Letter: Sheehan, Hawkins right to clear South Station protestors to the editor FacebookTwitterEmail FILE. Letter writer says, 'Protests and occupations are not synonymous.' (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)Lori Van Buren Protests and occupations are not synonymous. Protests are legitimate exercises of our First Amendment right as Americans to peaceably demonstrate and call attention to injustice. Occupations are the illegitimate seizure of public space by individuals for prolonged periods of time who commandeer that space exclusively for themselves until their “demands” are met. Recent event...