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A discussion held at City College this past week focused on an academic discussion of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Story and photos by Marisol Rodríguez
Just over two months have passed since the Occupy Wall Street movement (OWS) encamped at Zuccotti Park, and many have weighed in on the movement.
The discussion took an academic, and uptown, turn this past Tues., Nov. 22nd at The City College of New York, with a recent forum sponsored by the university’s Prisoner Justice Club and Law and Government Society.
Composed of five City College professors from City College and another from The New School and Columbia University, the discussion touched on the diversity of the OWS movement, its fundamental goals, and its future.
City College Political Science Professor Daniel DiSalvo opened with his observations on who the OWS protestors are: “young people with lots of loans, government employees, celebrities, free loaders, the homeless and some of the disturbed,” he said.
Offering statistics from an uncited survey, DiSalvo also broke down the demographics of the protestors: “a third under the age of 35, mostly male and white, and only 15 percent claimed to be unemployed.”
The conversation also touched on the lack of a clear or focused message, an aspect of the movement that has been criticized by many. But most of the professors on the panel lauded it as smart strategy.
“Those who say the movement needs a ‘clearer’ focus miss the point of why it maybe shouldn’t,” said Political Science Professor Michael Busch, who contended that the protestors’ fundamental objection to corporate greed has been a means of bringing a large group of people together.
“It allows for a tremendous amount of space to share grievances,” Busch said.
Professor Gregory Baggett, who has previously taught at the New School and Columbia University, and is now a Black Studies professor at City College, also recognized the advantage in the movement’s amorphous nature.
Baggett, who admitted to being quite a shopper, recounted bumping into an OWS protest while leaving the Prada store in SoHo and joining the marchers as they walked to Washington Square Park with his shopping bags from high-end retail shops.
Baggett spoke of the difference of OWS to other social justice movements that may not have accepted protestors that don not fit a certain model, notably people who can afford to shop at Prada. He said he didn’t anticipate marching that day, but felt comfortable in joining the group.
“There is an open enough space that you can accidently fall in,” he said of OWS.
Baggett also compared OWS to Bacon’s Rebellion, which attracted all classes of people, including slaves, indentured servants and the gentry, and sparked the American Revolution.
Black Studies Professor Herb Boyd was unclear if the lack of focus of OWS would be a “blessing or a curse” to the movement, but did highlight the Civil Rights movement, in which he claimed to be an active participant, as a period for protestors to examine and learn from.
“You want to get their attention; you hit them in the pocketbook,” said Boyd.
Some have suggested that the mass closings of banking accounts at Chase Bank are evidence of this trend, arguing that the subsequent decision of Bank of America and SunTrust Banks to end monthly account charges were in response to patrons’ vocal displeasure, as bolstered by OWS.
The professors also claimed the influence OWS has had in “reinvigorating” mass protect action.
Political Science Department Chair at City College John Krinsky made specific reference to the impact OWS has had on the labor movement, noting that OWS has pushed labor leaders to greater militancy, and has provided support for worker’s strikes and walk outs.
Professor DiSalvo was the sole professor that voiced a strong level of doubt of the impact and sustainability of OWS, characterizing the movement as “a flash in the pan.”
He criticized the protestors for appearing not to know a lot about economics or American politicians, labeling “problematic” the angst of the so-called “99 percent” towards the “1 percent”.
“If all your problems stem from a small elite, solutions are going to be small,” said DiSalvo.
While none of the panelists offered specific strategies for OWS, Political Science Professor Marshall Berman did have a clear and direct message to the movement: “Make Wall Street pay.”
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