Upcoming Actions, Events, and the first issue of the OP Journal!

Occupy Providence has a busy Thursday coming up!

Vice President Joe Biden is coming to the Biltmore hotel in Providence

The House of Compassion is a community residence in Cumberland, RI for those living with HIV/AIDS or with other diseases or disabilities. It opened in 1994 and has cared for over 900 residents. Occupy Providence members have formed Occupy the House of Compassion, whose mission is to save the house, which is at the risk of being auctioned off for an overdue water/sewer bill. OP is attempting to raise $16,000.00 in order to save the house and to replace the oil burner destroyed in a fire on December 15, 2011. Donations accepted at: www.houseofcompassionri.org

His administration has gone out of their way to prevent the passage of a tiny tax that could bring billions of dollars in revenue to fight AIDS, create jobs, and stop climate change. Join us and demand that Biden and Obama support a financial speculation tax now and restore funding for AIDS housing and to fight AIDS around the world! Demand:

A Comprehensive jobs program
full funding for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria and health programs
Funding to stop catastrophic climate change
Restore the cuts to Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS
Restore the whopping $54 million cut to the President’s Plan for AIDS relief

Thursday, February 23rd

Meet at Burnside Park at 4:00pm; march to Biltmore Hotel, rally at 4:30pm. See you there!

Sponsored by: ACT UP Rhode Island; Health GAP; Student Global AIDS Campaign (list in formation).

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The Occupied Providence Journal: We need your help! Our first issue is hot off the press! We need volunteers to help distribute them to coffee shops, stores, and other public spaces that will take them. The papers are free and we want to make them as widely available as possible; if you’re able to help with distribution, please email occupiedprovidencejournal@gmail.com. Look out for the papers throughout Providence and RI, and email occupiedprovidencejournal@gmail.com for assistance in finding copies of the OPJ. Also see the online component of the Journal, which includes a downloadable PDF of the paper. Please help us print future issues by donating to the OPJ— Visit this page for the journal’s donation page to help cover the cost of printing future issues!

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Occupy Education Event: On Thursday, February 23rd, as part of the national solidarity teach-in on college campuses around the country, allies from Occupy RI Campuses, Providence students, OP members, and other members of our community will attend two teach-ins prior to the march on Feb 23.

Occupy Rhode Island College invites all members of the RIC community, including students, professors, and faculty to take part in the National Solidarity Teach-in and open panel discussion being held this Wednesday during free period. The discussion will be led by a panel comprised of several professors from RIC as well as community leader Simon Moore, executive director at College Visions.

The panel will address issues regarding the broken education system in Rhode Island and in the US. The last few decades have seen skyrocketing tuition rates with no end in sight, active corporatization of our learning institutions, and student debt at its highest. These issues have affected the lives of all students by challenging their chance at upward mobility and jeopardizes the quality of our education.

This Wednesday’s teach-in is in preparation for the Occupy Education day of action on March 1st, in which students from all over the country are mobilizing to demand their right to an affordable quality education. Join us in solidarity this Wednesday at 12:30 in Fogarty RM 050 and engage in a necessary discussion regarding the state of our education. Visit OccupyRICampus.com for more information on the March 1st Occupy Education day of action.

Occupy URI’s teach-in will be in Kingston on Thursday, February 23 at 3:30pm in White Hall 205. Professor Helen Mederer will give a presentation entitled “Externalities, Corporate Profits, and Student Loan Debt.” Professor Scott Molloy will present “Fighting for Justice: Then and Now.”

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After today’s Occupy RI kick-off in Bristol and the formation of Occupy East Bay group, OP is ready and excited for more upcoming Occupy events and expansion throughout RI. Now is a great time to come to a General Assembly or check our calendar for events that are of interest to you. Visit http://howtooccupy.org/ for a handy, comprehensive resource about joining in!