News
NESCAC News
By Min Sohn '15
October 6, 2011
Last Saturday, five Wesleyan students along with 700 other protesters from the “Occupy Wall Street” protest were arrested by the New York City Police Department. Thousands of protesters have gathered in New York City since Sept. 17 for this movement against the current financial system. An expression of frustration as well as a demand for change, the movement itself is “leaderless;” decisions must be agreed upon unanimously by a group of protesters who have named themselves the “New York City General Assembly.”
The Wesleyan Argus reported that the march began around 3 p.m. and there was a constant police presence as the protesters exited their “headquarters” at Zuccotti Park and approached Brooklyn Bridge. Once protesters blocked all three lanes of traffic, police started arresting protesters one-by-one before they started “kittling,” detaining crowds of people within the confines of an orange net. This created unnecessary chaos among the many protesters who were not seriously expecting a confrontation with the police. There were instances of unnecessary use of force by the police, and many protesters who were walking on the sidewalk recorded videos for YouTube, including the viral video of a police officer pepper spraying non-violent protesters.
All the people in the nets were charged with disorderly conduct before being ushered into transit provided buses. One student told the Wesleyan Argus that the atmosphere of the bus ride was “jovial” citing the friendly demeanor of most of the cops and the many songs sung by the arrestees before the police found a place to keep them for the night. All students came out of this experience with an even stronger conviction to stay involved and believe that this incident will only increase the protesters’ overall commitment.
In reaction to racially charged comments posted anonymously on Colgate University’s student-run weekly publication website, Maroon-News.com, a group of students has formed and is now demanding changes to Colgate’s “Policy on Bias-Related Conduct.” Led by junior Samuel Spitz and seniors Yasmin Mannan and Trinel Torian, they call themselves “Students Demanding Change.”
As Spitz told Maroon News, their goal is to provide “a coalition of student that no longer wish to be invisible. Who no longer will keep silent about the abuses they endure.”
These students hope to use the Colgate’s point system and add a five-point penalty to any student who violates this policy along with, as the Maroon News reports, “suspension from all student organizations and groups for a variable time period,” among other restrictions.
Members of “Students Demanding Change” have met with President Jeffery Herbst who promised that there will be actions but admitted that there was nothing he could immediately solve.
Additionally, the members brought their proposal to the Student Government Association (SGA) in what, according to the Maroon News, SGA President Michael Miller described as a “conversation that needed to happen.” Miller ensured that a policy “will come in time.” These students are proud of their efforts and believe they will be a continual force on their campus.