SANTA CRUZ, Calif--
For nearly a month, protesters have stood outside the Santa Cruz County Courthouse as part of Occupy Santa Cruz. The question is, who are these protesters standing up for?
You've seen the signs and heard the chants. Occupy protesters say they represent the 99%, or us.
"It represents the people who are in the bottom end of this," said Bob Holtz, Occupy Santa Cruz. You've got 99 percent of the people who are out here struggling to get along. They're trying to work, they're trying to pay their mortgages, they're trying to you know take care of their families and live and you've got the one percent who are out there making it awfully darn difficult for everybody."
Central Coast News asked protesters to describe who they believe is part of the 99 percent.
Lorna Grundeman with Occupy Santa Cruz gave this example. "Well lets say somebody that's just graduated from college, can't find regular work, maybe can find part time or temporary work. That work will have no benefits attached to it, no health care, no paid time off of any kind and the job will probably end in a short period of time," she said.
It's a very different description in other cities where it's middle aged men and women struggling to pay their mortgage.
Central Coast News asked students at UC Santa Cruz if they think they are the 99%. The majority of the students said they really don't know much about the occupy movement. But we did happen to catch up with Tyler Ferguson and Collin Morris downtown. Ferguson said he thinks the protestors represent him.
"I'm between jobs, I don't come from a rich background and that's a large majority of people right there," he said.
Morris is going to school at Cabrillo and said he too feels like the occupy movement is standing up for him.
"I like the mission, I think it's a positive thing."
Everyone we talked to said they hope this movement will start the change.
