Mic Check Protest

Example

"Occupy Chicago had planned to "Un-Welcome" Rice and Paulson, saying "Many... Occupy Chicago members are students at the University of Chicago and plan on attending this event." At least one tweet, by the Occupy Chicago Outreach Committee, specificed this would involve a “rally & mic check.”

The mic check refers to the now commonplace means of communication at Occupy events across the nation, also known as the human microphone or people's mic, in which listeners repeat the speaker’s words so as to amplify his or her message (ironically, Occupy Chicago uses the people's mic in General Assemblies less often than some Occupy locations).

The technique has quickly turned into a tactic for activists seeking to protest events, exemplified earlier this month when 60 activists from Stand Up! Chicago, some of them also Occupy Chicago members, disrupted a speaking event featuring Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.). It is likely that tonight's protest would have followed a similar two-part structure, with University of Chicago students eligible to attend the event staging a protest inside while a larger Occupy Chicago presence rallied outside.

A similar "mic check" protest did take place today in D.C. at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event on the 'Future of the Health Care Industry,' at which Blue Cross Blue Shield Association President & CEO Scott Serota was speaking. C-SPAN has video of the protest, during which Serota was described by activists as "an example of the 1% in the healthcare industry influence who testified in Congress and influenced the [Affordable Care Act] health bill to create more profit for health insurers at the expense of human suffering and preventable death." (http://www.inthesetimes.com/ittlist/entry/12291/the_steady_occupation_occupy_chicago_scores_direct_action_victory/)