Moveon.org recently put up this video of economists from around the country in support of the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement. One of those economists is Middlebury’s own Professor of Economics Robert Prasch. Prasch spoke at the Occupy Wall Street Teach-In that was organized at the begining of November.
The video was made by Econ4, an organization whose aim is to “change both the economics profession and common-sense understanding about how the economy works and should work.” Here is their post of the video, along with a list of the 300 economists supporting OWS.
This week at Midd: 3 days of classes, first snow, homecoming and trolling alumni. This week in the rest of the world: other stuff. Here’s some of it:
FAMOUS PEOPLE: It’s a well told story that contracts for bands or speakers often have absurd hidden clauses- like Van Halen’s brown-free bowl of M &Ms backstage. I recently stumbled upon the absurdly detailed contract of Richard Stallman, a computer programming and software freedom activist. This line is golden:
“If you can find a host for me that has a friendly parrot, I will be very very glad. If you can find someone who has a friendly parrot I can visit with, that will be nice too.DON’T buy a parrot figuring that it will be a fun surprise for me. To acquire a parrot is a major decision: it is likely to outlive you.”
OCCUPY WALL STREET: Catch up with updates from the field of Occupy Wall Street- many protests are being allowed to proceed peacefully while some (Oakland, Nashville, San Diego, to name a few) are being violently broken apart.
WEATHER: I guess the rest of the Northeast caught that storm too, 2.3 million people have no power and at least 9 deaths have been attributed to the storm. What gives, October?
SCIENCE: Beautiful piece about Sandy Wood, the voice of “StarDate,” a 2 minute long radio segment about astronomy hosted by a regular star-enthusiast. It has over 2 million listeners each day. I really love profiles of people on the radio getting to know “the person behind the voice.”
TV: Over the next four Sundays, PBS will be airing a documentary called America in Primetime that will trace American television through the best programs in television history, how certain styles and characters have developed and where we are going in tv today. You can watch the 8 minute intro trailer here.
And here’s your video of the week: (this film is inspired by The Borrowers, I always loved the book and movie as a kid)
As a follow up to our previous post, here are some videos, pictures, and comments from the Occupy Middlebury March today.
Student activists began by gathering at the library while spectators observed from nearby Adirondack chairs. After describing the message and importance of the Occupy Wall Street movement, Hanna Mahon ’13.5 then emphasized Middlebury’s history of political participation and activism. ”We stand here to prove that the Middlebury community still has a political conscience,” said Mahon.
After rousing speeches from three student leaders, the March began up Storrs Walk toward Hillcrest. Chants from the group rang out through campus and passing students stopped and stared. There was even one critic who boo’ed at the crowd. The response…”We love you”.
The march ended at Hillcrest to integrate into the discussion with Vermont migrant workers Danilo and Antonio because they represent another dimension of the 99% who are victims of social injustice at the hands of the system which favors the rich corporations at the expense of the disadvantaged.
Tomorrow, there is apanel discussion led in the RAJ at 12:15 to discuss the movement and put today’s march in perspective. Professors as well as students who participated in protests in New York will ofter a general overview of the movement and then hopefully facilitate a meaningful dialogue about the importance and future of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Last weekend, five Middlebury students went to New York City to check out the Occupy Wall Street movement that has taken over Zuccotti Park in the Financial District since September 17th. Their experience inspired them to bring the movement to Middlebury (where activism, besides environmental, has been hardly existent of late) in order to promote awareness of the movement and to encourage Middlebury to confront issues that the movement has formed around, like corporate greed, the influence of Wall Street bankers on Washington, and social inequality caused by capitalism.
So tomorrow, with 90 other schools around the country coordinated by Occupy Colleges, Middlebury students will participate in a Student Solidarity March at 4:30PM outside the Davis Family Library. The march will end at the Gamphitheater (or Hillcrest depending on weather), where Danilo and Antonio, two Mexican migrant farm workers and activists, will talk about their experience resisting deportation (and touch on other themes connected directly and indirectly to the Occupy Wall Street movement). Read more
