“Mic check!”

“MIC CHECK!” the participants in the rally at Cornell University on Saturday echoed the familiar call of the people’s mic after several similar calls that day.

“Dance!”

With that, students from Cornell, Ithaca College, and members of the local grassroots Occupy Wall Street solidarity movement, all broke away from the narrow column they had marched in to dance freely on Ho Plaza before some joined together again to act out what students at Cornell and other Ivy Leagues call the “Ivy-Wall Street Pipeline.”

The Ivy-League Wall Street Pipeline, according to a mission statement handed out at the protest as well as read aloud by the participants, is the name given to a “system that funnels many of our country’s most well-educated individuals into financial jobs which reinforce and exacerbate rampant inequality, and moreover, which prevent the best and the brightest from working towards social justice and a sustainable future.”

Using a makeshift pipeline that they had carried on their march, the rally participants acted out the forcing of several students through the pipeline. Tom Moore, Cornell sophomore Religious Studies and Education student, carried a plunger, which he used during the skit to send fellow students down the ‘pipeline.’ (video below)

Reed Steberger, a senior Interdisciplinary Studies student at Cornell, further explained the symbolism of the skit.

“We had a pipeline… a mock pipeline. One side was Cornell, one side is Wall Street. And the idea is, you go through the Ivy-to-Wall Street pipeline. That’s what we saw today. That was like a manifestation of this pipeline. It gets brilliant, well-educated students, and just puts them into this socially unproductive part of our society that is geared only toward making profit to the detriment of 99% of our population. And, so, the symbolism was, the person with the plunger was acting as sort of like a Wall Street banker or the Cornell administration, some figure of authority who’s try to unclog the pipeline and just beat Cornell students through it to bolster our reputation or what not. So that’s the idea behind the plumber.”

The protest was held in response to the third annual “Work on Wall Street” Conference being held at the Statler Hotel that day. The networking event, hosted by the business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi, brings representatives from Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Citibank, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, and other financial institutions to campus to network with Cornell students.

Earlier in the afternoon, before the march to Ho Plaza, the participants in the protest stood in front of Statler Hotel a little after 2:30 pm, reading their mission statement while one group held up a banner stating “Stop the Cornell-Wall St. Pipeline/Choose the Right Occupation,” and another held a makeshift pipeline.

After reading their mission statement they chanted, “We are the 99%/So are you,” which became “Police are the 99%.”

As they marched through campus toward Ho Plaza, continuing to call out various chants, a police officer trailed them peacefully, calmly reminding them to stay on the sidewalk. The marchers paused briefly at the intersection across from Phillips Hall (Electrical & Computer Engineering) where they received a honk of approval accompanied by a thumbs-up from a man stopped in his vehicle.

Other chants included, “Stop the Pipeline/End the greed/Give the People what they need,” and

“Hey/Cornell/Don’t send our students to Wall Street Hell.”

Later that afternoon, following the march and the dance on Ho Plaza, Jacob Krell, Cornell graduate student in History, reflected on his own motivation for participating in the protest, noting that a business fraternity being able to bring Wall Street leaders to campus is in itself a poor reflection on the current political culture.

“The fact that a business fraternity could just bring a bunch of big guys from Wall Street down to say, ‘Here’s how you get to be like us,’ the idea that they could just do that and completely get away with it, I think [strikes] all of us as a little absurd and not the sort of intellectual climate we want to live in,” Krell said. “A lot of people should be held accountable. Accountability’s a big thing, a big buzzword right now. Wall Street should be held accountable. And people who do things with that little sort of thought about the social ramifications of their action — of the bigger picture — should be called out.”

Steberger said he hopes the Cornell movement, along with communication with other universities such as Harvard and Berkeley, can be a step toward spreading the conversation about the students’ role in building a better democracy.

“I wanted to help to create a space where we can engage in a larger public question about our political economy and address the very simple fact — the very fundamental fact — that the way things are, are not the way things need to be,” Steberger said. “The painful inequality that’s affecting the hard-working, caring, loving people is not something we have to sit down and abide with.”

