Kodiaker Involved in Occupy Fairbanks

Jay Barrett/KMXT

As the Occupy Movement expands across the nation and around the world, one young Kodiak man is participating in Fairbanks. Forrest Andresen is a 2005 Kodiak High School graduate and a current student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He’s involved in Occupy Fairbanks, which started almost a month ago.

— (Occupy 1 28 sec "We started out on campus … folks that occupy Wall Street.")

Though occupiers have been barred from sleeping in the downtown park, Andresen said they stand vigil in shifts overnight.

He said the driving issue in Fairbanks, as it is at other Occupations, is trying to fight the influence of money in politics:

— (Occupy 2 22 sec "The fact that Big Money has … can create change.")

Andresen said up to 50 people are active in the Occupy Fairbanks meetings, while 10 to15 take turns keeping overnight vigils. He said about 200 took part in the group’s marches. Another march was held on Saturday.

He emphasized that the Occupy Movement crosses political boundaries:

— (Occupy 3 37 sec "There is a lot of impressions … or Obama thing.")

He said organizers are preparing for the Fairbanks winter, which can be brutally cold. Overnight temperatures have already been hitting zero:

— (Occupy 4 44 sec "One consideration we’ve made … for the whole winter.")

As a student, Andresen said his studies did suffer during the early stages of Occupy Fairbanks, but he’s back hitting the books, while attending organizational meetings and serving hot coffee every night to those standing overnight vigils.

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