Activists involved with the Occupy Wall Street movement are working with a record label set up to support the movement to launch a high profile community outreach project. The School of Roccupy is a collaboration between Occupation Records and Occupy activists that aims to creatively engage high school students with the processes and idealism of Occupy Wall Street.
The basics of the school can be summed up in their motto "One Song. One Day. One Message." The one day school has already been successfully launched in London in a "occupied" former bank building in the heart of the financial district. Organizers are now launching the School in New York, Denver, Los Angeles, and San Francisco with plans to expand into other cities as the school year progresses.
In London the school featured Kate Nash and Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, with support from NME journalists and Occupy London activists. The School accommodates a class of around 30 students who utilize the consensus and general assembly models of Occupy to agree on the issues affecting them to address through ma song. Students then self select into four working groups, each taking on a specific task in the distribution of the track.
The Music and Lyrics Working Group work with well known musicians to write and perform the track with input from the entire class. The Mixing and Recording Working Group work artists to record, mix, and master the track. The Press Working Group work with rock journalists and press working group members from the local Occupy to write the press release, interview the artists and students, and create a distribution plan while the Album Artwork Working Group design and produce the album artwork and packaging.
A video of the track released by the London School of Roccupy can be seen here. The track is titled "Ephebiphobia" which means the fear of loathing of teenagers. The students wanted to speak out against the media and government talking heads who had continuously demonized the youth following the London riots the year before.
At the end of the day the students leave with a fully produced and packaged single that they collectively wrote, recorded, packaged, and promoted. Follow up materials to support students wanting to continue using the processes and skills learned to speak out and engage their communities are also made available.
The organizers behind the School of Roccupy are aiming to launch the first Schools in October, continuing throughout the school year.
You can support the School of Roccupy by visiting their IndieGoGo page. You can even bring the School of Roccupy to your city, school, or campus.