[OccupyCU] Champaign "Free speech in malls & parking lots" referendum - another try at language?

[Stuart Levy]

Hello oCUpiers,

If you're interested in tweaking the language of a Champaign Free Speech 
referendum,
maybe in a meeting early this week, please write back and let us know.  
Let's try to meet!
Either in person or virtually.  Would tonight, or Tuesday evening, or 
Wednesday evening do?

Details below.

We'd talked last month about drafting another version of Mike Weissman's 
free speech amendment,
the one that would allow non-disruptive political speech, leafletting,
petitioning etc. in privately owned spaces frequented by the public.
It would appear as an advisory referendum on the November ballot.

This passed in Urbana, but failed narrowly in Champaign.  But - as 
Stephanie Williams (hey!) pointed out,
voters in Champaign can ask for another township meeting and consider 
the question again.

The last language Mike drafted was this:

    Whereas expensive media campaigns have recently largely
      replaced ordinary political conversations between citizens,

      and

    whereas much of the public space in which such conversations
    used to take place has been replaced with private malls,

    and

    whereas since 1980 the state of California has successfully required
    that
    polite non-disruptive political speech be allowed at privately-owned
    malls and parking lots,


    we request that the City of Champaign establish by ordinance that
    privately owned public spaces, specifically malls and large parking
    lots,
    respect the right of polite, non-disruptive free political speech.


Before getting signatures, we need to set the language of the proposed 
referendum.
It could be the above, or could be tweaked further (for example, it 
could explicitly mention leafletting and petitioning).

Several people expressed interest in looking into tweaking the language 
to make it as appealing as possible.
Let's do that.


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