Last week, The News reported that three Northeastern students were arrested for protesting in Occupy Boston demonstrations. While protester demographics are varied – conservative, liberal, old, young, employed and unemployed – students have been a large part of the Occupy movements everywhere. While we applaud you for speaking up, there are definitely some things to consider before you go and get arrested.
The New York protests make sense – there is a lot of corporate greed and Wall Street is at the center of that, but as the Occupy movements spread to cities, and now college campuses, the meaning and legitimacy gets more convoluted.
It’s true that President Joseph Aoun makes an insane amount of money – his salary and benefits top $900,000 according to an article The News published in December of last year – and it’s true that many of us have to take out huge amounts of money in the form of student loans to pay to go here.
Is the administration greedy? Probably. But at the same time, you chose to go to a private school. You had other options that were much, much cheaper than Northeastern University, or any of the other private schools in the area. If it’s really too much for you, transfer. But don’t skip the classes you’re paying thousands of dollars for to go protest.
There are many students involved in the movement who understand the cause and have good reason for everything they are doing. But some of those participating in the protests are simply jumping on the bandwagon because it seems like the cool thing to do. The protests have cost the City of Boston over $146,000 in police overtime as of last week, according to a Boston Globe article. If you’re going to be involved, be able to voice clear reasons as to why you’re involved.
Not to mention, as college students we are huge supporters of corporations – whether you realize it or not. A large percentage of us have iPhones and can’t live without Starbucks. Those are two extremely valuable companies that definitely jack their prices up to unnecessary levels, and have lobbyists on Capitol Hill.
That being said, protesters are utilizing their first amendment right – freedom of speech. Throughout history, there have been successful social movements that began with protests. Think Gandhi, civil rights and even Vietnam. Where would we be if Martin Luther King Jr. had never pushed for equality? Maybe even more soldiers would have died in Vietnam if it weren’t for the social pressure of protesters all over the country demanding the war’s end. To everyone dismissing the protesters – should we never question the society we live in? This protest is not entirely unwarranted given how government is run.
We are proud of the Northeastern students who are raising their voices and fighting for what they think is right – just make sure your personal reasons for doing it are the right reasons.
