College students have helped propel Occupy Wall Street protests to cities across the Northwest. But the left-wing movement is a tougher sell on some campuses – like conservative Brigham Young University's campus in eastern Idaho.
University of Washington students joined camped-out protesters at Seattle's Westlake Park. A rally at the Idaho Capitol was organized in part by students at Boise State University. And a University of Oregon senior started the Occupy Eugene Facebook page.
Now, there's an effort to organize Occupy Rexburg, started by a BYU-Idaho freshman named Aaron.
"Even though I'm not in the city, I can still have a voice out here in Rexburg," Aaron says.
But Aaron didn't want us to use his last name. He's afraid his involvement might run afoul of BYU's student code of conduct. The school is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
University officials said students can hold peaceful protests off-campus as long as they are respectful and don't use the university's name, classrooms or email to recruit participants.
Aaron says he's trying to find enough people on Facebook to organize a local rally.
"I don't really expect a movement in Rexburg, Idaho to affect the world," he says. "But I can try."
At last count, the Occupy Rexburg Facebook page had 20 supporters.
On the Web:
Occupy Rexburg on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-Rexburg/169517666467839?sk=wall
BYU Honor Code:
http://saas.byu.edu/catalog/2011-2012ucat/GeneralInfo/HonorCode.php#HCOfficeInvovement
Copyright 2011 Northwest News Network
Copyright 2011 Northwest News Network
