Polson students plan to OCCUPY

POLSON — No doubt the Occupy movement has become a lightning rod issue in this country with supporters and detractors drawing a line in the sand. Lake County will now have its own Occupy movement of sorts, with Polson students making a stand for raising college tuition costs and proposed cuts to federal aid for students.

“They propose cutting federal student aid programs and handing it over to private lenders, which turns it into a business like any other, and turns the educations of our young population into yet another way to make money for others,” the Occupy Polson Mission statement reads.

Polson students are planning to camp out on the Lake County Courthouse lawn on the night of Jan. 2 to bring awareness to the financial pinch they’re feeling when looking toward going to college.

“I know some kids in my class that aren’t going to college because the cost has gotten too high,” Polson student Clay Frissell said. “These costs are going to affect our whole country. It’s the future of our country and it’s an investment for our future.”

The group’s mission statement said that the cuts in financial aid would be also cutting into the potential of underprivledged youth in the country and the great minds of tomorrow.

Organizers Ian Laimbeer and Riley Lemm stated that student-aged individuals are members of the least politically active demographic in the country, and that they need to be more involved, otherwise cutting federal aid to students will continue.

According to the group’s mission statement, if these cuts to federal aid were made, the maximum amount of money given to a student as a pell grant would drop from $5,550 to $4,705 and almost 1.7 million students who are eligible now would be deemed ineligible to receive financial aid. That, coupled with rising tuition rates, is moving college affordability away from students.

“As the baby boomer generation gets older, it’s going to be even more vital that young people are more active,” Laimbeer said.

It’s a message that is different from what you’ve heard from other Occupy movements around the nation, with adults camping out for long periods of time and protesting the unfair distribution of wealth in the country. While the controversial protests have had their share of issues, the Polson students want to make it very clear they don’t want to cause any problems.

“We don’t want it to reflect badly on the local government,” Frissell said. “We don’t have any problem with people in the courthouse. What we’re worried about is the federal government cutting aid to students.”

The mission statement the group presented stated that they aren’t protesting colleges raising their tuition since cutting programs to make costs would lead to the demise of the overall college experience. What they are protesting, however, is “the government considering cutting what allows a large portion of our population to attend any college at all.”

Lemm added that the reason they’re holding the event is not the same reason for the other occupy camps but that like the protestors, students his age will be voting next fall and are be concerned about these college cost issues.

“We don’t want to be written off,” Frissell said.

The group also wanted to point out that U.S. student debt has surpassed credit card debt in the country and that gap is widening.

“The future of our country is nothing to be tinkered with and it should, under no circumstance, be handed over to the tyrannically money-hungry entrepreneurs of the nation,” the group’s mission statement read.

There has been a Facebook event page for the event but that has brought both positive and negative feedback from peers and adults.

“Having Occupy in the name totally changed the opinion toward the event,” Laimbeer said.

While there have been people saying positive things such as, “with Montana shooting up tuition 18 percent in one year, I think it’s a pretty dang good idea,” there have also been negative comments like, “I for one am deeply saddened by the fact that this disease has hit Polson. This ‘joke’ has the potential to bring about several serious consequences,” said one Facebook user.

“Some people think that we’re just a bunch of dumb kids, but that’s given us a lot of motivation,” Frissell said. “We want to show people that we care.”

The students plan to have tents, grills and heaters to get through the winter night, and have 68 people on Facebook say they’ll be attending the event.

“Anyone who wants to be involved can be, just come on down to the courthouse,” Lemm said.

The protest will take place at 4 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 2 and continue as long as enthusiasm and participation allows.

For those looking for more info, the Occupy Polson’s full Mission statement can be seen posted on their Facebook page. Just search for “Occupy Polson.”