NYU4OWS Organizing Expands As Occupy Wall Street Movement Grows
By Rebecca Nathanson
At 12:30 yesterday afternoon, while most of us were rushing to class or enjoying the unseasonably warm weather, a group of people gathered on Gould Plaza in front of Stern’s Tisch Hall and began speaking over the People’s Mic, the method of speak-and-repeat amplification that has become a trademark of Occupy Wall Street.
“Welcome to the People’s University,” announced Stuart Schrader, a PhD student in American Studies and one of the organizers of the event. The crowd seated on the floor of the plaza echoed his words without hesitation, attracting the attention of both students reading on the nearby benches and passersby on the street. This was the sixth session of the People’s University, an ongoing series of short lectures by both professors and activists that usually take place in Washington Square Park in an effort to bring free education to the public. The crowd grew throughout the session, resulting in a gathering of almost seventy-five students, professors, and community members.
The People’s University is organized by NYU4OWS, a group of NYU undergraduate and graduate students who came together in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street over a month ago. The group meets twice a week and, along with students from CUNY, the New School, Columbia, and other NYC-area schools, organizes a weekly All-City Student Assembly in WSP on Saturdays at noon.
Besides the assemblies and the People’s U, they have organized teach-ins, student walkouts, and marches. Currently, they are planning for next week’s Student Week of Action, which will take place at various schools throughout the week. In the works is an NYU-Wall Street Walking Tour, which will highlight locations around campus with university ties to Wall Street.
This will all lead up to the November 17 Day of Action, a student strike and convergence at Union Square followed by a march down to a larger rally at Foley Square. A full-out “strike” is unfeasible for many students, so NYU4OWS is providing students and professors with options: cancel class, dedicate class to an OWS discussion, hold class in WSP, or have an organizer speak to the class. And that afternoon, prior to the Union Square event, GSOC, the NYU graduate student union, will contribute to the week’s many actions by hosting a student-labor rally in front of Stern.
In addition to organizing their own events, NYU4OWS has been supporting other causes around the city. Tonight, students from NYU will join locked-out Sotheby’s art handlers, who are members of the Teamsters Union Local 814, in picketing outside of the building during a major auction. On November 21, NYU4OWS members and allies will gather in solidarity with students from around the city to protest increasing tuition rates in the CUNY system. The group will march to Baruch College, where the CUNY Board of Trustees will be meeting about the issue.
Poitevin, who spoke after Martin, talked more broadly about the Occupy movement. “What makes this movement powerful is its moral clarity that too many people are being treated unfairly and too many people are being treated unjustly. So the generational challenge that OWS is posing to us is that the time has come when we hold our government accountable and we reclaim what people power is all about,” he said as the People’s Mic repetitions became progressively more energized. “If we can bail out Wall Street, we can bail out workers. If we can forgive banks, we can certainly forgive student loans.”
During the Q&A at the end, he addressed a critique of OWS in response to a question about why, as students and intellectuals, we should accept universal rights as the basis of the movement. “Universal rights is one way to think about OWS, but it’s not the only way. I think it’s about putting needs at the center of public policy, not profits. You should always question the premises of whatever movement we’re talking about,” he explained.
As he and Martin spoke, passing students looked on in confusion, many never having seen something like the People’s U before. “This brings the movement to them, and we can meet on their own terms and on their own time,” said NYU4OWS organizer Josh Frens-String, a PhD student in the History department. “The idea came out of Zuccotti Park, which has been holding educational activities since the beginning. These are natural events to plan, given our role as students.”
“The People’s U is a great manifestation of what OWS is about. It brings education and discussion into a public forum and makes it accessible to everyone,” said Caitlin MacLaren, a Gallatin sophomore and one of the organizers passing out flyers with information about future NYU4OWS events.
While some students are uninterested or unsupportive of OWS, others are supportive but have not yet started actively participating, either at Zuccotti Park or at NYU. “In general, there’s a sense at NYU that people are not connected to many things — there’s a sense of individualism and alienation because there are so many other things going on in New York. Even if you agree with OWS, you can’t always go down to Zuccotti. We’re forming a bridge that makes it more comfortable for students to participate,” said Frens-String.
“Undergrads especially should get involved because we have the energy and the time to do so,” added MacLaren. “It’s a great opportunity to put what we learn into action.”
[Photos by Rebecca Nathanson]