Tom Moore, soft-spoken and wearing a nametag from the Delta Sigma Pi event, talked about how he and other members of the protest had registered for the networking event so they could go in and hand out pamphlets advocating for the protesters’ cause. The pamphlets, designed to look like they came from the event itself, said, described Wall Street as “more than just a pay check,” but also the “socioeconomic oppression of the mass majority of Americans,” and “perpetuating the defining oppression of our age,” Moore described.

He said that while there was a fair amount of security keeping the protesters at bay, they were still able to distribute their pamphlets.

Moore acknowledged the criticism that the Occupy movement receives for lacking a particular direction, admitting that he is not always comfortable echoing every chant sang out during marches. But at the same time, he feels the purpose behind Saturday’s protest embodied a unified value among Cornell’s members of the movement.

“Obviously, it’s a lot of people with diverse interests and diverse points of view, so it’s often hard to find a rallying call,” Moore said. “There’s not a whole lot that we all agree on. But this is one thing that we all could really agree on: That we’re not ok with Cornell funneling people into corporate finance.”

The Occupy movement at Cornell holds its general assemblies every Friday at 4:30 p.m. on Ho Plaza.

Photos:

Participants in the protest read their mission statement out side of Statler Hotel a little after 2:30 pm Saturday.

Participants marched to Ho Plaza before breaking into a dance.

They held up their banner again on Ho Plaza.

Cornell students act out forcing their fellow students through the pipeline.

To see the rest of the photos I took at this event, click here.

I very briefly visited Washington Square Park in Rochester on the day after the arrests of 32 protesters who refused to leave the park after the 11:00 pm curfew. A release on the Occupy Rochester website had called for a rally in defense of free speech at 6:30 pm.

When I was there at approximately 5 pm, there were only about 10 people, but according to the Facebook group, there were about 45 people by about 8 pm.

I first spoke with Mike Doody, who came in support from Manchester, NY. He said he came out to show his support at Rochester, about a 40 minute drive away, because he projects that a larger crowd that a city is capable of producing might draw more attention than groups of only a few people gathering in small towns.

He took the time to talk to me about what attracted him to the Occupy movement, noting that the movement is not about people complaining that they do not make enough money, a myth that he feels media coverage promotes, but about grievances with the way the political system works.

Similar to others I have spoken to, he cited his main grievance to be a situation where corporations are given the same rights as people, and his main focus to be the “elimination of corporate personhood.”

Most of the issues people are concerned with, whether it is the financial situation, the wealth disparity, or genetically modified foods, Doody said, can all be drawn back to corporations having the same rights as individuals, such as through campaign donations and the help of mainstream media influencing elections. In effect, policies are created for the interests of corporations instead of the people voting, he said, calling this system “undemocratic.”

As well as oil companies and financial institutions, he also cited Monsanto as an offender.

I asked a protester who identified himself as Danny, of Rochester, why they decided to actually occupy Rochester, instead of only holding general assemblies and regular protests, such as in Ithaca. He said it is because Rochester is the location of several corporate headquarters.

I also talked to one of the dubbed “police liasons” who interacted with the police during the arrests Friday night. He identified himself as John, of Rochester, and noted that he is “not here for the cause,” but “here for the safety of the people.”

He stood on the sidewalk outside of the park while the arrests were taking place, relaying messages between the protesters and the police after protesters refused to leave the park after the 11 pm curfew.

John noted that most people don’t understand that the police officers would likely join the protests if they could.

He said he told the police that while he himself was not refusing their request to exit the park, he would not leave the area until either the law enforcement left, or everyone was arrested. He noted that one girl, who had been in the park with her sleeping bag, was arrested after the police told the media teams that they could leave and that the arrests were complete.

People returned to the park that morning at 5 am, John said. By 9 am, he knew of 23 of those arrested who had been bailed out.

For updates on Occupy Rochester, follow the movement on Twitter or Facebook. They also have a website at OccupyRochester.org.

View of Washington Square Park from far back, circa 5:30 pm:

Some signs:

I recently made it to Zuccotti Park in New York City, where I was able to take pictures and talk to several people at the encampment. Below are pictures as well as a description of my conversations with them.

There are obviously people of all different backgrounds from all different places at the park, so this small number I spoke to is in no way meant to be any type of broad representation of the entire crowd. This is just a small number of individuals who I had approached and were willing to engage in some brief, informal discourse with me.

