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“Occupy Wall Street”

Update Dec 14, 2011: I apologize for not disclosing my involvement with Occupy Princeton in this post. In the interest of full disclosure, I have been attending the General Assemblies and support the movement but was not a part of these mic checks. As a blog, not a newspaper, there is room for some opinion on the Ink and for writers to report on issues they are connected to. However I absolutely should have disclosed my affiliation and I apologize.

We know, we know. Princeton is apathetic. Politically, we are unengaged. Well, Occupy Princeton doesn’t seem to have received the message. Having held General Assemblies on Frist North Lawn since November 17, they occupied JP Morgan/Chase and Goldman Sachs info sessions Wednesday and Thursday nights. Their message? That sending roughly 10% of our graduates into finance goes against our motto “in the nation’s service and service of all nations.”

Dressing in business attire, about 20 students infiltrated the two info sessions, looking like they were interested students. At the end of Wednesday’s session, senior Derek Gideon yelled “Mic check!” and followed with Occupy Princeton’s speech call-and-response style. Senior Sandra Mukasa led Thursday’s mic check.

In an email sent to Occupy Princeton after the Wednesday info session, Derek told the occupiers who had been unable to attend:

The mic check at the end was awesome- the look of shock on their faces was priceless, especially as we all walked out and they realized more than half of us were protestors- and then I heard the woman leading the session declare, “Well, it’s getting close to 7…”

Though they realize they are unlikely to change the minds of anyone at the info sessions, Occupy Princeton hopes to start a discussion on campus by disrupting and bringing publicity to the info sessions. Occupiers told the Prince:

“Our goal is to open up a discussion at the University level,” said Luciana Chamorro ’12 …. “The idea is that it will spread.”

“My personal goal is to raise awareness,” occupier Robert Joyce ’13 said. “We’re young. These are some formative years. We’re around very smart people and this is our chance to challenge our views.”

The question is, on a campus known for its political apathy, will they get a positive response? Though, with about 50 people in the group, I guess they’ve proved that we’re not all Whitney Blodgetts.

The next General Assembly is Tuesday. Find the words from the mic checks after the jump.

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Dec 9, 2011

Occupy Princeton Mic Checks JP Morgan/Chase and Goldman Sachs

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Last Friday, when the Occupy the Highway march came through Princeton, freshman Whitney Blodgett yelled four simple words:“We’re the 1 percent!” It was an almost painful caricature of the apathetic and elitist Princeton student. But as if on cue, Occupy Princeton held its first General Assembly this afternoon on Frist North Lawn. It turns out, there are some radicals in our midst.

IMG_0120

Over 50 students — undergraduates and grad students — as well as a Princeton High School student and an adult community member gathered in front of Frist (watch the videos here) at 4:30. Here are some key quotes:

“We have no leader. Everyone is equal in being able to describe how they feel and how they can take action” — Edna Bonhomme, grad student

“This is our time to stand in solidarity and proudly engage in peaceful civil disobedience.” — Polly Korbel, junior

“Growing up we were taught to question everything except our right to positions of power…. There is this perception that because we are very smart and work hard, we deserve more. All of us at Princeton have extraordinary privilege, whether we were born with it or not. I ask you, does a Princeton degree really make you better?” — Brandon Davis, junior

“I am so happy to see you all here tonight after two years of being on this campus and feeling like I was the only one who cared.” — Polly Korbel, junior

Student after student spoke to voice their concerns about:IMG_0123

  • economic inequality
  • treatment of University workers such as janitors
  • the University’s investment in HEI Hotels & Resorts, which has been accused of abusing its workers
  • immigration and the lack of financial aid for undocumented students (support the Dream Act here)
  • LGBTQ rights and the need to extend gender neutral housing beyond Spelman
  • human trafficking
  • environmental injustice
  • the criminal justice system
  • the lack of a support group on campus for survivors of sexual assault

The rest of the world may see Princeton as part of the 1% and we certainly do create our share of Ibankers. But we are home to the 99% as well. The next General Assembly will be Tuesday.

Nov 18, 2011

Occupy Princeton No Longer Remains Silent

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Other than the occasional high-profile arrest of a professor, Princeton hasn’t seemed all that gripped by the “Occupy” movements. In Cambridge, Harvard has restricted access to the Yard over “security concerns” raised by Occupy Harvard; so far no tent cities have sprung up in front of Nassau Hall. There isn’t much immediacy to the movement here on campus in central New Jersey; it’s something that’s happening out there, somewhere else.

Well, that changed for a little while on Friday night, as the “Occupy the Highway” march came through our secluded glen, Washington Post reporter in tow, on their way down to D.C. They were met by erudite, thoughtful students who shared their divergent views on economic theory and philosophy with the protestors.

Just kidding.

The conflagration began after Princeton student Whitney Blodgett started to yell at the marchers as they passed by the bar. “We’re the 1 percent!” Blodgett yelled at them, laughing and making a thumbs up sign. “Get a job!” his friends yelled in chorus.

Alcohol. Freshmen. Pseudonyms. (The reporter was initially given the name “Whetney Brockton.”) Light jeering. Yup, those are all the elements I would want present for the lead anecdote about Princeton students’ views on the Occupy movement. Fortunately, the Post was able to get a different student viewpoint, too. What did this other student, incidentally also a freshman and, according to the Post, the only person to show up in support of the march, have to say about the general sentiment on campus?

“That’s what happens when you come to a campus of ibankers,” the student, who did not give her name, said. “Princeton students are benefitting from this system, so why would they protest?”

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Nov 15, 2011

Wonder What Princeton Thinks About OWS? (Or, “Ask a Freshman” with The Washington Post)

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Amateur Paparazzi on the Nassau St. CVS

CVS on Nassau Street: Where civil rights figures get their cough drops.

Apparently, Dr. West is back in Princeton, after getting arrested on Sunday for protesting on the steps of the Supreme Court in DC as part of the Occupy movement.(Certainly, not the first time this G’s been behind bars). No charges were pressed, but I’m guessing he’s lying low in Princeton for the time being.

West, who’s been on leave from his teaching post at Princeton this semester, has been very vocal about his support for Occupy Wall Street.

Without getting into a whole kerfuffle about #Occupy and the 99%–for interested students, Princeton’s ACLU is holding an event: #OccupyWallStreet: An Examination next Tuesday, October 25, at 4:30pm. Location: TBA– I will ask this: Is it just me, or does Cornel West only own one type of suit? Maybe he didn’t have time to change since his arrest.

Oct 18, 2011

Cornel West: Out of Jail and in CVS

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