Tent City weathers the week’s rough conditions

While rain would turn off most people from a camping trip, the members of the sixth biannual Tent City did not give up.

From Feb. 6 through 12, students joined together on Memory Mall to find peace through education and creativity.

President of Campus Peace Action Stephanie Cooper said many passers-by and some students may not have understood what Tent City was as they walked by with a look of utter confusion, probably wondering if this was only a new, eco-friendly form of student housing.

"I see them wondering what we are doing, and if they would ask, we would love to tell them what we are all about," Cooper said. "Everyone is welcome at Tent City."

Cooper,  a sophomore interdisciplinary studies major,  first came out to Tent City during the first semester of her freshman year. She had been attending NORML meetings and heard about Campus Peace Action through friends.

Cooper began attending the Campus Peace Action meetings and through her experience, became president of the organization.

"My first time coming out I thought, ‘This is really awesome, it is a big community," Cooper said. "I liked how everyone took the initiative ... it was the most attractive feature."

Camping out

The weeklong event consists of morning yoga class, workshops, guest speakers, vegan dinners and local bands while students camp out in tents on the lawn of Memory Mall.  

Tent City found its origins back when George W. Bush was elected. Campus Peace Action and a few other progressive organizations decided to camp out as a form of protest. The event lasted about a month. When UCF alumna Terri Baldwin took over Campus Peace Action a couple of years later, she decided that there needed to be a new approach.

"I was tired of protesting and doing these rallies that we always do. I wondered if we could put on something that was kind of fun and invited people to hangout rather than polarizing everyone," Baldwin said.

"It started out as a music festival. We said let's just camp out for a week, and all of the local bands will come out and we'll invite everyone no matter what clubs they belong to and no matter what they think or believe. It kind of evolved from that."

Although the rain put a slight damper on the number of people who moved into Tent City, the temperate weather the remainder of the week brought out more and more people with each passing day.

"The rain is interesting because it really brings people together," Baldwin said. "You have to help each other secure tents, put tarps over things, and make sure everything stays dry. To the outside world this weather is horrible, but really, the group comes together and it makes them a lot stronger throughout the week."

Tent City activites

Campus Peace Action's theory is that the only way for you to really understand someone is to talk to them, learn from them and be friends.

Tent City offers a plethora of events to help bring knowledge and understanding to the surface, such as live music from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., where even professors can perform..

Athia Choudhury, an interdisciplinary studies major, performed poetry; NORML tie-dyed T-shirts; Knights Helping Knights brought awareness to the food pantry; philosophy professor  Ronnie Hawkins spoke about his project, Reality; and students were able to participate in Buddhist meditation and much more.

"Everyone is talking about different issues and learning from the others, together working to reach the common goal," Cooper said.

The vegan dinners were provided by the Body of Animal Rights Campaigners and were free to any student wanting to have a bite and make conversation.

One of the members of BARC, philosophy junior Ben Feistmann, commented on the community and the importance of bringing people together.

Feistmann's band, Sleazy Cheese, was part of the local band lineup.

"It is always entertaining here," Feistmann said. "Although the days are long, there is always something to do."

Tent life

The Tent City campers do not get a chance to sleep in.

"We wake up pretty early; sometimes we wake up to the ROTC doing morning drills," Cooper said. "But the day is full and entertaining. We make stencils, ‘Objects in Motion' are out here juggling and amusing everyone, really it is a lot of fun."

Since Tent City is more of a grassroots product, there is not much advertisement involved throughout the semester, and at best it is minimal. Campus Peace Action tables for the event and passes out fliers.

"It's not that we don't want everyone to come, believe me, we want everyone to come," Baldwin said. "But if you are walking by and decided to come out, you are probably going to fit in with the crew. We don't try to be gimmicky we don't try to get big bands or whatever, and we don't try to get sponsorships. We are just students hanging out. If you want to hang out then do it."

Members explained that sometimes Tent City gets a bad reputation from people making assumptions about what they're doing.

"Some students and the UCF Police speculate that we sit out here and smoke pot the entire day," Cooper said. "But that is not the case."

Campus Peace Action follows the strict Golden Rule of no drugs or alcohol on Memory Mall. Baldwin explained that the organization and UCF Police are very cooperative with one another.

"They have full access and permission to search any of the tents at any given time," Baldwin said.

Bringing students together

Tent City is meant to be a haven for those wanting to learn from one another's opinions and experiences.

"You don't have to camp to be part of Tent City," Baldwin said. "Camping is more for the hardcore. If you're sleeping out there the whole week and trying to go to class, work and staying showered, it's a lot of work."