PAGE 2 11 WEDNESDAY. OCTOBER 12, 201 1
NEWS
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Elon students prepare to Occupy Wall Street
Caitlin O’Donnell
News Editor
Maggie Castor is hoping for the best,
but preparing for the worst.
"The chances are slim that one of us
would experience something like this,
but if I did get Maced on camera, the
conversations that it could spark would
be worth the pain of being Maced,” she
said.
The Elon University senior is one of
a group of students who is planning to
caravan to New York City this weekend
to participate in Occupy Wall Street,
demonstrations centered in the city's
Zuccotti Park but quickly popping up in
locations around the country. The loosely
organized movement is employing tactics
similar to those from the Arab Spring
uprisings to draw attention to corporate
greed and economic inequality.
“We are the 99 percent that will no
longer tolerate the greed and corruption
of the 1 percent,” Occupy Wall Street’s
website reads.
For junior Lauren Clapp, who is also
joining Elon's caravan, each participant
in the demonstrations has his or her own
personal reason for going.
“1 personally get really frustrated with
the fact that 1 don’t feel like we live in a real
democracy,” she said. “Corruption and
money are in our government and Wall
Street is in our government. It’s a really
great, inspiring way to raise awareness
and change it.”
Being in the 99 percent is the uniting
factor for Castor and many other
protesters who stand against the 1 percent
of people who have the most wealth. She
said she is particularly concerned with
the increasing burden of student loans.
“I just don’t think we really see this
type of action and people uniting in this
way across differences that often in the
United States,” Castor said. “To be able to
have that experience of direct democracy,
it’s not an opportunity that comes around
very often.”
Numerous media reports have
characterized the structure of the protests
as having the feel of a festival. Three
meals are served a day through donations
and, according to Castor, daily general
assembly meetings are used to prepare
declarations of the protester’s demands.
Workshops, a public library and a talent
show have also reportedly taken place.
“It’s similar to a festival atmosphere
with strong political dynamics to it, as
well,” Castor said. “It’s really important
that politics isn’t something that is an
aspect of our life that we isolate. I'm really
happy to see this as a movement that
integrates the community and politics
and recognizes how these factors impact
all areas of our life.”
Preliminary discussion of the Elon
students' involvement has included
preparations for the tense environment
they will be entering, including first aid
kits and facemasks to guard against
pepper spray.
“There hasn't been this big kind of a
sustained protest in quite some time,”
Castor said. “It’s not unsafe, but it’s a little
bit of a precarious situation.”
While interactions between police and
protestors on an individual level have
been relatively peaceful, Castor said the
actions of the police change in response
to large groups. There is some controversy
surrounding an Oct. 1 march on Brooklyn
Bridge, with some videos purporting to
show police leading the protesters onto
the bridge before subsequently arresting
them.
Thus far, mainstream media coverage
has been minimal. Castor, a self-described
activist, said she was surprised she did
not hear about the movement until it
had entered its 10th day. What has been
covered, she said, are instances of police
brutality.
“It’s an interesting scenario that we’re
in such a situation where the media is
not wanting to talk, for whatever reason,
about Occupy Wall Street,” she said. “But
we’re in a position where they have to talk
about it in some way. If we try to ignore
what’s happening, the only distractions
we come up with are also really crucial
issues.”
Reports of the atmosphere in New York
City have only intensified Clapp’s desire
to get involved.
“To see that many people involved, it
made me so excited to go and be a part
of the crowd with people who feel so
passionately about something that they
don’t care if they’re going to get arrested,”
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The Occupy Wall Street demonstrations have not been extensively followed by the mass media.
she said.
But the passion enveloping parts of
the world has yet to be grasped on Elon’s
campus, according to Clapp and Castor.
“I think it’s safe to make the
generalization that a lot of Elon students
are comfortable economically, though
not all,” Castor said. “So it may not be
something on their radar immediately.
If it continues to grow, I don’t know how
Elon would respond.”
Castor predicts some collaboration
between the protests and the Elon-
centered Not on our Campus movement,
both of which address issues of equality.
“I think since it’s not something so
immediate it may not affect most Elon
students, that’s why (most of us) are not
talking about it yet,” she said. “It may be
too soon to see if Elon students will talk
about it.”
While the exact impact of the
movement has yet to be determined,
Clapp said the situation cannot keep
escalating as it has without some sort of
direct result.
“I’m not sure if it will be change like in
Egypt or a smaller scale change,” she said.
“There have been lots of conversations
COURTESY OF MCTCAMPUS.COM
Many protesters are middle-class Americans.
with friends and learning from them and
their perspectives. Without this going on,
I wouldn’t be having those conversations."
Even a single reform would be enough
for Castor.
“1 would like to see reform with
student loans, a repeal on the rule that
corporations are people,” Castor said.
“Even if it didn’t meet all of the demands,
that would be a tremendous feat.”
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