An interesting Cornell event popped up on Facebook last week: the “Occupy AEM Rally.” Here’s the text of the event description: Occupy Cornell? Let's tackle the real problem... Before actually tackling the real problem with this, let me set the record straight for anyone who might be confused about what the Occupy Wall Street movement intends to protest. Occupy Wall Street was proposed by a Canadian-based group that calls itself the Adbusters Media Foundation, which is dedicated to challenging the ideas generated by a society obsessed with consumerism. Along this general theme, Adbusers wrote about a hypothetical Occupy Wall Street movement in its anti-consumerist magazine. This protest would challenge corporate influence on democracy, address a growing disparity in the distribution of wealth, and question the absence of serious legal repercussions or reprimands directed towards those responsible for the 2008 financial crisis. The idea caught on and several social groups formed together to begin an “occupation” that began on September 17 in Zuccotti Park (formerly Liberty Plaza Park) in lower Manhattan. In an ironic coincidence, Zuccotti Park was built in 1968 by US Steel, which was in its heyday one of the largest US companies and a fierce opponent to fair labor laws and unionization. Occupy AEM is a clever play, and as an AEM major myself I certainly understand the jabs at the lighter individual workload as compared to some other majors. But, I would neither judge the educational quality of a Cornell major nor draw conclusions about people within that major. Remember, this is Ezra’s University, and he founded an institution where “any person can find instruction in any study.” Left unsaid, I suppose, would be that he founded an institution where any person can pursue any career. Protesting the AEM major is very un-Cornellian.
Date: 1 pm - 3 pm
Location: Ag Quad (Cornell)
Additional Info:
We are tired of AEM being a feeder into Wall Street and eventually America's low security white collar prisons. Wearing a suit to class doesn't cover up that you're in the easiest major. Bailouts don't last forever.
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