BCH Minutes – 12/21/2020
Attendees: Alexis, Jackson (Moderator), Marcus (Secretary), Ty (intermittently)
Meeting Start: 7:10
Meeting End: 8:20
Upcoming Event – Walk for Life Counter-protest
– Alexis brought up some questions about the counter-protest and who might be there. We know that there will be various politicians speaking at the event (on the side of the anti-choice groups): Ricketts, the AG, various members of the unicameral, etc. They also typically rent space at the student union at UNL for several more hours of programming and speakers. Also, the cops present are there on voluntary overtime, meaning they can get paid to be ~holy~, and are definitely not neutral observers, so counter-protesters generally play it safe.
Given the complete lack of response on the Nebraska’s government’s part to COVID, it’s entirely possible that the pandemic spread will be so bad that even Ricketts needs to shut things down. But even in this situation, we can still expect that WFL protesters will be there in full force.
– Alexis also brought up the idea of an information pamphlet to give to WFL protesters; Ty also suggested using a pamphlet to embolden counter-protesters for discussion. Jackson pointed out that because so many WFL protesters can be expected to be plague-spreaders as well, counter-protesters may not be willing to get up close enough to speak with them since they probably won’t be wearing masks.
We also discussed strategies to maintain social distancing and mask-wearing at the protest, with the above assumptions in mind. Tactics discussed included using the buddy system and having folks on our side form smaller groups, with someone dedicated to telling more aggressive pro-lifers to back off. Since signs on sticks would be only selectively enforced, we could potentially use pool noodles.
We discussed having a bigger zoom meeting with more people who are specifically interested in the counter-protest to bounce ideas around. This meeting would likely be held about a week before January 16 to give time to prepare for the counter-protest.
Library Organization Project
– Naomi has spent a little bit of time at BCH to sort books, mostly new arrivals that haven’t been shelved yet, and to survey what’s here and what needs to be done.
Library Donation
– Marc donated a handful of fiction books, as well as a children’s book for the Kitten Corner. Jackson also donated several books and zines to the library about a variety of topics.
Winter Calendar
– For February, we are making headway on a poetry or music-related event. Ty has also been interested in having a Black music event as well, since there’s so much rich political and emotional history there. We also have tons of connections through Dance, and since it would be an online event, any participants would not have to live nearby. We also discussed asking Dance to moderate a potential panel of people. For now, the year is particularly rough for professors (who we’d to participate), but after January things might be better.
Impromptu Spring Calendar – gardening-focused events, potentially reaching out to the Hawley Hamlet
Next week’s meeting
– We have decided to not meet on the 28th next week.