IvyGate On the Scene: Students Occupy Wall Street [Photos]

by | October 5, 2011 at 8:00 pm

At 3:30 PM sharp today, as advertised, at least 100 Columbia students convened in front of the main campus gates and headed down to Wall St. to show that they were very, very, angry about… you know, bad things. I joined the crowd on behalf of IvyGate, and since the subways were overcrowded (not to mention sooooo corporate), I unconformist-ly rode my single speed bike down to the scene of the protest with a small band of fellow Columbians to see what was going on.

Quick impressions:

  • The protest is much bigger in real life than what most mainstream media reports make it seem like. When I arrived at Foley Square downtown in front of New York’s City Hall, it seemed as if the entire park and every surrounding street was flush with protesters. Eyeballing it, there seemed to have been at least 10,000 people in the square.
  • The protest is not as ‘young’ and ‘hippie’ as many commentators are derisively saying. As a number of trade unions and other progressive groups jumped on-board to show their support today, there were many older folks, and plenty of average, working, middle-class-looking types. This is definitely a protest that has brought together all demographic groups. And, finally…
  • The protest was very orderly. There were huge numbers of police, but both protesters and officers seemed to be calm and peaceful. The cops were doing things that were helping protesters, including moving barricades to give protesters more space. (Editor’s note: That seems to have changed a little bit since.)

And now, the photos:


Columbia students congregate outside the main campus gates.

Check out the full set of photos after the jump!


Sign: “What is the purpose of your education”


A crew of Columbians heads down to Wall St.


A Columbia drummer-biker extraordinaire.


A businessman is confused by all the cop cars.


Because of NYPD protest rules, Wall St. itself actually remains unoccupied (and surprisingly quiet)


Spotted: a particularly ironic banner by Barclays  (it’s actually for an unrelated cancer walk)

All photos by Wilfred Chan for IvyGate.

 
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  • Cornell ’14

    Have they decided what exactly they want yet?

    • ’14

      Last I heard it was 20/hr minimum wage (regardless of employment status), free healthcare, free education, unicorns and rainbows.  I may be wrong on the unicorns.

  • CU 10

    you seriously cant figure it out? stop being a snide little prick and either get on board or shut the fuck up. what are you doing to help fix the dire situation we are currently facing? 

    • Jacque Danieles

      Calm down, internet tough guy…

      What are YOU doing to help fix the dire situation we are currently facing?

    • Cornell ’14

      Get on board or shut up? Spoken like a true revolutionary.

    • Penn ’13

      CU 1o, you sound like an ignorant punk who likes intimidating other people into believing your particular variety of hippie bs.  “Oh man, if you like corporations, then you’re not cool”.  Its sickening listening to people like you acting like its so obvious why these people are right to protest.  There are millions of people out there who think this is ridiculous and that posting up on wall street is only going to slow down the economy they so desperately need to improve.  Think about that next time before you go deriding all those who aren’t fancy ultraliberal columbia dbags like you.

  • Anonymous

    The shot of the kid with the facepaint and the drum over his shoulder is all sorts of great.

  • Anon

    Seems like Columbia and Berkeley are the only colleges were students actually have a pulse and up on current events. All other students are drinking and at frat parties.

    • Cornell ’14

      Or maybe students at other Ivies have midterms to worry about and don’t want to camp out in the middle of a city with a bunch of dirty, smelly strangers for a quasi-unattainable cause they can’t come close to defining.

      • doubleu

        oh, shut up..

        • Cornell ’14

          No u.

      • Cornell ’12

         Actually, there were buses organized to take students from Ithaca to the rally in NYC last weekend. Though clearly you do not support the cause, many other Cornellians do. And they showed there support both in NYC and again today on campus with a rally on Ho Plaza. Think before you speak, please.

        • Cornell ’12

          And yes I’m aware I just made a typo. “their”. I guess being irate can make you a little careless…

          • Cornell ’14

            Hmm, looks like I’ve touched a nerve. That whole revolution thing isn’t going so well, huh? Don’t worry, nothing a few cups of fair trade organic coffee and “eat the rich” signs won’t help.

          • Anonymous

            Haha, does your arm every get tired from patting yourself on the back so hard?

          • Cornell ’14

            I’m not sure what I could possibly be patting myself on the back for with that comment, beyond not participating in an “Occupy Cornell” event I didn’t even know existed until reading the latest post on Ivygate.

  • NYC

    There are so many severe policy mistakes of the past three years to legitimately protest but I have yet to see or hear any of the protestors articulate a single one.  Here on the local news in New York City, every time they interview a protestor, he or she vehemently states, “I’m against, you know, like, corporate greed.”

    Yeah, good analysis, no wonder you can’t get a job.

  • Anonymous

    There are millions of people who think this is ridiculous, and that sending Wall Street is only going to slow down the economy they so desperately need to improve.

    seoxperts

  • ’99

    Yay! Angry white people!

  • citizen

    these are reasons worth considering – but you have to actually, uh, read:

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/sep/25/occupy-wall-street-protest?fb=optOut

  • http://www.facebook.com/caveat.bettor Caveat Bettor

    The Cynthia McKinney torch has officially been passed.

    So that’s what it feels like to have a monkey off my back.

  • Penn ’15

    It’s obvious what “they” want.  The mainstream media is trying to make the movement seem disjointed, but at every rally, in every city, you see “tax the rich” signs and “end corporate personhood” signs.

     http://www.businessinsider.com/what-wall-street-protesters-are-so-angry-about-2011-10?op=1