A group of demonstrators calling itself [Occupy COMO](http://www.facebook.com/OccupyCOMO) has set up in front of Columbia City Hall and plans to remain there indefinitely. The group, which has been as large as 30 people, began protesting Sept. 26.
The group is protesting in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street demonstration in New York City. The main grievances of the protesters are the perceived influence of corporate money in government and issues with income disparity.
According to the [minutes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JCJEyx0khv0_hVmH1-C7JlVfnx868wzXTUr1ER1ejGM/edit?hl=en_US&pli=1) of Occupy COMO’s first general assembly, the demonstrators have come together because the bottom 99 percent of people are tired of having their decisions made by the top 1 percent. The group is not aligned with any specific political ideology or party.
“The people who have won the elections are not representing the majority of the people,” demonstrator Nirtana Goodman said. “They’re representing the one percent, the moneyed interests. It’s the best government that money can buy.
“We are against you not having a voice anymore,” organizer Jef Hamby said. “We’re against all of us remaining the silent majority.”
Occupy COMO was organized by Hamby, who said he began demonstrating on his own. Since then, the group has grown in size.
“Even if no one else is here, you can stand here and hold a sign because one voice is louder than no voice at all,” Hamby said.
The demonstration in Columbia is one of many across the United States, organized by [Occupy Together](http://www.occupytogether.org/). Occupy Together is an unofficial website that seeks to provide a hub for the solidarity protests taking place in numerous cities around the country. There are 159 different demonstrations in 45 states and Washington D.C. according to the Occupy Together website. There are currently four demonstrations in Missouri.
“We are just trying to take back our democracy,” Hamby said.
Most of the demonstrators are Columbia residents, but there has been little interest from the student bodies of MU, Columbia College and Stephens College, Hamby said.
“It would be nice though if the college students would come by before or between classes,” Hamby said. “Some college students finally started joining us last night. Still though, there are three colleges within five minutes walking distance of City Hall. Where are you?”
High school students in the Columbia area have also stepped up to participate.
“Some high school students have come by and stayed for a couple hours each day,” Hamby said. “I felt it’s awesome that some high school students have joined us because that really shows the world there are high school kids that give a crap about more than just Justin Bieber.”
The group has unofficially begun calling the area outside of Columbia City Hall in which they are demonstrating “Liberty Plaza.” The renaming was decided at their Oct. 2 general assembly and echoes that of the Occupy Wall Street protestors, who changed the name of Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan to “Liberty Park.”
The Occupy Wall Street protests began Sept. 17. According to the [BBC](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15140671), several hundred protestors are camped out in Zuccoti Park, but the demonstration includes many more who are not permanently camped out.
More than 700 Occupy Wall Street protestors were [arrested](http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/01/police-arresting-protesters-on-brooklyn-bridge/?scp=1&sq=occupy%20wall%20street%20brooklyn%20bridge&st=cse) when they tried to cross the Brooklyn Bridge on foot Oct. 2, the New York Times reported. This event brought more widespread media attention to the demonstrations.
There has been some controversy regarding media coverage of Occupy Wall Street. Some groups have asserted that the mainstream media is burying the story due to corporate agendas.
Hamby called the media coverage of Occupy Wall Street a lie by omission.
National Public Radio [stated](http://www.npr.org/blogs/ombudsman/2011/09/26/140815394/newsworthy-determining-the-importance-of-protests-on-wall-street?ft=1&f=17370252) they have not covered the event because “the recent protests on Wall Street did not involve large numbers of people, prominent people, a great disruption or an especially clear objective.”