(WSBT photo) |
SOUTH BEND – The cold weather is not stopping the Occupy South Bend movement. The protesters are getting ready for winter in their tents. Occupiers plan to keep their tents in front of the Morris through the winter.
The Occupy South Bend movement has been going on for nearly two months now and protesters say they are not going to let the cold stop them.
One protester, who is staying in the tents, says the plan is to winterize the camp. He says many of the protestors are avid campers and they should not have a problem making it through the winter.
"We have some people who have a lot of experience in camping, with winter proofing tents,” said Thomas Butler from Occupy South Bend. “We have a great budget, people who are supporters that have resources that are able to help us basically stay warm down here. We have plenty of people who have provided resources to keep us warm."
But not all of the protestors stay at the camp overnight. Those who do stay the night, usually only stay one or two nights a week.
To make sure they continue to occupy the area, WSBT was told they have put together a schedule of people who will spend the night in the camp. And despite the recent cold, the occupiers say the movement is still going strong.
What is the future of the movement?
At this time, the protestors talked about consolidating the movements in the area into one large Occupy Michiana movement but nothing came of that.
Right now they are trying to focus on spreading the word about certain legislation regarding campaign finance reform, for example, and sticking to their original goal which is speaking out against corporate greed.