The first person I spoke to was Khorey, age 20, of Brooklyn, who — though he does not describe himself as formally religious — started a Bible working group on October 19. The Bible, he said, is a book of stories, and people need stories. The group meets regularly at 6 pm to discuss stories from the Bible and apply them to the work they are doing at the Occupy protest.

When I asked him for an example, he referred to the Law of Attraction in Genesis, and how you can attract everything that happens to you. It can be related to what he is doing at Occupy, he said, because if he is out there everyday, maybe he will attract more people to join.

Khorey said he would eventually like to become an EMT.

Ryan Jackson, age 18, (on the right, holding the sign) of Staten Island was the next person I spoke to. I tossed a small amount of change into a donation cup next to the group with whom he was sitting. At one point while I was talking to him, a few professionally-dressed women came over and brought them socks.

Ryan and the other members of the group talked about continuing to occupy even after having items stolen — including an expensive laptop. When I asked Ryan about his hopes for the future, he said he wants to be comfortable and not have to worry about money so much. He said he first had to start thinking about the cost of rent at age 11, when his father lost his job at the Plaza hotel.

Barry, 30, (far left) originally of Texas, hitchhiked to New York from Tennessee. He said he made the trip up to support the movement as a way to honor his father, who recently passed away.

As it says on the sign, he is currently collecting donations for a bus ride back to Knoxville, Tennessee where he has a packaging job, which he describes as “not a superb job but a job.”

However, he describes himself as a tattoo artist, which is how he previously made a living in Texas.

The next person I spoke with was Zach Cheney, who came to the protest from New Orleans. He said he has been waiting for a movement like this for a long time.

When I asked him about his sign, which reads: “When Did Campaign Finance Reform Mean Corporations Get to BUY Our Leaders?” he said it refers to the people not having a vote anymore when it comes to their leaders due to campaign contributors during elections.

He proposed a few solutions, such as shortening the campaign season from the current 2 years, and not only capping donation amounts, but restricting them to coming from “flesh and blood” contributors, as opposed to corporations.

While there are not as many perspectives associated with the Occupy movement in the south, Zach said he is glad to see some people in the country the way he does. He said he hopes to bring this movement back to the south when he returns.

I next spoke with a representative from Coaching Visionaries, who had a booth set up at the encampment. I regretfully do not have the name of the man I spoke with (in the photo, on the right).

He stressed was that the coaching they do has nothing to do with advising or telling someone specifically what to do. Instead, they work on helping people find their own strengths, and how best they can be applied to the movement. To assess their strengths, people can fill out a form that asks questions such as (I took this directly off of the handout), “What really excites you and gets you fired up about Occupy Wall Street?” and “How do you envision a role or possibility for yourself within the movement?” before attending a free session with a volunteer professional life coach.

Just as I was leaving the booth, a girl approached the representative I spoke with, saying she felt “frazzled” because she needed help finding specific ways to apply herself to the movement. The representative gladly offered assistance.

I saw Seth, 16, of Queens, standing with a sign that referenced education, and was instantly intrigued.

I asked her about her sign, which reads, “If Education is [image of a Key], then Why are there no [image of a Door]s?”

She said it refers to how “society puts education on a pedestal, but makes it virtually impossible” to obtain. Then when you leave, she added, you are in debt but making a salary that is less than the cost of your student loans.

Currently a high school senior, she is applying to colleges and looking to study either creative writing or graphic design. She said she has noticed that most financial help is in the form of loans as opposed to grants or scholarships.

She suggested that the financial aspect of education should go back to how it was in the 1960s.

I spoke with Taha, 34 (in the photo, on the right), a landlord who lives in downtown Manhattan, after having to wait for others to finish asking him about his sign, which read:
“99%
+ 1%
100%
We are all
= ONE”

When I spoke with him, he told me that his sign represents an inclusive message, reminding us that we are all part of a whole, and that the movement is not an animosity thing.

He said his parents came from Egypt and achieved the American Dream” after coming to the United States. The American Dream, he said, has become an “illusion,” and needs to be brought back.

He compared corporate influence to an “institutionalized”, or “legalized form of bribery.”

