. Eichhorst Armory Park, Tucson, Arizona T - 520.850.7747 E - bryan.eichhorst@gmail.com

October 19, 2011 Bryan L. Eichhorst Student, Protestor Dear Ms. Frances Banales, First, I wish to thank you for the thankless work that you do for our city. The teachers, tutors, support staff, and the countless other dedicated individuals who keep our children educated deserve endless praise for the dedication they have employed throughout the years. Despite an ever-changing Superintendent, a generally lackluster school board, and a consistent stream of budget cuts at the state and federal level, the Tucson Educators Association (TEA) is the one organization who stands together for the betterment of our community. It has become a popular tactic lately in political circles to bash unions of all shapes and sizes. Let me be the first to say thank you to the teachers and their union. Thank you for never giving up on what is important: a diverse education for our young learners, the quality of our embattled education system, and a living wage to those who dedicate their lives to this noble profession. These are the qualities in a person that our society should be celebrating and praising. As I am sure you are aware, there is a protest movement quickly spreading throughout the world. What began in Downtown Manhattan at Zucotti Park has now spread to every major American city, every state, every country, every continent. What began as the Occupy Wall Street movement has now been translated widely and has yielded our very own Occupy Tucson protest. Beginning on October 15th, a group of people representing various political parties, backgrounds, and goals, unified around the central message of discontent concerning the corporate infiltration of government. This problem affects each and every one of us. Although the history of the rise of multi-national corporate power is too long to retell, one can see the current effects clearly. In the electoral sphere, legislators have become pawns to the powers of Wall Street. These new bank-empowered lawmakers have turned their sights on slashing funding for public programs (in the name of maintaining low/non-existent taxes on large corporations) and attempting to bust unions. These measures ensure rising profits for the companies that helped to formulate them. The passage of these bills can only result in the decimation of public educations funding, the further destruction of collective bargaining rights, and the disappearance of government-maintained pensions and benefits. Our problem is your problem. Despite the medias attempt at completely silencing the first voices of anger, the unions and their supporters in the communities of Wisconsin could not be quieted. The occupation of the State Capitol in Madison (in response to the legislative attempts to virtually destroy the right for workers to maintain unions) marked the first nationally heard cries of pain. These shouts were caused by the first flexing of the corporate-controlled states muscle. The strongest allies the unions had during these painful protests were from the students. It seemed obvious to the college crowd: these were the people we trusted with our minds, who pushed us to pursue our dreams, and told us of our civic and moral duty to stand up for what was right. This was our time to thank the educators for their priceless gift of knowledge. Although my generation has commonly been classified as an apathetic youth who are passive to the democratic process, we are simply misunderstood -- we are some of the most educated, aware, and inspired people. We grew up already aware of the failures of greed run amok. We knew that most politicians were not the people we should view as role models or trust to fight for us. Instead of praising the successes of corrupt bankers and their politicians, we learned to respect and value those who worked hard in our community. Teachers,

bus drivers, police officers, firemen, factory-workers; these were the people we could depend on. We knew whose side we would be on during the Wisconsin protests. The occupation of the Capitol in Madison was an experiment. The actions acted as a litmus test on the population. Were we, as the whole of the American people, ready to finally stand up against legislators attempts at unfairly taking away our opportunities? The answer was a resounding yes. What you started in Wisconsin we are hoping to finish in Wall Street. The young people gathered in early October at a small park near Wall Street in Lower Manhattan. What began as a few dozen grew to a few hundred, then a few thousands, then people stopped trying to count. They refused to leave and began to lend their growing strength to other stifled voices: the protestors joined the picket line with the Letter Carriers Union, marched in solidarity of mistreated airline pilots who were in protest, and disrupted a Sothebys auction in an act of civil disobedience to highlight the mistreatment of their union employees. We saw kindred spirits who deserved a fair chance and decided to stand with you. We reached out to the unions and the unions reached back. Suddenly these protests which began as a few dozen young people had grown to thousands and thousands of widely diverse citizens taking to the streets with a common cause. The transportation workers joined, the auto workers joined, and the teachers joined. The rag-tag protest had become an unstoppable movement. Growing and growing, the Occupy movement has been replicated all across the globe and is only becoming more legitimate as it ages. Our country is finally being awoken. We dont have an exact plan; we dont have a concise and tangible list of easily completed demands; we are simply a group of honest people hoping to make a difference. What I ask you now is this: will you join us? The support of the TEA will help us gain legitimacy with the community -most people do not necessarily trust a group of angst-ridden college students shouting incoherently but would certainly trust our citys educators to know what is right. I graduated from a TUSD high school a mere three-years ago and cannot express loudly enough the talents of the entire teaching staff. Without the insight, guidance, and unquestionable integrity of my teachers, I can guarantee I would have grown to be a lesser man today. I apologize for the letters length. The emotions and excitement that have been awoken since truly participating in my community and democracy make the future seem suddenly brighter. With a bit of work, I hope that #occupytucson can set a new standard for our city. Will you help us? Consider this a formal invitation for all TEA members to join the protest. You can find us any time, day or night, voicing our opinions at Armory Park. I hope to see you soon!

Sincerely yours, Bryan L. Eichhorst

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