My visit was on November 16th at Occupy San Diego was on a very calm evening. There were few protestors, police on every corner and the media was there for a brief moment. One of the media representatives tried to interview a young girl and her quick reply was, “No comment.” The media person tried to persist with no result; she was not going to talk. He moved on to another guy who said very little, “We’re frustrated.”
There was a group of young adults that I spoke with (The two who were approached by the media). They were expressing the price of an education; stating how education is heavily encouraged, but that no one is there to help with the loans once college is over and they have no job. They all agreed and took turns venting out their frustrations. As a college student, I can definitely understand their worries.
There were a larger number of police officers than protestors that night, so I asked one of them what they thought of the protest. A few thought I was a protestor and were reluctant to talk to me, until I mentioned that I was a student doing a project. One officer apologized and explained that with the heavy media, they have to be careful who they talk to. He said that tonight was a calm night with fewer protestors. He said that it seems that the protest is up and down: some days it is very chaotic, and other nights it is very still. He said that he understands why the people are protesting, but he feels there approach might be wrong because of the escalated events. He added that few truly know what they are protesting about.