Taha openly admitted being in the top 2-4% (he said he can not be sure the exact percentages). A woman rallying next to him, who bore a pin in support of Troy Davis, said that while she too is in the top percentages, she had been telling others not to ‘out her.’

“I’m not as brave,” she said.

To see the rest of the photos I took that day, click here.

Thank you to everyone who spoke with me. If anyone who has their conversation posted here feels uncomfortable and would like it taken down, feel free to contact me. - gmangiaratti[at]gmail.com

REBLOG of:
westandwiththe99percent:

College graduate by 19. Masters degree by 22. I own 2 companies, 3 cars and make a quarter million a year on my own, with zero assistance. I have a negligible amount of debt, excellent health insurance and my son has never felt what it’s like to “need” anything. I am the 1%, and I don’t mind paying more in taxes. I stand with the 99%.

On Tuesday, October 18, at the noon hour between classes, Ithaca College held its first General Assembly (G.A.) meeting as part of a movement in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street Protests. The meeting was held near the academic quad at the center of campus.

The gathering was led by facilitators Gabriel Alvarez-Millard (‘12) and Alec Mitchell (‘13) and followed a similar format to the general assemblies held in Dewitt Park. The meeting began with a demonstration of the hand signals used at Wall Street, and a declaration that everyone’s voice would be heard equally. The facilitators noted that different people can lead the general assembly each time.

Alvarez-Millard noted that while the group was smaller than had appeared at the walkout last week, it likely consisted of the people who would be serious about taking action. He said that while it may not be feasible for college students to put the same time and organization as is going on in New York City, he encourages everyone to be involved in any way they can.

Rides to the occupation at Wall Street will be coordinated through Facebook.

The next step in the meeting was to introduce working groups. Alvarez-Millard introduced a donations working group. This group will organize donations such as sleeping bags and gear to aid when the weather gets colder. Allison Currier (‘14), a member of the donations group, noted a possibility of donation boxes around campus that will be driven down to the city each weekend.

Mitchell proposed the facilitators working group, which would allow others to learn how to facilitate general assemblies. He also brought up the possibility of, if after becoming comfortable leading a G.A. here, leading one in the city — which could be in front of 2,000 people.

Ren Ostry proposed a liason working group that would open communication among the G.A.s at Ithaca College, Cornell University and the Ithaca (town) G.A. She said she hopes to eventually start a national college liason working group.

Other working groups proposed were a research working group, which would research current issues, propose solutions, and raise awareness, and a media working group, which would work toward keeping the movement “viral.” Media working group organizer Hana Raskin (‘12) said one plan is to get together and write Op-eds.

The facilitators agreed to continue holding general assemblies on campus at the same time each week.

Alec Mitchell (‘13) (center), addresses the attendees at the general assembly.

View of the general assembly from farther back near the academic quad.

On Saturday, October 15, the Global Day of action, about 300 people showed up to “Occupy Binghamton,” a protest that is part of a grassroots movement organized by a large group of people, including Binghamton University, Broome Community College, and the union AFO-CIO. The event began at the park located at the corner of Court St. and State St. in Binghamton, where participants gathered to hold signs for an hour before having a general assembly and citizen speak out.

Cars passing by honked their approval. Some participants could be overheard remarking to each other, “Don’t honk, join us.”

Stuart, a student at Broome Community College, showed up at the gathering with a small American flag, which he held in lieu of a sign for the early part of the event. He told me he brought the flag in response to comments that the Occupy movement is “unAmerican,” and that everyone in it is simply “against capitalism,” when the movement is really a call to address corruption across the board and hold the “country’s best interests at heart,” he said.

Two police officers stood nearby but did not interfere. A young woman held a sign stating, “They are also the 99%” with an arrow pointing in the officers’ direction.

During the first citizen speak out, William Huston of Binghamton reinforced the ideas of compassion and nonviolence.

He commented on the popular Guy Fawkes masks worn by members of Anonymous that have been appearing at Occupy movements nationally.

Echoed by the People’s Mic, Huston expressed his concerns about the wearing of the masks.

“I want to say, I don’t understand this. Guy Fawkes, I must tell you, was a bomber and an assassin,” Huston said. “Violence is unnecessary. The principles that I am fighting are nonviolence and compassion. We need to drop our resentments of all people. And we must work for the common good.”

