This press release was written by the student groups in Boston that stand in solidarity with the Occupy Boston group in Dewey Square.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Victoria Porell, 602-999-7312, toriporell@gmail.com
Occupy Boston Gains Student Solidarity
The students of Boston convened Thursday night to plan together and decide how to most effectively leverage their power and resources in solidarity with the Occupy Boston movement. In the same process that Occupy Boston has utilized, a General Assembly where all decisions are made collectively, the students solidified a plan to march on Monday October 10 at 1:30 pm from Boston Common. About 10 area schools were represented and the group hashed out how systems of communication will function within the group and between campuses. At the Monday march, over 1000 students are expected from 17 area colleges and universities.
Historically, social movements have employed the energy, passion and vision of society’s disenfranchised youth. Students and young people today are an increasingly disappointed and discontent population of the 99% of the United States not served by the current economic system. “We pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to an education industry that continues to mimic the irresponsible, unaccountable, and unethical financial practices of Wall Street. University presidents make $500,000 or more for doing so, campus workers are paid poverty wages and students graduate with outrageous amounts of student debt, in a hostile economic climate, with few job opportunities” said one Northeastern University student.
This generation now has the opportunity to stand together with students across the country to exercise their democratic rights, leverage their power as students and change the status quo. With the world’s eyes upon them, the Occupy movement is challenging the existing economic and political system. Occupy Boston is the beginning of an ongoing discussion about the problems with America’s economic system and how it has damaged government and the fabric of society as a whole.
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For more information visit http://collegesoccupyboston.com
20 Responses to “Occupy Boston Students Speak Out”
Great! Can you please post the schedule in advance (just a little) for each day for the general public too – so we who want to join for the marches can plan ahead to be there?
We’re working to keep things as up to date as possible. The Media and Logistics teams are frequently busy with other matters, though, so help organizing and publishing detailed schedules is appreciated.
If you write well and know your way around a Google Doc and WordPress blog, get yourself to the Media tent in camp and see if you can help
Way to passive. SPEAK UP AND OUT!!!!
I must disagree with you there, as a press release this is fantastic. Crisp, concise and full of facts.
“University presidents make $500,000 or more for doing so”
NEU i20,000 students, 8 colleges, a $570m endowment, and with some conservative back of the envelope math north of $600m in annual revenue. To get someone with the experience and talent to run that kind of organization it takes money. I am personally of the opinion that more half a million is warranted for that kind of responsibility. Keep in mind the average compensation of a CEO on the S&P500 is in the neighborhood of $11m. Then again you fools probably take issue with that too..
“campus workers are paid poverty wages”
If you did your research you’d find many of them are in fact not making “poverty wages” and actually have some nice benefits their oh-so-wonderful unions negotiated for them.
“students graduate with outrageous amounts of student debt, in a hostile economic climate, with few job opportunities” said one Northeastern University student.”
Go to a state school or smaller less known school and get an education for $6k/year instead of NEU at $35k/year. It was you who 1)chose to go to college and 2)chose to go to a high end private college. There is nothing wrong with that, but it was a personal choice. Don’t bitch about paying for it. Also, maybe run a cost/benefit analysis and have reasonable expectations of your future earnings potential. I know your guidance counselor and your parents told you to do what you love, and I know you love drum circles and 1840’s Romanian Lit., but these things will probably not pay off the $150,000 education you took out on them.
I fully agree that anyone who chooses a private school over a state school and then gripes about their student loan has no leg to stand on. But that is not the whole issue. As a neuropsychologist I see high school students who can not afford to attend state schools. Regarding the compensation of college presidents and CEOs, it is nonsense that they deserve and nonsense that their institutions must pay at such high rates.
By any reasonable standard, Nobel Prize winners both provide more value to society, have more highly developed skills and are rarer than CEOs, yet Cal Berkeley pays Nobel Prize winning faculty under $300,000 per year. I certainly do not believe that corporate CEOs should make millions per year – and many shareholders agree. There is a movement to allow shareholders to vote on these obscene salaries.
For a wealth of info on university salaries see:
http://open.salon.com/blog/daveintokyo/2011/01/20/how_much_does_a_nobel_laureate_make
The obscene compensation paid to S&P 500 CEOs is no justification for any other overpriced compensation for those at the top of the food chain. Get a clue and keep your Republicant logic to yourself.
I thought we weren’t discriminating against anyone here–republicans included?
Dear Personalchoicefail,
For many people, college is not only a degree, but building connections to gain better opportunities. These connections are endowed to the 1%, but the 99% needs create them. College does this. In fact, for many liberal arts degrees, the connections you make in your field are more important than the degree it’s self. Boston is rich with these connections, however there is only one public university in Boston, UMass Boston. It is located in Dorchester and has zero on campus housing. I’m sure its a great school, but it simply does not offer the opportunities that Northeastern, and other Boston universities do.
