Nate Coddington contributed to this story.
A march on city hall is planned for Tuesday, April 5, by Phronesis, a student-led community group, in protest of proposed city ordinances that would allegedly discriminate against Ashland’s homeless.
Emery Way, a member of Phronesis and an Associated Students of Southern Oregon University At-Large Senator, has been a driving force behind the march.
“I’ve been working on this for about two months now,” said Way. “I’m incredibly excited about this.”
On April 5, the Ashland City Council will be discussing several proposed city ordinances aimed at curbing the presence of homeless people in Ashland.
Phronesis claims that the city’s proposed ordinances discriminate against Ashland’s homeless by banning sleeping and sitting on sidewalks, as well as creating an “exclusionary zone” banning anybody with multiple citations from the downtown area.
Phronesis is a group of students and community members who, according to its website, attempt to cultivate a better community by doing everything from chalk drawings to tree planting.
The group was partially responsible for the Homelessness Town Hall Meeting in February, which led to the drafting of the proposed ordinances being heard on April 5.
The march is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Plaza in downtown Ashland. For more information, go to Phronesis’ website at http://www.phron.org.
“You can all come to the party!” said Way.