Still, Guy Fawkes masks continued to be worn by several participants through the rest of the event.

The gathering had attracted people of all ages and statuses. The speak out illustrated how they are all affected as part of the 99% in different but similar ways.

Mik, a “suburban stay-at-home mom,” encouraged people to reach out to other members of the ninety-nine percent who were from a different “walk of life.”

“I’m really fortunate to be able to be a stay-at-home mom,” she said. “We’ve decided that that’s what’s best for our kids, and I’m probably a dying breed. People can’t afford to do this anymore. So what I would say to you guys is don’t talk to the people who look the same as you. Walk around and find someone who looks like they’re from a different walk of life. Talk to them; they’re part of the ninety-nine too. We’re all in the same boat. Some parts of it might be a little lower in the water than others, but it all going to sink if we don’t do something.”

Nico, who opened his speech stating that he has both a history degree and a teaching license but no job, said he was recently diagnosed with Brugada syndrome after he collasped Thursday while at training for a job and was rushed to the ER, where he was kept overnight.

He left the hospital Friday morning — against medical advice — because he had to go back to work to afford the hospital stay, he said.

“I don’t know about you — it seems kind of fucked up to me that I had to do that,” he said.

Two Vestal girls, aged sixteen and seventeen, talked about recent budget cuts at their school.

“I know that Vestal is considered rich, but teachers have been laid off — one I know who is a substitute now,” one of the girls said. “I have to admit I am scared for my future, and [that of] others’ who I know. I think that the future might look up if any of this helps at all.”

Following the speak out, the gathering went on a march through downtown, participants holding their signs and chanting as the walked. They briefly paused in front of the post office on Henry Street before walking back to the park. Having gained momentum, participants again held signs, attracting many honks from cars passing by. Their chant, “We are the 99 percent,” at one point became, “You are the 99 percent.”

The meeting ultimately reached the front of the court house on Court St., where participants held another citizen speak out, then broke off to exchange contact information, a step toward forming working groups for the local movement.

At the time, there did not seem to be a unanimous decision on whether or not they will occupy Binghamton the way protestors occupy Zuccotti Park in New York City. One participant suggested that they should not “rush into occupation,” as Binghamton does not have the same layout or facilities as New York City. Another participant emphasized the importance of forming working groups as a way to keep the movement going forward: whether or not they have a continuous occupation like Zuccotti Park, or come back once or twice each week, he said.

There is another general assembly planned for Monday, October 17, at the same park where today’s protest took place at the corner of Court St. and State St., also dubbed “Binghamton’s Liberty Park.”

UPDATE: As of about 9:30pm Saturday, there are occupiers camping out in the park, according to the Occupy Binghamton’s Facebook page.

Photos (click on any to see in full size):

Participants in the event rallying in the park at the corner of Court St. and State St.

View of the park from farther back.

Participants erect the sign that reads “I am the 99% + so are u.” It was later placed on the steps of the court house.

The arrow was pointed toward two police officers.

Protesters marched to the post office on Henry St.

The protesters gathered in front of the court house.

View of the protesters at the court house from farther back.

To see the rest of the pictures I took at this event, click here.

I know it’s a bit off-topic but I found this very powerful…

iambradleymanning:

Daniel Ellsberg

I was the Bradley Manning of my day. In 1971 I too faced life (115 years) in prison for exposing classified government lies and crimes.  President Obama says “the Ellsberg material was classified on a different basis.”  True. The Pentagon Papers were not Secret like the Wikileaks revelations, they were all marked Top Secret—Sensitive.

Ultimately all charges in my case were dropped because of criminal governmental misconduct toward me during my proceedings.  Exactly the same outcome should occur now, in light of the criminal conditions of Manning’s confinement for the last six months.

On Thursday, October 13, Ithaca College joined an Occupy Wall Street movement with over ninety-two other colleges, with close to 200 students as well as some faculty participating in a walk out at 4:30 pm.

Students marched around the academic quad carrying signs similar to those held by protesters at the rally on the Commons last Wednesday. Some were more specific to how the current financial situation relates to students, such as a sign that read, “Thanks for the diploma… now what about my loans?” Chants included, “Hey hey, ho ho, corporate greed has got to go,” “United we stand, divided we fall,” and “Tell me what democracy looks like; this is what democracy looks like.”

