Although suggestions of joining Occupy Indy or Occupy Fort Wayne were relevant last week, Occupy Muncie members may have found a way to stay for months.
The group to "occupy" Muncie met at noon Saturday, voting to continue the occupation indefinitely.
The assembly showed no signs of leaving anytime soon as blankets, chairs, multiple cases of bottled water and empty pizza boxes lay nearby. A bulletin board stood with articles and inspirational messages. One such message from Martin Luther King, Jr. read, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
Deborah Dragoo, local resident and political activist, spoke to the group about a possibility of acquiring a building a block away from the courthouse so the group could have somewhere to sleep at night and ‘occupy' during the day. She said a concerned citizen approached her and offered up the building free of rent.
Kai Bennett, supervisor of Students for Creative Activism at Ball State, took his turn in front of the group and said with the possibility of using a local downtown building to sleep in, the group could "occupy" well through the winter and beyond.
While more than 100 people showed up for the march Wednesday, just a little more than 40 people attended the meeting Saturday.
Les Marsh, a Muncie resident, attended the meeting. Marsh lost his job at BorgWarner when the plant shut down a couple of years ago.
"We'll see what we can do," Marsh said referring to the occupation. "We'll see what kind of presence we can get."
Marsh said even though he supports the movement, he's too old to "occupy."
"I'm 65 years old," he said. "I can't sleep on the concrete, although I'm glad to see the young kids get involved."
During the meeting, some wore face paint in resemblance to Guy Fawkes, a famous British protester who was later executed for his efforts.
Several people stood up in the center of the group, including a young child who claimed he wanted a good education and wanted to go to a good college.
"I want the top one percent to be zero percent," he said. "That way, we will all be equal."
Occupy Muncie members camped out in downtown Muncie from Thursday night through Saturday night. Bennett said the nights camping out late last week went better than expected.
"I think it was definitely a success given the weather situation," Bennett said. "I'm surprised how many people actually showed up."
Bennett said there were anywhere from 10 to 20 people at any given time throughout the night. Occupy Muncie members will continue to sleep outdoors until they secure a building.
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