Oxy Students Rally in Solidarity with 'Occupy Wall Street'

Shouting “Banks got bailed out—we got sold out” and “We are the 99 percent,” about 50 students gathered Thursday afternoon to express their solidarity with the nation’s spreading “Occupy Wall Street” movement and to support the so-called “Declaration of the Occupation of New York City.”

After participating in a collective “solidarity clap” and hearing a talk by one their peers, the students posed for a photograph that will be e-mailed to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has reportedly threatened to arrest "Occupy Wall Street" protesters who violate the law in the city.

Message to Mayor Bloomberg

“This solidarity rally is extremely important and we’re not alone,” Guido Girgenti, a second-year student majoring in Urban and Environmental Policy, told the crowd in a brief speech. “Students are gathering in hundreds of colleges right now—this is huge—and don’t let anyone tell you we’re unfocused, that nothing will happen and that Mayor Bloomberg can evict a movement.”

Added Girgenti: “What’s going to happen is that all of us are going to flood Mayor Bloomberg’s in-box with our photograph—so look good.”

After the photograph, each student grabbed a marker and signed a copy of the “Declaration of the Occupation of New York City” glued to a wall near the steps. The declaration, which was accepted by the New York City General Assembly on September 29, outlines the objectives of the Occupy Wall Street movement, which has been unfolding outside Los Angeles City Hall in recent days under the “Occupy L.A.” monicker.

Symbolic Walk-Out

The Oxy students gathered on a flight of steps facing the campus quad and leading to the Arthur G. Coons Administrative Center. Although the event was billed as a protest walk-out from class on campus, none of the students actually boycotted classes. Rather, in something bordering a symbolic boycott, they were about 15 minutes late for the first afternoon class of the day, which begins at 1:30 p.m.

“It just feels like an important movement,” said Elsie Moore, a sophomore majoring in diplomacy and world affairs. “I wanted to support the people who are there downtown and to let them know that we’re standing with them.”

Across the quad from the students, a lone tent,—with “Occupy L.A.” messages posted on the roof— was pitched on a grassy patch. This was the handiwork of Jack Moreau, a junior majoring in urban and environmental policy, who said he spent this past weekend organizing support for the Occupy L.A. protests.

“My goal is to get students in front of City Hall and to begin public forums across [college] campuses in L.A. to initiate a civic discourse to reinstate democracy across America,” he explained. “A lot of this movement is centralized around economic justice but it’s open to all ideas, including political philosophy and a culture of education.

Asked what specifically he was fighting for, Moreau said he would like to see “money funded into public education, housing and health care.”

Two Students Arrested for Oct. 7 'Make Banks Pay' Protest

Thursday’s solidarity rally occurred a day after the student-run Occidental Weekly newspaper reported that two Oxy students had been arrested October 7 for protesting in a Bank of America branch in the downtown financial district and refusing to leave.

The students, identified as Alex Acuna and Noah Donnell-Kilmer, were participating in a "Make Banks Pay" demonstration organized by three groups in conjunction with Occupy L.A.—the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, the Service Employees International Union, and Refund California.

The two students reportedly tried to cash a symbolic check valued at $673 billion made out in the name of the people of California.