The event followed with a series of speakers who spoke at Free Speech Rock in front of the campus center. The first speaker was Ithaca College Politics Professor Tom Shevory, who talked about the history that led the current situation. Occupy Wall Street, Shevory said, is filling a “political vacuum” where political leaders have not held investment bankers accountable for their actions that have led to the crash of the banking system as well as vast inequalities and high unemployment.

Asking these bankers to be accountable, Shevory said, is a modest request.

“I think that’s one of the reasons this movement has so much energy - because it is a just movement.” Shevory said.

The next two speakers were Michael Smith, Associate Professor in both the History and Environmental Studies departments at Ithaca College, and Bob Proehl of Buffalo Street Books, which almost shut down in Spring 2010. Proehl talked to the crowd about the effects large corporations can have on small businesses.

It began to rain, but no one moved. Between speakers they chanted, “Is the rain going to stop us? No! No!”

Several students including organzers of the event also addressed the gathering.

Hana Raskin, one of the organizers of the walkout, commended the crowd for their spirit of unity.

“We’re here today as park students, as business students, as environmental studies students. We’re here from big cities, from small towns, but we’re standing here today united, and we’re brought together by our similarities rather than being divided by our differences,” she said. Hana is from New York City and is protesting at Wall Street this weekend.

Following the speakers at Free Speech Rock, students marched around the academic quad again, continuing to hold their signs and chant in solidarity to Occupy Wall Street Movement.

The event closed with students standing in a large circle in front of the entrance to the campus center. Anyone was free to address the crowd in the megaphone that was used for the speakers.

Senior Pete Blanchard encouraged students to get to the protests in New York City as soon as possible.

The organizers announced that on Tuesday at noon, there will be an Ithaca College General Assembly on campus following a similar format to the meetings in Dewitt Park where working groups will be formed within the local movement.

At the end of the gathering, the organizers collected names for a ride share to the occupation in New York City this weekend.

Later in the day Thursday, in Dewitt Park, the grassroots movement of Ithaca and surrounding towns held their second meeting in Dewitt Park at 7:00 pm. Members from the previous meeting as well as new attendees showed up.

Two of the organizers of the campus walkout, Ithaca College students Ren Ostry and Hana Raskin, were present at the meeting. They invited the members of the local movement to the Ithaca College General Assembly on Tuesday, encouraging the two groups to work together.

The meeting opened with a review of the hand signals for the meeting practices. It followed into updates from the working groups, who have started meeting regularly. Participants were then given a forum to make announcements about upcoming solidarity events in the area, such as a rally in downtown Binghamton Saturday and a rally at Cornell University at noon today.

During the soap boxing portion of the meeting, a question that had been brought up at the open meeting Sunday  —but left some still feeling unsatisfied — was revisited: Beyond declaring solidarity with the protesters on Wall Street, what are our goals?

This time, the question opened a discussion of how to take the “macro” movement at Wall Street and make it into a “micro” movement locally.

Mike, of Ithaca, suggested that before the next meeting, everyone thinks of their community and what may hold them down. Himself a recent graduate of Ithaca College, he gave the example of loans for students.

“If all of these other occupy movements dropped off the face of the earth, what would we do here?” he asked.

The general assembly methods will continue meeting twice weekly, once on the weekend and once during the week to allow for the greatest amount of participation.

Pictures from “Occupy Ithaca College” -

A student addresses the crowd at Free Speech Rock on the Ithaca College Campus.

Students did not move when it began to rain on the gathering.

About sixty members of local communities in and around Ithaca who are in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street protests met in Dewitt Park at 2 pm Sunday, October 9.

The meeting opened with a general introduction and announcements by Lucas Bonnet, a grassroots organizer from Trumansburg. Bonnet opened the meeting with thanking everyone involved, naming local organizations who have been active in the solidarity movement, such as GreenStar, who donated garlic and ginger to protesters at Wall Street.

He announced the daily meet-ups on the Commons, each day at noon, and also made everyone aware that they can make an open call for protests at any time, on the movement’s many online forums or otherwise.

