Dan Michniewicz (right) has been working as an organizing intern at the DSA national office while camping out at Liberty Park.  His fellow Fort Collins, CO DSA member David Klausa (left) is also volunteering  and camping out.  I asked Dan to talk about what motivated him to take action.

1) When did you join DSA and what did you do in Fort Collins?

I joined DSA in early 2011 while living In Fort Collins, which has been home to DSA and YDS presences in the past. There, I helped bring together DSA members and others interested in the organization, and we began to meet regularly. At a meeting in September, we did the initial organizing for Occupy Fort Collins, and DSA members there continue to play an integral role in that protest.

2) What motivated you to drop everything and move to NYC to participate in Occupy Wall Street?

I completed my undergraduate work in 2010, and moved to Colorado with a good-paying job and relatively little student loan debt, which I have paid off. My freedom from debt--coupled with the absence of any pressing familial responsibilities--allowed me to quit my job and begin an indefinite stint as an unemployed mobile activist. I had been following Occupy Wall Street since late summer, and it really spoke to me, so since New York is the birthplace of the protests, I thought it would be the best place to start. Even though we had our own Occupy protests in Fort Collins, being here in NYC allows me to help foment and shape what could very well be the most important social happening of my lifetime—and I wasn't going to miss out on that opportunity.
 

3) Why did you decide to volunteer full time at the DSA national office while you are here?  What projects are you working on?

Attending general assemblies and meetings of OWS working groups certainly makes me feel more integrated into the protest, but operating in that fashion can be very unproductive at times. By using DSA as a conduit through which to help build the protest, I can help both my comrades in the park and in DSA simultaneously, and with an increased sense of direction and purpose. I'm helping primarily with media efforts for both the upcoming national convention and DSA's involvement in Occupy Wall Street. I've also been attending working groups with other DSA members and reporting back to keep DSA members informed on what's happening.