Like a big hurricane bearing down on the coast, Monday’s demonstrations didn’t strike the Capitol Campus right away. But as the morning rolled on, wave after wave of protesters hit the campus and began chanting and waving signs.

And what was just a smattering of people around the Legislative Building early this morning grew by noon into a crowd appearing to be at least a couple thousand strong.

Like all good protesters, they brought with them lots of chants. Some were catchy, but a few sounded clunky and needed some work.  Among the chants:

• “WE ARE THE 99 PERCENT!”

•  “THIS IS OUR HOUSE!”

• “CAN’T YOU HEAR US? (from our nearby office, YES!) and

• “OCCUPY!” (with Thanksgiving apparently still on his mind, one co-worker here thought they were yelling “pumpkin pie!”)

Walking around campus, one could hear drums thumping in the distance. By the Tivoli Fountain, a loudspeaker blared the Buffalo Springfield classic “For What It’s Worth.”

During the afternoon, many of those gathered decided to walk around the “Lege” Building (photo above), presumably to get in a little exercise while yelling more chants in hopes that legislators would hear them. By 3 p.m., hundreds of demonstrators came inside the building and gathered by the Holiday Tree in the Rotunda (below). They continued with the chants instead of singing Christmas carols.