Bonnet noted that this particular gathering was not a general assembly, as its process of events did not mirror how every solidarity gathering would be conducted.

Nonviolence, Bonnet said, is one of the most important aspects of the movement. He reminded everyone to be respectful of one another’s viewpoints. Stevens stressed that no one should talk over one another at the gathering.

The meeting then followed into introductions by all who were present. Joined in a circle, some standing and others sitting on the ground, attendees at the meeting stated their name and reasons for why they were there. As well as Ithaca, those present had come from Cortland, Syracuse, Elmira, and other surrounding areas. They were relatively diverse in terms of age and status. Present at the meeting were two Ithaca College students who are trying to expand student involvement in the movement.

While their individual stories differed, they all agreed on being in solidarity with the discontent that has fueled the Wall Street protests.

Kevin, a student at Cornell, said in his introduction that the movement is the only hope for his generation to live a good life. He said they currently do not have any one particular politician who represents them - but that they don’t need one.

“We are our own voice,” Kevin said.

David, an Ithaca resident from Sweden who has been in the United States for four years, asked how a country as rich as the United States can keep so many people poor. There is no reason why it should be this way, he said.

An attendee who introduced himself as Robert said he is not an activist, just someone who would like to have a nice life, and that he would like to have his feet on the ground in his country without his needs being belittled. His expression remained relatively stoic as he spoke, but showed a hint of a smile when he was done, passing along the “Now talking” sign used at the meeting to minimize interruptions when one person is speaking.

In lieu of clapping and other non-verbal interactions, attendees at the meeting adopted hand signals used by the occupiers at wall street, to avoid extra noise that could make it difficult to hear the speaker. These include:

- raising hands and fluttering fingers upward to signal agreement, downward for disagreement

- touching fingers to thumbs in a diamond for a valued interruption

- rolling one’s hands to signal to the speaker: ‘I understand, but we need to move on’

- one finger in the air for a factual interjection

- arms crossed over the chest to signal a strong moral objection

I also took a video of grassroots organizer Kat Stevens, of Cortland, demonstrating the hand signals (not in the same order as above).

***I apologize for the sloppy camera work.***

The hand signals contributed to the overarching feel of democracy at the meeting, allowing everyone an equal opportunity to speak, as well as participate to the best of their skills and time allowance. Multiple attendees suggested that as a local movement, they should try to branch out beyond Internet outreach in order to best include everyone, such as through word of mouth.

The next task at the meeting was to establish weekly meeting times. They agreed to have two meeting times so far, continuing to meet in DeWitt Park each Sunday at 2, as well as meeting once during the week to accommodate those who work on the weekends.

The attendees then went on to establish the working groups that would make up the local grassroots movement. Everyone present was given the option to give input on what types of working groups to form, and who wanted to be in each one. To allow everyone a chance to provide input, Stevens established “stacks” at each step, where attendees who wanted to make a suggestion would state their name in order to be added each stack. Stevens then called the name of each person in that stack, giving everyone a chance to speak.

Each working group was established to be autonomous, with no individual in charge of each. Among the working groups created were direct action, outreach, logistics (security, medical, legal), technology, as well as a group dedicated specifically to establishing solidarity with the Wall Street protests by organizing trips down.

At the end of every meeting will be “soapboxing,” where all in attendance will be allowed to voice their individual opinions and suggestions.

Images:

(click a photo to see it at a bigger size)

Crowd shot.

Meeting attendees raise their hands in agreement.

The “now talking” sign, as well as the sign featured in this post on the Oct. 5 rally on the Commons.

“Frack Wall Street”
“The FED Stealing the American Dream Since 1913”

Attendee addresses the crowd.

“IPD Thank You for supporting our Right to Assemble Peaceably”

jayrosen:

See Robert David Graham, Independent reporting of #OccupyWallStreet

By reporting, I mean such things as contacting the park’s owners asking for an official statement. The protesters are occupying Zuccotti Park, owned by the same company (Brookfield Office Properties NYSE:BPO) that owns the adjacent skyscraper. An obvious step would be to contact them asking for a statement, but I could find no journalists that had yet done so. Well, if “journalists” aren’t going to do this, I can do this myself. I sent an email to their VP of Communications. I got a response, which I