Maybe in your benefits analysis there should also include the ability to become employed. I recently graduated from Northeastern (in May), and yes I am in debt. But I also had a job before I graduated. I’m looking for a job that is better suited to the grad school program of my choice. I’ve recently sent out about 15 resumes and have already had 3 interviews. This is mostly to do with Northeastern’s co-op program. I even had one company tell me that I was the only person from the class of 2011 interviewed, because I was the only one that had enough experience.
Keeping opportunities and connections of the “high end private colleges” to those who can afford the $45,000 tuition (you were low for both state and public school tuition), only increases the disparity between the classes.
Also, just so you know, at Northeastern, there is a history of standing by the campus workers. When I started there, the “nice benefits” of Northeastern janitors only included 2 sick days per year. Northeastern students rallied with them to improved their contract in a campaign called justice for janitors.
Sincerely,
Hilary
(and if you want to stir up controversy/agitate people by saying that they are fools for thinking CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies should be paid $11 mil/year the least you could do is sign your name to it)
remember, don’t feed the trolls.
Hmm since we’re onto critical reasoning, how about an ad hominen.
For public considertion: “Then again you fools probably take issue with that too..” attributed to PersonalChoiceFail earlier in this conversation comprises an ad-hominem attack.
I’m more persuaded by the opposing views that PCF.
I’m not feeding anything. I’m just sayin’
FYI: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2798289/posts
“For many people, college is not only a degree, but building connections to gain better opportunities. These connections are endowed to the 1%, but the 99% needs create them. College does this. In fact, for many liberal arts degrees, the connections you make in your field are more important than the degree it’s self. ”
So you’re spending tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to network, and the knowledge and lessons learned are secondary? If these connections are “endowed” to the one percent, inherently? Or because the rich talk to the rich? So you have to spend money on an overpriced college to be able to speak to the rich and powerful you so intensely detest? I am truly confused. If you want to talk to rich people go spend a couple bucks at the Abe and Louie’s bar and you’ll find a connection for fractions of the price.
“Boston is rich with these connections, however there is only one public university in Boston, UMass Boston. It is located in Dorchester and has zero on campus housing. I’m sure its a great school, but it simply does not offer the opportunities that Northeastern, and other Boston universities do. ”
This is premised on the fact that the only reason one goes to school is the connections. I very smart professor at my very cheap state college told me your education is what you put into it–whether Harvard or UMass. Your insistence that this is not true is a slap in the face to the “99%” you pretend to represent and betrays your true elitism.
“Maybe in your benefits analysis there should also include the ability to become employed. I recently graduated from Northeastern (in May), and yes I am in debt. But I also had a job before I graduated. I’m looking for a job that is better suited to the grad school program of my choice. I’ve recently sent out about 15 resumes and have already had 3 interviews. This is mostly to do with Northeastern’s co-op program. I even had one company tell me that I was the only person from the class of 2011 interviewed, because I was the only one that had enough experience. ”
I’m not sure what you’re trying to say here. Sounds like you are doing ok. I am in a similar situation. Not bitching about paying for school.
“Keeping opportunities and connections of the “high end private colleges” to those who can afford the $45,000 tuition (you were low for both state and public school tuition), only increases the disparity between the classes.”
The connections you make are on you. Trust me, you don’t need to pay $45k/year for them. Look up Bridgewater State’s tuition. $7k/year–I was off but doesn’t change my argument.
“(and if you want to stir up controversy/agitate people by saying that they are fools for thinking CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies should be paid $11 mil/year the least you could do is sign your name to it)”
I’d prefer to keep my name out of the public view. I’d be happy to have an e-mail conversation, if you leave your contact I will gladly reply with my genuine address privately.
On what basis does who expect over 1000 students?
“I am personally of the opinion that more half a million is warranted for that kind of responsibility.”
Heh. An argumentum ad populum where the populum is one.
The premise of an ad populum fallacy is many believe something.
The qualifier ‘where the populum is one’ is a clue, but perhaps I should draw you a picture with crayons instead.
Oh, by the way:
“Hmm since we’re onto critical reasoning, how about an ad hominen [sic].”
Calling you a troll is not an ad hominem fallacy. It is simply an insult.
You do not understand what an ad hominem fallacy is. Therefore, I can dismiss the unrelated remainder of your argument!
Perhaps useful to think about how activist students have articulated their grievances & critiques re: the University of California system. UC activists are a dynamic, experienced group who’ve published a lot of smart material, so worth seeing what they have to say, so we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Lots of good stuff out there, but here’s a downloadable pamphlet on the politics of student debt ~~ http://www.reclamationsjournal.org/current.html. Others who can share links about the corporatization of the university, debt & reclamation, student activism — do so! I’d like to know how folks understand the difference between these issues for private & public universities.
Regardless of students’ specific financial and institutional situations, I absolutely do believe in our RIGHT and our RESPONSIBILITY to march, protest, make a spectacle, appear in solidarity with the other occupy movements, demand the separation of corporation and state, and imagine and begin to create new communities and institutions that positively challenge capitalist market practices.
Hey MORONS, if you want money, go make it like REAL PEOPLE…dumbasses!
on October 11th, 2011 at 12:29 pm #
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