Occupy Academia! No, wait, academia has been occupied for decades.

SEATTLE (AP) — In the dead of night, as drunken Halloween revelers streamed into the street from nearby bars, Karen Strickland tried to teach Occupy Seattle protesters how to get their message across to politicians.

Other lessons — including how to photograph human rights abuses, the history of labor movements and writing a “position statement” — were held as community college instructors from around the Emerald City gave free classes earlier this week in an attempt to bolster a protest that had been struggling to capture the attention of a city with a vibrant history of protests.

And as the Occupy movement shows signs of fracturing after violent outbreaks in Oakland and elsewhere, instructors here say they’ll continue efforts to mentor the mostly young people who have taken to the streets over the last several weeks.

“We didn’t talk about their particular strategies,” said Strickland, who is the president of the American Federation of Teachers Seattle Local 1789. “I guess my impression is that these are people who are thoughtful. They certainly don’t have all the answers. They make mistakes along the way. Does that mean they’re ineffective or pointless? I don’t think so.”